Chattahoochee River
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Chapter 5
The most intriguing part of this chapter was Elie's treatment of Jewish holidays that he once held dear. Instead of praising God like he used to, he spends these holidays in rebellion against God. Instead of fasting he chooses to eat his bread as a sign of defiance. Elie has had enough of the idea of praising a God who has allowed atrocities such as the one his currently enduring come to pass. Many of the prisoners are wary of making the choices that Elie did because they still fear the wrath of God. This is interesting because Elie chooses to defy Jewish tradition in these instances, knowing that many of his fellow inmates believe this could lead to his death.
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You mention that Elie refused to fast, because it was actually his father who made the final decision. Elie wasnt really sure if he wanted to fast or not, but then his father forbade him from fasting, forcing him to eat his rations of bread.
ReplyDeleteI also found Elie's treatment toward the Jewish holidays intriguing since at the beginning of this book he was a devout Jew. In this chapter he does seem to have gathered anger towards God because of all the terrible events going on around him yet never throughout this chapter has he denied the existence of God. I just found that very interesting because it shows that at peoples worst moments, everyone still needs something to believe in.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was strange that the other Jews were afraid of the wrath of God, considering what they had already gone through. How much worse could the wrath of God be in comparison to what they were experiencing at the hands of the German soldiers? I feel like Elie was focused on how divinity/God seemed to be allowing the German soldiers to commit atrocities, whereas the other Jews seemed to think of these actions as the fault of humanity, separate from God and His will.
ReplyDeleteSome of the Jews may have believed that it was somehow their fault and they were receiving the judgment of God, so they were still trying to please God with the hope that that would fix everything.
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