Chapter VII

Pg 42 "He wore a threadbare coat."

Threadbare, used as an adjective for coat, means that the coat looks shabby, thinned, and aged. It't been worn for a long time without regular care, leaving it in a state such that the threads in the fabric are pulling out and thinning.

Pg 42 "He was a silhouette artist."

Silhouette art, as portrayed in the book, is made by taking a piece black paper and cutting it to the outline of the object being portrayed, then placing that piece onto a background of contrasting color, usually white. It relies on the structure and shape of the object. Profile portraits in silhouette are clear, simple, and don't deviate as much from the person as the person ages. Artists can craft a detailed portrait of a person in a matter of minutes. They were very popular from 1790 to 1840, but the increased popularity of the camera signaled the end of silhouette art as a mainstream way to capture moments, but still lived on as nostalgic pieces and novelties.

Pg 37 "He laughed and talked to himself in Yiddish."

Yiddish is a Hebrew and HIgh German language most Hebrews use to communicate. The grammatical structure is written in the alphabetical form of Hebrew characters. It is the international language of Ashkenazic Jews. Ashkenazic Jews are located in Central and Eastern Europe. During the early 1900's a massive influx of European immigrants came to America. Majority of those immigrants were Jews who spoke in Yiddish.