To the Reader
Introduces the reader to the Railroad Stories. The author is a commercial traveler--- Komivoyazher. He is a traveling salesman that travels the rails and collects raw materials. He writes stories along the way. Eighteen from Pereshchepena This story discusses the quotas that existed. There were restrictive quotas for Jews in the universities. On the other hand, there was an army mandate. It was mandatory conscription that forced assimilation. It was therefore a threat the Jewish community. Money, however, could buy your way into a university or out of the army. The Jews avoided the army by maiming themselves, paying others go in their place, or by immigration. The three characters on the train react to the idea of quotas in very different ways. One, prays. This is his pathway to piety. The second, takes a leisurely smoke. He is distracting himself with something pleasant. And lastly the third, continues eating breakfast. He is fortifying himself. These characters represent the different tactics used in response to the hard times of the quotas. The Slowpoke Express So much money is going into the railroads at this point. All the Jews therefore, try to get a job on the railway. They call it the slowpoke express because it is so slow. The train is always waiting. You never miss it and there is always a seat. They even joke it is there from circumcision to Bar Mitzvah. Third Class Here, the different classes of the train are criticized. In first class, you are roomy and comfortable, but it is total solitude and no living souls speak to you. In second class, you are surrounded by all sorts of people who are no different from yourself, with identical human passions. Even among your own, you are always a stranger. But in third class, you feel right at home. It's not the height of luxury, you must use your elbows to find a seat and there is a high noise level. But everyone knows who you are and where you are going. |