"My God, Lord of the Universe, give me strength never to do what Rabbi
Eliahu's son has done."
This phrase stood out to me because it made me
think that maybe, just maybe, Elie is/was contemplating doing just as Rabbi Eliahu's
son had. If this thought hadn't crossed Elie's mind, I don't think he
would have felt the need to prayed to God to steer him from abandoning his father. Up to this point in the novel, we see that his father is the only thing he has to live for, and every decision that they make is for the both of them. Without the other, there would be no motive to survive. So this thought terrifies Elie. What would he possibly gain from abandoning his father?
I do not think that Elie necessarily believed he would intentionally leave his father to better himself. I think that he thought that there may be a moment that he was at his worst, and act on impulse and abandon his father. He was praying so that he would never sink that low.
ReplyDeleteI Also don't think Elie had thoughts of doing the unthinkable and leaving his father to die. I think that without the father, Elie would not have the motivation and the strength to make it through the torture so I beliebe that he made that prayer so that he would never leave his father to die because he would end up dying himself.
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