Summary

In the short story “The Rejection” by Woody Allen, Boris and Anna Ivanovich learn that their three-year-old son, Mischa, has been rejected by Manhattan’s best nursery school. Boris imagines that a co-worker at Bear Stearns, Siminov, will mock him for this failure. 

The following Monday, Siminov warns Boris that Mischa will not be accepted in any Ivy League college[c1] . He then tells Boris a story about a young man who failed to get into a top kindergarten. This led to the man attending public school and barber college, resulting in a tragic life which eventually led him to alcoholism and murder. 

Boris and Anna become increasingly distressed because of Mischa’s rejection. Unable to sleep, Boris imagines his son being interviewed at a prestigious firm and rejected because he lacks basic ki...