STUDY QUESTIONS

Isaac Babel, "The Jewess"

1) Can Boris, the young, communist revolutionary and Red Army commander, be described as having rejected his "roots"? Why or why not?

2) What were some of the trades and professions represented by Boris' old relatives in the shtetl?

3) What "very Jewish" thought did Boris' mother suddenly have on the train?

4) To what does Babel attribute Boris' passion for the comraderie he experienced with fellow soldiers and revolutionaries?

5) What evidence of anti-Semitism, old and new, in Russia does the story provide?

6) Is the message of the tale hopeful and focused on the future or pessimistic and nostalgic?