Reading this book has truly been a struggle. It hurts my heart knowing that all the events that have occurred so far are real, and I am almost certain those are not the worst of them. We as a class are not even that far into the book, yet what has happened already is hard to take in. The screams and cries of children being separated from their mothers, the guards’ harsh voices which gave everyone the feel of helplessness, and not knowing what to do or where to go -- it's all one big scare, both to the people in the story and to us as readers. These innocent people have done nothing, nothing at all, and now they’re being taken away not knowing where they’re headed: “‘There are eighty of you in the car,’ the German officer added. ‘If anyone goes missing, you will all be shot, like dogs’” (24). There is no escape, and that may be how they will live their lives forever. Cries filled the car, leaving everyone full of sorrow. As Elie and his father are heading toward the crematoria, he thinks, “I pinched myself: Was I still alive? Was I awake… Soon I would wake up with a start, my heart pounding, and find that I was back in the room of my childhood, with my books…” (32). It's a living nightmare. Everyone is scared for their lives.
Elie’s writing is very descriptive and keeps the reader right on the tip of their chair. He describes people in such a way that it makes you feel like you know the person from the heart. Elie uses sensory language in most of his writing and it really makes you feel like you’re there and witnessing the same events. He mentions “the smell of burning flesh”(28) and his “forehead being covered in cold sweat” (33). Only being forty pages into this book has broken my heart and many others’ into a thousand, lost pieces.
Gabby,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with how you feel. The fact that anyone would have to go through that amount of pain and trauma is horrible. The was you described the experience that Elie went through seems pretty accurate. I also like the way you described your quotes. Overall, good job on your first blog.
Gabby,
ReplyDeleteBrilliant work! I do agree with you that this book is very difficult to read, although I do enjoy it as it helps widen my knowledge with the Holocaust. Your first quote is a powerful one, and does reflect on how the Germans treated the Jews, and not humans, like themselves. How the German soldier said to one of the Jews that he would " shoot them like dogs" is utterly terrible. Overall, this blog is very well done. Keep up the work!