"'Men to the left! Women to the right!' Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion. Eight short, simple words. Yet that was the moment when I parted from my mother. I had not had time to think, but already I felt the pressure of my father's hand: we were alone."
I feel that Elie is very confused and conflicted in this quote. He analyzes those eight words as if he's never heard them before. He was scared, and in that short of a moment when those words were spoken, he didn't know how to respond. His father is with him, but indicates that they're on their own; that this was their last goodbye to Tzipora and Elie's mother. This implies a deep sadness in the fact that all that he had known, all that he'd been raised with, was now erased and life as he know it disappeared.
"I pinched my face. Was I still alive? Was I awake? I could not believe it. How could it be possible for them to burn people, children, and for the world to keep silent? NO, none of this could be true. It was a nightmare...Soon I should wake with a start, my heart pounding, and find myself back in the bedroom of my childhood, among my books.."
During this time, he was stricken with disbelief, and was exasperated at how these terrifying at horrific atrocities could happen; seeing all these innocent people die with no regards to their family, homes, dreams, life, and religion. How could they do such a thing? Elie believed that this couldn't be real. People couldn't be so filled with hatred and be so naive as to follow a psychopath's orders to exterminate human beings because they're slightly different. How could this be? This shows at how much of a humane, loving, curious, but naive person he was. Though later on, he would soon change and face the reality of the truth.
2 comments:
Excellent analysis but make sure you cite the quote :)
This is good, but like Jacob said. Make sure you cite the quote :p
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