Chattahoochee River
Monday, January 26, 2015
Ch 5: Regretful Decision?
In chapter 5, one of the most obvious events that stand out is Elie's decision to move on with the camp instead of staying in the infirmary. His whole nightmare would have ended, as he bluntly reveals in a factual tone which actually emphasizes the irony of the situation, had he decided to stay in the infirmary, which was later liberated by the Russians. Instead, he presses onward with his father, staying with the camp and prolonging his torture. I think the most common reaction to this story is feeling a sense of extreme pity for Elie. However, I think he made the right decision. We all make decisions where, looking in hindsight, we realized what would have been the easier choice, but at the time when we make the choice we use rationale as our director. Elie's logic was simple: I have an unknown chance of dying or an unknown chance of living if I stay, or a definite (though not large) chance of living if I go. After surviving through the countless torments that he has already endured, I'm pretty sure Elie was not about to throw his life away to an unknown chance of life or death. He went with what he was sure of, and though it's almost torture in itself to realize the repercussions had he stayed with at the camp, I don't blame Elie for deciding to move on and continuing his dreadful journey.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree. It's easy to tell from the sidelines what we think players should be doing -- or to make a comment about the past when we have knowledge of what someone's future held. I think this situation in chapter 5 brings up an interesting question of choice vs chance...
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a really great point. There would have been so much left to chance if he would have remained in the infirmary. And although they were liberated, he had no way of knowing what would happen. Elie made the choice to remain in control of his life which was probably hard considering what he would face upon returning to camp.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interesting how throughout the whole book Elie inforces that in order to survive you have to seem healthy. He tries to avoid being in the infirmary as long as possible because he is afraid the SS will no longer see and value in him. When the people in the infirmary were liberated it goes against everything he was taught for survival.
ReplyDelete