The Professor Summary

Schwartz is just eight years old when a telegram arrives notifying him of his mother's death. Since his father, a mostly unemployed and unemotional man, cannot read English, Schwartz must read the missive and then break the tragic news.

Schwartz's mother operated a candy store until she got sick. After that, she would sit by the window, watching her sons play in the street. When she called down to him asking him to get her medicine, he pretended not to hear her. In his child's mind, if he ignored the fact she was ill, she would get better.

The family lived in poverty, but after his mother's death, family members send Schwartz and his younger brother, David, to the country. They thrive in the fresh air and greenery. Suddenly, though, David is stricken with polio, and Schwartz blames himself. The brothers...