Chattahoochee River
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Chapter 1: Delusion
Reality to me, seems like something the citizens around Elie ignored. Not necessarily in the sense that they were insane or refused to believe that anything was wrong, simply that hope seemed to get in the way of coping with the changes around them. Perhaps it was because the changes occurred too quickly for them to really let it settle in. However I see this throughout the first chapter with the idea that their views, "...[were] ruled by delusion". The people clung onto hope even as they heard the horrifying stories from Moishe. Even as the Germans forced them into ghettos. Even as they saw their loved ones beaten. Hope carried on. I took the liberty of reading the Preface to see if maybe he mentioned something about the delusions of the people. An explanation as to why some didn't take the chance to escape or believe the stories. "...and illusion-which is dangerous. We believed in God, trusted man, and lived with the illusion that every one of us has been entrusted with a sacred spark from the Shekhinah's flame; that every one of us carries in his eyes and in his soul a reflection of God's image. That was the source if not the cause of all our ordeals."
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I agree with you Yoaly, they did not live in reality. Throughout the first chapter it seems as though they were living in a state of illusion but i also believe that most were in shock because of how the soldiers completely changed form smiling to them at first to then taking them away form there homes.Also, hope that they had was so strong that they could not see completely all the negativity around them.
ReplyDeleteYoaly, I also agree with you. :P The control that hope (with optimistic distortions of reality) had over their heads was something to which they would rather succumb than to the ugly, harsh reality that surrounded them in a place with people who were once so free and lively
ReplyDeleteYoaly, I agree with all that you said, about the Jews using their sense of hope as a technique to cope with the horrible situation. But also, I believe that the only reason that the Jews seeked for optimism was because that's the last thing they had. They were filled with so much fear that that ended up being their las option.
ReplyDeleteI agree Yoaly, life was changing so rapidly for them hope is all they had to hold on to. It seem that when life seems cruel and unfair we cling to the illusion as a way to protect ourselves from the pain of being hurt.
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