Isaac B.

Singer
Page 650
 Born in Poland
 Jewish (wrote in Yiddish—language of

some Eastern European Jews and their

descendants)
 Short stories, novels, and essays that

capture the lessons of everyday life

 Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in

1978
 The media often show the elderly in
unrealistic or unflattering ways.

 List 3 examples of older characters in movies

or on TV shows, or commercials:

 What are some positive contributions that the

elderly make to our society?
 Gentiles: any persons not Jewish; in
this case, specifically Christians
 groschen: Austrian cent or penny (this

section of Poland ruled by Austria in

the early 1900’s)
 rancor: deep hatred or bitter hate
 obstinacy: stubbornness
 What type of essay is “The Washwoman?”
 What is it about the Washwoman that Isaac

Singer admired most?

 What does the Washwoman stand for (what

do her hands represent)?

 How do we know that Singer and his mother

are concerned about the Washwoman?

 What passage conveys Singer’s feeling that

the Washwoman was an extraordinary person

and deserves to be rewarded for all of her
hard work and dedication?
 What type of essay is “The Washwoman?”
◦ narrative essay
 What is it about the Washwoman that Isaac
Singer admired most?
◦ her strength and dedication to her work
 What does the Washwoman stand for (what
do her hands represent)?
◦ Author believes that it is human nature to strive to
overcome obstacles– her hands represent this
“stubbornness” (653)
 How do we know that Singer and his mother are
concerned about the Washwoman?
 “We mourned, both for the laundry and for the
old, toil-worn washwoman who had grown close
to us through the years she served us so
faithfully” (654).
 What passage conveys Singer’s feeling that the
Washwoman was an extraordinary person and
deserves to be rewarded for all of her hard work
and dedication?
 “I cannot imagine paradise without this Gentile
washwoman. I cannot even conceive of a world
where there is no recompense for such effort”
(655).