But she feels that perhaps she has earned some grudging respect from Raisa. She is the last one to recite, and she is so tired and upset that she gives a horribly wooden reading and loses the contest. Raisa pretends that she can't find Esther's name on the list, and then tells her that she can not participate because she is barefoot.Įsther runs home, grabs her mother's slippers which are too big for her, some string to tie them on with, and runs back into town - dusty, sweaty and bedraggled. When life in the shared hut becomes unbearable, Samuel gets permission for them to move to an empty hut in another part of the village. Esther Rudomin was ten years old when, in 1941, she and her family were arrested by the Russians for being capitalists and transported to Siberia. It is one of The Originals from Penguin - iconic, outspoken, first.

During the summer, the Rudomins focus on raising their potato crop. THE ENDLESS STEPPE is based on the authors true-life experience. On the day of the contest, she walks into town in her old dress and sweater and is the first one to arrive. Chapter 11 Summary Despite the muddiness of spring, Esther is happy in school and with her friends. She makes a sarcastic comment to Esther, telling her that there are no prizes (implying that Jewish people are only interested in money).Įsther spends a great deal of time practicing: she recites the poem over and over to her mother, her grandmother, and anyone who will listen. As a child, Hautzig and her family had the bad luck to be living in Poland (now Lithuania) just as WWII was starting up and Germany was invading places left, right, and center. Raisa does not like her, and does not like the idea of a poor Polish Jewish girl participating in the contest. Without any more further gushing, let me now introduce you to the title The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig. Forced from their home and friends, the Rudomins are herded onto crowded cattle cars.

The Rudomins, the soldiers say, are 'capitalists - enemies of the people'. Soldiers storm 10-year-old Esther Rudomin's house and arrest her entire family. The readings have to be chosen off a list which includes odes to Stalin, soldiers, and the Russian people, poems about the Stakhanov workers, and at the bottom of the list, 'Eugene Onegin' by Pushkin.Įsther asks to read Tatyanna's dream from 'Onegin'. The Russian army invades the beautiful city streets of Vilna. Esther's teacher, Raisa Nikitovna, announces the declamation contest.