1. How important is the element of fantasy in Singer's stories? Does it detract from or enhance the realism they also contain?

2. Compare the mainly autobiographical stories in A Day of Pleasure with the more forthrightly fictional tales in books such as Gimpel the Fool or Short Friday.

What aspects of Singer's imagination are common to all of them? How can you tell they were all written by the same author?

3. The Talmud and the Mishna contain important supplements to and commentaries on the Old Testament. Why does Singer often refer to them? Can you find out anything more about them?

4. Many Americans and Europeans are familiar with Yiddish literature through the musical comedy Fiddler on the Roof, which was adapted from Sholom Aleichem's Tevye stories. Compare the characters and incidents in A Day of Pleasure with those in either Aleichem's...