Chattahoochee River
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Holding Out Hope
I am almost skeptical as to whether Mrs. Schachter really was screaming about a fire when they were in the cattle car because the foreshadowing is almost too accurate. With that being said, I closely followed the way Elie described Mrs. Schachter's son throughout her progression into insanity while they were on the train car. With her first few cries, he is very tearful and scared because of the way his mother is acting. As she continues, Elie notes that her son stops crying, but continues to cling to her. The son knows his mother has gone insane, but she is the only piece left of his broken world. His father and two older brothers are gone, and his mother is all he has left, insane or not. He continues to hold her and comfort her all the way through their journey, and Elie observes he is still clinging to her when they are forced to exit the car. I think these observations may mean that the boy is still clinging to the old life he had, whatever is left of it. He is clinging onto his mother the same way the Jews are clinging to the hope they will be okay, even though they know they are in too deep. The same way Mrs. Schachter is already too far gone.
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This is a really good point that Loren and I were discussing earlier. It's so hard to believe that a character like Mrs. Schätcher existed, and it's also such a belief chapter
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ReplyDeleteWhat a very interesting connection you have made Mr. Carlin! The boy continues to cling onto his mother, yet she has practically gone insane. This is similar to the Jews in that they continue to have hope eventhough they know life will never be the same. But I completely understand as to why the boy and the Jews are having a hard time to accept the worst. Most humans deny the truth as a way to deal with the situation.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing about Mrs. Schachter. Such accurate foreshadowing makes it hard to believe she was real and that this situation really happened.
ReplyDeleteI like the connection you made about the son though because he is also a symbol, just clinging on to something that is already gone. I didn't think about it in that way, but you make a valid point and now I can see how much meaning the boy held in the chapter.
I also found the events with Mrs Schachter hard to believe because of the foreshadowing. Do you think it's possible that she was a made up character? That like when we were reading The Things They Carried, the author created events not because they actually happened but to build up emotions in the reader that were felt by him while experiencing the event. Maybe we got the basic story but there were added details and characters because it was more intense and made it somehow more relatable to how the Jews were feeling at the time...to give us a better idea of the dehumanization they were going through? Just a thought..
ReplyDeleteYes I think it is very possible that she was a made up character. Her fabrication would definitely intensify the emotions of the chapter, and it would emphasize Elie Wiesel's message. If that is the case, then the comparison between her creation and the creation of characters in The Things We Carried is applicable.
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