Blog #3- "My Father Always Said"

6 segments

Each segment- different parts of trip in Rindheim with her father and flashes 40 years later when she went back to Rindheim.

Segment 1: Schwartz begins by describing her teenage life in New York. An important part of this segment, relating to the title is what her father would always say about her friends that were not from Rindheim.

Segment 2: They stopped at father house, but father did not want to go in. She speaks of how 40 years later she did go into the house. They go downtown and father comments how it’s not like queens, but Schwartz is able to compare it to Queeens. They go to the Synagogue. She starts to gain a new respect for her father here and she realizes how is life growing up was and compares it to her own. Then Schwartz flashes forward and recalls her trip when she speaks to a woman about the synagogue.

Segment 3: She explains how the Synagogue was burnt down and how her father escaped. Her father explains that it was the Germans who burnt down the synagogues and she comes to a realization as to why her father was so over protective of her and so choosy about who she hung around with.

Segment 4: They go to her father’s old school. We learn that they separated the kids at that school, Jewish and non-Jewish, but they still played together. She gains even more respect for her father as she gains even more insight into what his life was like growing up and how hard and unjust circumstances were at the time.

Segment 5: They go to the cemetery where her family members were buried. They talk about her Tante Rose who stayed behind and eventually got sent to a concentration camp. They visit the graves of her grandparents as well. She is able to conclude that her father coming to America was to give his family a better life, which is why he is/was so concentrated on his family and all the particulars surrounding them.

Segment 6: She returns home and thinks more about what her family went through, gaining a whole new appreciation for her father and all that he says.

In the beginning of the story, Schwartz and her father think they are totally different characters, but through their experiences they are able to realize that they are quite similar and some of what they have been through and what they’ve seen is relatable. Everywhere they go together she gains more of an appreciation and understanding of her father. She understands better why he is the way he is by gaining insights on how he grew up. At the end she gains respect for her father and Rindheim. This is the main point of the story- her new found appreciation.