Number Our Days by Barbara Myerhoff - Book Report/Review Example

Running Head: SIMULATED CORRESPONDENCE Simulated Correspondence [The of the will appear here] [The of the id will appear here] [The name of the course will appear here] [The name of the course number will appear here] Dear Fellow Student, Reading the book, ‘Number Our Days’ by Barbara Myerhoff was truly a fascinating experience. I will be honest here and will confide that when we were asked to read the book, I was not very excited. I was not totally thrilled reading about the elderly people. I expected the book to be boring and to be about loss and sufferings that these elderly people suffered. However, it was while reading the book that I was truly able to get a glimpse in the lives of these elderly people. The book did not evoke any sympathy in me regarding the elderly and I believe that Myerhoff never intended that to be so. I felt deep respect for these elderly that were not just able to survive their few remaining years in the world but they were able to do it with respect and contentment. I found the first chapter of the book very fascinating and very relatable to a certain extent. I felt a sense of pride for Basha and was able to relate her with so many people I know. She was quite like many American elderly women that I know of but then she was totally different. I believe that you agree with me when I say that if we met Basha on the streets before reading the novel, we would only have seen an elderly woman with arthritis trying to get on with her life. We would not have given a second glance to this woman, at least I would not have. However, now when I see an elderly person passing by the street or getting on the bus, I wonder what their life is like; how are they surviving? In this manner, this book sensitized me to the elderly people and not just the Jewish elderly people. I go out and help the elderly when I see them having difficulty in their work. But I try that they do not feel embarrassed by this help. I think four this reason, every young individual should read this book. As future anthropologists, this book is especially important for us. It teaches us to look beyond the exterior of the people. This book allowed me to understand that we should not categorize people into stereotypes. Rather every person has a story to tell which is unique and touching in its own sense. If we open ourselves to the people around us, we would learn something new each day. I especially appreciated the way that Mynerhoff has written this book. At one time, she is engrossed in the people, their sufferings and their joys and the next moment, she detaches away from them and sees everything from the eyes of an anthropologist. I believe this is imperative for an anthropologist to connect with the people they are studying and yet distance himself. In this way, we as the readers are able to look at both the perspectives. The writing style of Mynerhoff also is able to retain the interest of the readers. Though this book was suggested to us for our anthropology course, it never felt that we were reading something forcefully. The book read like a story and therefore we were able to retain our interest. However, we did not take the book lightly. This was because when Mynerhoff distanced herself from the stories, she also distanced her readers. It felt like we were reading about the story and then analyzing it from afar. Often while reading stories, I usually get so engrossed in the story that I forget the purpose behind the story or why I am reading the story. But in this book, this did not happen. I was acutely made aware of the purpose of the stories of the elderly. This was because Myneroff reflected on the story from time to time when relating the stories of the elderly Jews. In terms of presentation, I also liked the book because Mynerhoff divided the story into chapters and each chapter related with different people. When I began each chapter, I pleasantly anticipated reading the story of a new person. Even as we read about a new person, we got to know more about the people as a whole. We got to know more about the community and its people. As I read each chapter, my respect for the people increased and along with this, I felt a deep found respect for the author for understanding the people in such a beautiful and true manner. However, while reading the story, I something felt that the story was a drag. It seemed that while writing the story, Mynerhoff has become very aware of these people. She noted every minute detail about the people. While this is something that the anthropologist in me appreciated and liked, but the reader in me was bored. I sometimes felt that Mynerhoff was repeating herself. For example, she put a great deal of attention towards the fact that these elderly Jews came from Eastern Europe. While it is important for us to understand the background of the people that we are studying, I felt that Mynerhoff put too much emphasis on this aspect of the people. While it is the past that defines the present of the people but I felt that this made the book a little drag. The readers are interested in stories and not just the background. For instance, when Mynerhoff relates the story of the tailor, Shumel, I was particularly engrossed. At this time, I knew the background of the people and reading about the horrors that Shumel faced, I was able to relate to him. While reading the book, I realized that these characters are very like their counterparts born and raised in America. If we would have met them in our life, while the street or while doing down to visit the local grocery store, we would not have been able to tell the difference between a Jewish elderly and an American one. This is because they have adopted the lifestyles of their American counterparts having lived their entire lives in America. But these people have a history that saddens them. They have experienced a life of grief and suffering. For some, this continues as they remember the loved ones they left behind or as they struggle to keep up with their growing expenses. . The Americans have lived a carefree life. The elderly today belonged to the hip hop era in history. They led quite a carefree life and maybe can never understand or relate with these Jews who take their roles and responsibilities seriously. These Jews are burdened with their history and try as they might, they would never be able to leave their history. I felt a little burst of pity for these people because their sufferings have not ended. They left their homes to lead a better life. But they are not totally able to lead the America life that America promises to its people. From the foreword of the book, I learnt another important aspect of being a good anthropologist and that is immersing oneself into another culture. Before Mynerhoff wrote this book, she explored the Indian culture and also wrote a book about this. This allowed her to experience her own culture, which is Jewish, from another perspective. As an studying anthropologist, I realize the importance of this. We are always more aware of our own religion and practice. I have friends from other cultures and I am sure that living in the US, you would also have had experience of meeting people from another culture. But this is not similar to going inside the homes of these people and experiencing their culture. When we see our culture from the perspective of someone else’s culture, we realize a lot about our own culture. While this is important for every individual in today’s diverse culture, it is especially important for anthropologists. The book was interesting to be on both the personal and the professional manner. While I have discussed with you how the book related with me on a professional level, I will hence discuss how it affected me on personal level. I felt anger at the rich conglomerates that have no empathy towards the small town residents. They continue building skyscrapers even without realizing its impact on the people. Even the government, I felt has ignored these people to a great extent. I do not understand how the government is justifying the minority. People like the elderly Jews entered into the country with the hope that they would receive a good treatment from the America that promises a lifestyle such of hope and promise. However, these elderly are just surviving. They have lost hope and their only wish is to complete their remaining years with respect and dignity. Even you have not read the book till now, I would say that you begin immediately. Even if you have read the book, I hope that I was able to inculcate in you more respect for the writer and allow you to explore the book from a fresh perspective. While the book was interested to read, it was even more interesting to formulate this response as it allowed me to understand the book on a more deeper level. References Mynerhoff, B. (1980) Number Our Days: A Triumph of Continuity and Culture Among Jewish Old People in an Urban Ghetto, USA: Touchstone Publications Read More