In this passage, the tensions that have been simmering beneath the surface of the Roth family’s lives all summer boil over. The sadness of watching their friends and neighbors depart leaves Bess and Herman feeling angry, helpless, and, above all, terrified. Bess, whose fears about the fate of American Jews have long made her family see her as “paranoid,” now feels vindicated—she has known all along that the
goyim will never truly see Jewish people as Americans.