This is a picture of an infirmary after it was taken over by the Russians - where survival was unknown at the time, but guaranteed in the end:
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
BPangborn: Response Two 3/6
As I began to read the second portion of Night by Elie Wiesel, I continued to
feel more sympathy for the characters and I felt as though I became apart of
the text. The conditions in the concentration camps only worsened and started
to make Elie unresponsive to the events occurring around him. As he grew more
and more emotionless by the minute, he didn’t even blink an eye when his father
was getting beaten (54). I was starting to feel as though Elie was being
corrupted. Prior to this event, Wiesel described the rare qualities of a Jewish
Blockalteste named Alphonse. He was a
very generous leader who would “organize a cauldron of soup for the young, for
the weak, for all those who dreamed more of an extra portion of food than
liberty” (51). It showed that even during madness of the Holocaust, the Jewish
race still provided for and respected one another. My thoughts were quickly
altered though, as Elie was helpless and showed not one care about his father.
Wiesel was beginning to deteriorate physically and emotionally: he was punished
with a whipping for spying on Idek, and was losing hope in God. When two men
and a child were hanged, many asked, “Where is God?” and the response was,
“hanging from the gallows.” This marked Elie’s realization that there was
absolutely no hope left for God to save the Jewish prisoners from the camps,
and he recounted that “the soup tasted of corpses” that night (65). As the last
day in Auschwitz arrived, I began thinking…will this actually be their last
day? Last day, not only meaning in Auschwitz, but living…? Heartache struck me
when I learned that the Russians freed the people who stayed in the infirmary
after the war (82). If Elie and his father had only stayed in the infirmary,
safe, with an abundance of food and freedom in their future, his father’s life
would’ve never been lost – which would have saved Elie from a great deal of
grief. In my eyes, I believe that is the worst way to die – knowing that
someone will be pleased with their cruel actions. To be completely honest, if I
were in this situation, I would’ve committed suicide by now. I would never let
my enemy have the satisfaction of making my life a mere memory.
This is a picture of an infirmary after it was taken over by the Russians - where survival was unknown at the time, but guaranteed in the end:
This is a picture of an infirmary after it was taken over by the Russians - where survival was unknown at the time, but guaranteed in the end:
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I agree. In the begining he had to study his Jewish religion and their entire community was focused around his orthodox Jewish religion. But now that the enviorment is becomming stressful Elie is going to start to give up on his God? To me it doesnt really make sence becuase when things get bad most people rely on God more, not give up on him. It kinda makes me think is he in this religion becuase he wants to? Or becuase he was raised into it and didn't really have a choice either way?
ReplyDeleteYou said that you would have given up by now. I don't think I would be able to give up. It's like starting homework; I say that I will start it in a second, and then in another second. I keep delaying it because it's so hard to actully commit to it. I feel like just giving up would be the same way.
http://0.tqn.com/d/history1900s/1/0/p/7/buchenwald5.jpg
in this picture you can see how skinny they became and also how close their bunks were
One sentence you stated really stood out to me,"Elie was being corrupted", which I completely agree with. This whole situation did transform him, in more ways then one. He defintly lost faith God but can you blame him? Their leader has completly abandoned them, leaving them alone, hopeless, and scared. Also, he loses sight in his father- he often times thinks that his lofe wouldbe so much easier without the burden of his father. His father has been there every moment of Elie's life, helping him for the furture- I dont understand how a situation like this would push them farther apart rather then closer together.
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