The Winter Circus—The Strike and The Winter Circus, Christmas Journal 1 Summary and Analysis

In "The Strike," Gopnik discussed a strike that began with railroad workers and spread to other transport employees, government postal and telephone company workers, and even to students. Gopnik's personal concern was whether the strike would prevent him from receiving a turkey he ordered for a belated Thanksgiving meal, and he was told by the rotisserie manager that the outlook was bad. The goal of the strikers, Gopnik explained, was conservative: they intended to protect the status quo by protesting recent governmental budget cuts that would affect their conditions. Similarly, the students wanted smaller classes and more government subsidies.

To Gopnik, the strike was a prime example of a French penchant for handling difficulties simply by pretending they weren't...