"I didn't know that this was the moment in time and the place where I was leaving my mother and Tzipora forever."This line appears on the very first page of the chapter, and although Wiesel does not go into detail about it, it really stood out to me. The line felt like it held so much meaning. There was no way he could have known he would never see his mother and sisters again, and I'm sure he still has no idea what exactly happened to them, but maybe it's better not to know. The one thing that I find odd is that he never mentions his other sisters leaving him, only his youngest sister Tzipora. I just wonder if they were not there with them in the first place or if he just shared a bigger connection and love for his youngest sister? I'm not sure we'll ever know the answer to that.
The other lines that really stood out to me was: "The student of Talmud, the child I was, had been consume by the flames....My soul had been invaded - and devoured - by a black flame." In my post for chapter two, I mentioned the symbolism of the fire and how it would consume them figuratively and literally, and it turns out Wiesel felt the same way. A flame truly had consumed the person he once was as the fear of death surrounded him, changing every aspect of the child he arrived as. He was now a whole new person faced with the truth and horrors that lay behind the walls of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
As I was reading chapter three, those lines stood out to me as well! Especially the line about his mother. Throughout the entire chapter, we never really find out what happened to them. One thing that I also noticed, was that Ellie did not mention his mother again until later on in the chapter. Perhaps it was because he was scared of what was happening to him, his father, and everyone else around him that did not want to think of the worst when it came to his mom and sister.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. It was odd that he only mentioned them twice throughout chapter 3, but I do believe it was easier to not talk about it. And maybe everything was just too overwhelming to even consider what possibly could have happened to the rest of his family. At the time, Elie had to concentrate on his and his father's survival.
DeleteMikaela, you are pretty much right. I also noticed that he didn't mention his mother very often. Perhaps it pained him too much to talk about his mother. Perhaps mentioning her more often would have hurt more. He also probably mentioned his youngest sister more because he knew her more since his other sisters were much older and like you said he had a deeper connection with his youngest sister. I also think that he was consumed by this "black flame" since he started to avoid his faith in God but a part of him still believed in Him since he thanked Him for mud. Therefore, I think a part of him still remained intact.
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