Chattahoochee River
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Chapter 3
I personally found the very first page for this chapter quite powerful. Because the author did not describe nor mention his family in the previous chapter, they are the first to be mentioned in chapter 3. Whether or not that was intentional, I don't know. However the way he described their separation was truly heartbreaking. I felt that his family was a close one, perhaps not all the time considering that his father wasn't aware of family matters, regardless there was respect and love. I believe that this sudden split, was the beginning of Elie's doubt towards not only God, but of humanity. Though this time I did take into consideration that he wrote this based on his memory, perhaps the small details involving "Mother was stroking my sister's blond hair, as if to protect her." were added to increase the intensity of what he felt that first night, or perhaps it's a faint final memory that he'd like to keep in a peaceful tone.
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Yoaly, I think that you have a great point. I think too and when he recalled everything he was just still too much in pain because he mentioned that he will never forge these things. I think that maybe didn't want to mention them much is probably because he just couldn't and he didn't want to share it with the rest because his thoughts and feelings were his to keep. Also he din't know much of what was going on with them and he was just writing about what happened when he experienced the Holocaust. I realize that my comment is quite vague and confusing, so lastly, I agree that he wanted to keep this memory in a peaceful tone.
ReplyDeleteYes I see where you are coming from about maybe he just couldn't really mention his family because it was hard. In the very beginning of the book, in the prologue I think, Elie does consider whether or not he might have said too much in this book, so perhaps he was afraid he could have said too much because it was just too personal. In the end, it must be hard for anyone who went through this to talk about it freely.
DeleteI agree with you Yoaly, it is heart wrenching to read of his family's separation especially knowing that when I am apart from my family I feel a part of me is missing.
ReplyDeleteYoaly, I agree on the transformation there seems to be going on with Elie, with his strong beliefs in his religion to his doubt in god and humanity. I believe this doubt was instilled in him by his family being teared apart and also by seeing the atrocities going on around him. Even though he he seems to be losing faith, throughout the chapter he still prays from time to time because that's all that he has left.
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