At the beginning of this section of the novel, Olga is reminiscing upon the details of what she and Lazarus have been through. After much foreshadowing, we are finally told the story that has been mentioned throughout the entire novel. While Taube is trying to comfort Olga, the memory surfaces, and we are made aware of the completely opposite experiences that the two have been through. Olga has been abused and exploited throughout her time as an immigrant, while Taube is a lawyer who has experienced nothing but success and triumph throughout his life, much unlike Olga. Olga is once again used by Taube in order to further his goals. Taube is often rude to Olga in the things he says and the way he acts towards her, and I can't help but sympathize with her. I especially feel sorry for her whenever Isador is transported to Canada without being able to see Olga first. However, Olga is in a very tough position. If she doesn't help Taube, her brother will not receive a funeral and Isador will most likely be discovered and suffer the penalties. Miller also exploits Olga, by putting words in her mouth and influencing her every action. On page 273, Olga says "Please stop talking. You make me Sick. Please be silent." This especially makes me feel bad for her because you can really imagine the whirlwind of emotions that she must be experiencing in that moment. When Iuliana is talking about her feelings toward the pogrom, I can't help but think of the experiences that Olga and Lazarus were forced to go through. After 100 years, the tragedy is still "stamped upon our national consciousness" (page 250). The fact that this is so much associated with the nation shows the severity of the events that unfolded. Brik is such a defensive character, and the thought that he so wanted to harm people for their actions was very strange to me. Another strange event is when he refuses to ask his cab driver to slow down, when he is obviously in danger of losing his life. When he later confronts the cab driver in a bathroom stall, we see Brik's more aggressive side and the thought of him intentionally harming several people is more comprehensible. During this section of the novel, Brik becomes more of a dynamic character by the fact that his feelings toward Mary are changing and he also feels at home in Eastern Europe. Brik shows his disgust for America's democracy, especially by the fact that many people are judged by their success. Rora's untimely and unnecessary death is another example of just how fragile life his, and how it can be taken away in an instant. Rora dies in a similar way to Lazarus, through the mishandling of a gun. On page 291, the quote "I find that hard to believe... Things happen for a reason" is very interesting to me. It almost seems that they are trying to find meaning in Rora's death, but come to the conclusion that sometimes things just happen uncontrollably.
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