Stern College for Women - Kochaviah Yearbook (New York, NY)

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► ► ► ► lire following close behind. I made it! Out in the panic-stricken crowd, away X from r K e danger of death, my fears began to mount. Where was my mother? I can only remember running frantically about searching for the person whose presence meant so much to me. Nowhere in the tumult could I find her. It seemed a,i though there were thousands of peo- ple included in this turmoil of fire- engines and ambulances filled with in- jured people. At this point the effects of shock seized me and I lost consciousness. o o ► ► o o ► o o o o ► o ► o ► ► ► ► ► o o ► ► ► o ► ► t I was taken by two strangers to a drugstore. They found my phone number in my wallet and phoned my father. I presume that he came to the des ignated meeting place immediately, for my next fleeting recollection is that of my father and I searching desperately for my mother. Finally she was found, badly hurt, and was rushed to the hospital. Al- though she had been suffering from third degree burns, she had continued her quest for me. Her survival was a greater miracle than mine. After telling me exactly how to reach safety, she had been caught in the grandstands between falling chairs. However, she managed to escape just as the tent collapsed. It was not the actual flames that had scalded her, but the heat of the fire. After many weeks of hospitalization, and many more months of slow convales- cence, my mother gradually recovered. My own recovery was not complete until months later. In the interminable darkness of my dreams, even now, I often awake afraid, fearful, horrified, crying: The terror! The terror! o o o ► ► $ ► ► ► ► ► o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 4 o o o o o o o o o o THE CREATION By MIRIAM SAFRAN Israel It was spring in the air. It was spring in my heart. The sun was shining brightly in the sky and scattered its golden rays all over the earth, stroking gently every flower, every plant, every bird and every living creature. Quietness, calmness and mildness ruled the area. T he sun was shining in my heart, filling me with a happiness never known to me before and lifting my soul to new heights. It gave me the feeling of floating on clouds. The fascinating sound of a stream running nearby, the charming chant of a bird, the sound of a light breeze cutting through the leaves, the echo of a faraway sound of working farmers — all turned into one harmonious and wonderful melody that touched the inner chords of my heart and made it join the choir of a whole world chanting a mystical melody to its Creator. That very moment it seemed to me that I was attending the Creation of a new world, a purified world unknown to me before, a world over which peace and calmness rule. Suddenly a terrifying noise cut through the quietness. The sun disappeared and everything crashed and turned upside down. The terrible noise cut into me like hot iron and I felt as if I were falling down quickly from a tremendous height until I knocked against something hard . . . I opened my eyes just in time to send a quick, bewildered look toward the open window and to see a huge airplane pass by with a terrifying noise that brought me down from the paradise of peace I had so thoroughly enjoyed; it took me away from that paradise of peace to bring me into a world where monsters of iron rule.

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♦ o z o o ► $ o i ► o o s o ► i ► An alarniins first-person experience TERROR! TERROR By ROZ BERKOWITZ Hartford, Conn. I shall never forget that day as long a- I live! It was July 6, 1944. The sun was shining brightly, reflecting the glee of anticipation within me. I was going to the circus. It was not to be an or- dinary, small-town affair that one sees in pictures, but one with a big top, hun- dreds of huge animals and large grand- -tands. I. a youngster of six years, accompanied by my mother, was on my way to sec the celebrated Barnum and Bailey Circus. I recall my thoughts as we entered the huge tent. How anxious I was to see that circus! Later would come the joy of relating the episode to my friends. Little did I know of the crisis soon to occur. Today, my recollections of the elab- orate opening of the e ent are hazy. However, from the conclusion oi the trapeze artist ' s act to the termination t that never-to-be-forgotten day, my mem- ories arc extremely vivid. Entranced in the glamorous world of circus life, my thoughts were shifted to reality by a tremendous flash of light followed by a loud crackling of fire. And then the nightmare began! Yes, this was the shocking Circus Fire of ' 44 about which many people, tucked securely in their homes, read. Although they felt that they knew of the horror which ac- companied the injuries and loss of life, only the figures in this real drama of human slaughter could possibly conceive the pain and horror, anxiety and despair which accompanied this tragedy. Terror! Terror! Terror! People throwing children into waiting arms, chairs tumbling down through the grand- stands, shouts, screams, cries, animals prancing madly in their cages, people racing, falling, pulling, pushing, drag- ging, crawling, crying — these things drew me further into my world of fright a« I groped toward safety, half running and stumbling, the rush and roar of the o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o % o o o o % % % o %

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♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ ♦ ► o o ► % 1 o o o s i ► o s s o o ► o o ► o ► ► z % o ► o I I o % % o An analysis of John Steinbeck ' s retelling of the Cain and Abel story CAIN ' S CHOICE MIRIAM RESNIKOFF Brooklyn, N. Y. In his book, East of Eden, John Stein- beck wrestles with the theme of Good versus Evil, and man ' s power to choose between the two. The book is almost a parable of the story of Cain and Abel analyzed through modern psychology. Steinbeck sees this story as the history of all mankind. It starts with a feeling of rejection and subsequent deep-seated resentment and jealousy. These emotions are expressed in mean actions, which in turn cause guilt feelings. These aggravate the unhap- piness, and the cycle continues and grows. Each man is a potential Cain. Yet man is given the choice of control- ling this cycle and becoming master over Evil. Steinbeck derives this philosophy from G-d ' s choice of the word timshel which He says to Cain after He has ac- cepted Abel ' s offering and rejected his — thou mayest rule over evil. If Cain mends his way, his offering, too, will be accepted in the future. Steinbeck developes this philosoph) through the history of three generations of the Trask family, from a small farm in Connecticut to the sunnj Salinas Val- ley, from the Civil War to World War I. (in, Tra-k ' , two sons, Charles and .Adam, arc the first set of Cains and Abels. The father favors the latter; the mongrel dog daui offers him for his o o o o I o o I o o I o I birthday becomes his favorite pet, while the expensive pocket knife Charles gives him is put aside and never touched. Adam developes into a gentle, moral boy, while his brother is dark and moody. Once, in a jealous rage, he beats Adam and even attempts to kill him with an ax. It is significant that Charles carries a vivid scar on his forehead comparable to the sign that G-d left on Cain ' s fore- head after the murder of his brother. Another person who bears the scar of evil on the forehead is Cathy Trask, Adam ' s pretty wife. She is born with no heart, no feelings, no conscience. Her career consists of arson, patricide and matricide (when she is barely sixteen). She is a complete monster , as Stein- beck calls her. From these two people — Adam and Cathy Trask — twin sons are born. Aron is gold-haired, open-faced, inno- cent and completely good ; Cal is dark and secretive. Everyone likes the affec- tionate Aron immediately, but Cal seems to build a wall around himself. The story of these two boys, their offerings to their father and his rejection of Cat ' s, and Cal ' s subsequent symbolic murder . of his brother — all this brings the de- velopment of Steinbeck ' s ideas to its climax. The brothers prove that it is within man ' s power to he a Cain or an Abel. The cycle can be stopped. The decision is left to man himself. o t o o o t t o o o 4 O O o o o o o o o o o i i