Once again Elie is the protagonist. The showers are a form of symbolism. The symbolize ness and the breaking down of the man. Both physically and spiritually. There is irony present when Elie states, Blessed be Thou, Almighty, Master of the Universe, who chose us among all nations to be d day and night, to watch as our fathers, our mothers and our brothers end up in the furnaces? Praise be Thy Holy Name, for having chosen us to be slaghtered on Thine altar? Once these prayers were prayed in a loving reverant way, now they are being offered in rebellion. The conflict is man/man and man/self. Man/man in how Elie and the other captors are treated, and man/self in the form of self doubt and questioning Elie has now in his heart.
The part of this section which has the greatest impact on me is when the little boy is hanged and he is still alive. I can visualize his face and wonder WHY, WHY, WHY. I can hear his cry and feel the need to rescue him from his impending . Would I be willing to stand by and let someone kill my son Branden, or would I die helping save him? How could the men of that day stand and watch? I also see in this another form of simile, when the captors are told to remove their hats and then place them back on their heads when the men and children are hung. This is as if they were to salute them as they died. My heart has been moved.
1 comment:
Nice job! The questions you ask are questions that I think every mother asks herself when she reads this moving memoir. We hope that we never, never have to make such a choice. 6/6
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