Chattahoochee River
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Staying Alive
In chapter four, one thing I noticed was that the Jews were loosing empathy towards the other prisoners and were acting more like animals. For example, when Elie witnessed his father being beaten, all he thinks about is getting farther away so he doesn't get beaten. This demonstrates the he is concentrated on his own survival rather than showing compassion for his father. Many of the prisoners also acted the same way. They cared only about themselves and ceased to care about others. They were obsessed with food and this became vital to their survival. Food had ultimately become the only thought of the prisoners and because of this, they became detached from feeling any other emotions. For example, when the Jews were about to witness the first execution of one of the prisoners, Juliek had said, "This ceremony, will it be over soon? I'm hungry..." In a moment were they were about to witness death, all Juliek cared about was food rather than feeling sad. This further shows their desire for food and longing to stay alive.
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I'm starting to think that maybe, along with survival purposes, the prisoners became so attached and obsessed with food because it was easier than trying to feel compassionate and empathetic towards the other prisoners. At that point, everyone was giving up hope because they had lost everything and so many people had been killed, and I think it would be really hard to try to keep hope after continuously being hurt again and again. I think maybe they became so attached to the food because it was the only thing they could somewhat depend on, the only thing that wasn't going to hurt them.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very interesting point Marisa. To the Jews, the food not only represented survival, but also was something they could count on. Perhaps their obsession with food and survival was a way to hide their true feelings.
DeleteDo you their newfound attachment to food is creating detachment to other parts of life such as their relationships with each other? I think it is a coping mechanism to deal with the harsh realities they are dealing with, but I also think it is hindering their connections with each other.
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