Chattahoochee River
Friday, January 16, 2015
Powerful phrases
In my mind I connect the cattle cars and the dehumanizations they represent to the slave trade, when thousands of slaves were subjected to small spaces filled with filth and squalor. "Our eyes opened. Too late". This phrased started the chapter in a powerful way because the author reflected on the events that metaphor and similes are the best way to not only draw the reader's attention and force them to empathize with the situation. When Elie Wiesal writes, "The world had be one a hermetically sealed cattle car," I can almost Imagine being there. "Look at the flames." This became the most powerful phrase of them all because what they believed as the consequence of madness turned into reality in the end and this simulated to the reader the blinding sense of ignorance that the Jews faced.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think along with ignorance it was the utter denial that something so evil would be possible in the world. It just shows how cruel the Nazis treated the Jews if people didn't even THINK these things could happen to people. Their utter lack of empathy for people who they saw as impurities is disturbing because it's like they don't see them as human beings at all. And with regards to how they treated Jews, I don't think they did.
ReplyDeleteAngi, I also juxtaposed the Holocaust to the Slave Trade because both occurrences were based on the idea that "they" are some how inferior to "us" and deserved to be subjected.
ReplyDeleteYvonne, I also agree with your assessment about the Jews were in denial and disbelieving that any humans could be responsible for something so horrendous and wicked.
Ultimately, I think that major connection between both of your arguments. the ignorance that Angi discussed and the denial that Yvonne discussed, was fear. Often times we fear what we don't know (and sometimes we even fear what we do know) because our lack of knowledge keeps us "blinded" as you mentioned Angi, hence we feel helpless to act in a given situation.
At the same time, I think fear is also the basis of Yvonne's argument about the Jews denial because as I said above, even when we know the truth, and in this case the terribly devastating truth, we can't always bring ourselves to acknowledge it because in doing so, we have to admit our vulnerability and helplessness.
"Our eyes opened. Too late." You mention the power behind this line and then never go into any real detail about it. What I get from that line is that they literally failed to see the truth of the matter, and once they did, it was too late to do anything about it. I think it is more than just a powerful metaphor or simile used as a tactic to draw the reader in.
ReplyDelete