Chattahoochee River
Friday, January 16, 2015
In the second chapter of this book there was an instant when I was moved by madame Schachter's little boy trying to console her and stop her hysteria. I realized that this little kid was quite mature and caring as he held onto his mother's hand. I also thought that even though I felt really bad for how Mrs. Schachter was feeling about the whole situation, and her 'spooky' (at least I think so, but if you know something more about this then post) knowledge of how fire would be involved in the massacre of the Jews and other people, I felt that she should have come back to her senses because her son was terrified and afraid and he needed her at that moment. She should have consoled him ( which might have been quite useless however it might have helped the little kid to feel better) or at least not have scared him even more since he was already scared. " It's nothing Mother! There's nothing there... Please sit down...he pained me even more than did his mother's cries."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hermelinda, I agree with your judgment of the little boy's maturity in consoling his mother. I don't believe Elie stated the boy's age (or even his name for that matter) but regardless, it must have taken a tremendous amount of courage to continue to console his mother even while battling his own fear.
ReplyDeleteWe do typically picture mother's as the people who soothe us when we're scared and nurture us when we're ill, but I think the fact that the roles have been flipped in this scenario truly demonstrates the transformative effects of the Holocaust.
Men who'd once been honorable fathers and husbands were now prejudiced sociopaths, or helpless prisoners. Women who'd lived full lives as mothers and wives were now defenseless to their impeding deaths. And children who lived jovial lives, and weren't even old enough to understand their plight, were divided from their fathers and ruthlessly executed.
Chinyere, thank you for commenting. Yes, you have a great point; the Holocaust really did affect people in different ways and brought despair in different levels to everyone. Perhaps because she was older and knew more of the situation made her realize how frightening and scary everything would turn out or maybe she knew more about human nature and fear for much longer made her even more afraid.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hermelinda on the boy's maturity, but as much as we'd love for that sweet moment when she'd get "back to her senses" and console her son, it would be incredibly difficult. It would be nearly impossible to reverse the amount of trauma influencing her mental breakdown because of all of her losses and what she probably serves to foreshadow as well. I don't think we could or exactly want to imagine what she sees during the few words she cries (and the times she doesn't cry) out. I wonder how the boy or others around family members going through similar mental breakdowns are affected (based on that alone)
ReplyDeleteDiana, thank you for commenting ( I apologize for answering late). Yes, you are right. It is hard to get over a trauma. I don't necessarily know this but I can only try to understand and she was probably just fragile which isn't bad, everyone is strong in different situations. Hope this reply didn't sound too offensive.
ReplyDelete