"My Father Always Said"

In Schwartz's essay she uses 6 segments to convey her overall meaning. In each segment she speaks about a different part of her trip to Rindheim with the parents, but during this she flashes foward to explain to the reader what happened 40 years later when she went back to Rindheim. These flash-fowards are thrown into her writing very subtly but are very significant in understanding the overall point Schwatz is tring to make.

Segment 1 -- She talks about what her father would always say about her going out with friends that were not from Rindheim.

Segment 2 -- They stopped by her fathers house, she wanted to go in but her father did not (she tells us how she did make it in the house 40 yrs later). They stop by the downtown. Her father says it's no Queens but Schwartz compares it to things in Queens. They stop by the Synagogue. Then the scene flashes foward and she recalls her trip years later when she speaks to a women about the synaogue. At this time there is a different mix of culture that live in this town. She compares it to Queens. When she was a child to now and wishes she could tell her father about it.

Segment 3 -- The Synagodue was a shell, burnt down. She goes into the story of how it happened and how her father escaped. He says the people that burnt it down weren't from Rindheim and their non-jewish neighbors wanted to help them but were also scared.

Segment 4 -- They stop by her fathers old school. She compares it to her school but without the paved playground and swings. She asked her father if he played with the non-jewish kids at his school since they were seperated during school hours. He said of course they did.

Segment 5 -- They get to the grave stones. She tried to picture her grandparents that pasted away but could only picture the ones back in Queens. They talk about the family members that stayed behind and what happened to them.

Segment 6 -- When she returns home, she realizes what her family went through and gains respect for her father and his sayings. When he father returns she realizes that Rindheim was not that great.

In the beginning her and her father think they are completely different from eachother. As they go around Rindheim she still pictures and relates everything to what she knows from her childhood. Her father does the same thing when they are in Queens, he relates everything there to where he grew up. They were the same... Rindheim and Queens, in a sense. This is the point that she is trying to get across during the middle of her essay. Her and her father are no different. There is a shift at the end when she realizes the full history of what happened. She then holds a greater respect for Rindheim while her fathers greatness for his hometown deminishes.