Journal Entry #5

5

• Reuven is back home! He reseves a warm welcome home from his house keeper. She prepared him a very delicious and big meal.
• After eating, "Abba" went to finish an article on his typewriter and Reuven walked slowly through the house looking and noticing everything, slowly. He noticed every inch of each object, it was as if he had been gone for months.
• Is now night time and Reuven and "Abba" are having a talk. Reuven asks him about Danny and "Abba" responds with telling him the history so that he can understand. He was telling Reuven how the Jews went to Poland because Poland wanted them there since they had a bad economy and Jews were good at making it better, since they were hard workers. "Poland became a kind of Jewish Utopia" (105).
• While in Poland, the Jews are the ones for everything they are the ones who tax and tells the people when they can or cannot do what they ask for. Because of this, there is a war that lasts ten years and the Jewish are then destroyed.
• While trying to answer Reuven's question, "Abba" compares Danny to Solomon from Poland. He says that they are alike because they both wanted to experience new things not only depend on the Talmud.
• Then, "Abba" tell Reuven that Danny is "terribly torn and lonely", and that he needs a friend to talk to. I'm almost positive that Reuven will become a great friend to Danny.

4

• How does it feel to be back home after a week?
• Did Reuven miss Mr. Savo and Billy's company?
• What does Reuven think about what the Jewish went through?
• Now that he knows about Danny, what will Reuven try to do to make him feel good?

3

• sycamores (99): a tree
• vestibule (99): a hall
• strewn (101): to let fall in separate pieces
• prelude (106): preliminary to actions, events...

2

• "We climbed up the wide stone staircase and came through the vestibule into the long hallway where it was dark and cold, and narrow like the corridor of a railroad car" (99). Simile.
• "Her long apron, her man sized shoes, and with strands of of dark hair falling across her forehead from the braided bun in her head" (100). Imagery.
• "Scooped me into her huge arms as though I were a leaf" (100). Simile.

1

• During this few pages, Reuven has come back home and is seeing everything very different. He now knows more about Danny and this can lead to a good friendship.