Chattahoochee River
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Ch.7 Sleep
Reading the first two pages of this chapter, I found it selfish of Elie to wake his father from his deep sleep, practically waking his father up from the dead. I know this thought comes off as cruel and insensitive, but at this point, Elie's father was clearly unfit to push on. All the marching through the snow had exhausted him completely, leaving him nothing but a lifeless body. Sure he had been able to withstand unimaginable trials up to now, but who's to know when it'd all end? And how much longer could he possible brave through the suffering? Elie had a chance to put an end to his father's agony, yet he chose to prolong his torment.
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Kingsly, I thought the same thing when I was reading this chapter. However, I soon realized that Elie was trying to save his father since those who look weak and who stayed in one spot tend to stay there and die.He wanted his father to survive but it is understandable that you think this way.
ReplyDeleteThey are all each other had through the tough times they were there for each other keeping each other accountable. Elie waking his father up seemed like an act of love to me because Elie sacrificed his own comfort to see that his father would be able to continue on. They knew that time was against them at any time they could have given up but they chose not to. They chose to persevere until they no longer possibly could.
ReplyDeleteI think it was selfish, but at the same time they really need each other. He is his father's strength and his father is his strength. They're fighting for one another and it's the only thing that is really getting them through the tough times. Without knowing what happened to the rest of their family, all they have is each other and neither wants to let go of that. Would you stop fighting for your father?
ReplyDeleteI think it was selfish, but at the same time they really need each other. He is his father's strength and his father is his strength. They're fighting for one another and it's the only thing that is really getting them through the tough times. Without knowing what happened to the rest of their family, all they have is each other and neither wants to let go of that. Would you stop fighting for your father?
ReplyDeleteI think it is natural for us to think both that he was selfish and also that he was trying to save him. People who have gone through a family member suffering from a debilitating disease such as cancer feel similar things -- on the one hand they want to try everything possible to save their loved one, but at a point they just want them to be pain free and at peace (and when their loved one does pass away, there are feelings of relief because it truly is such a stressful situation). But it is that battle of self between guilt and relief that haunts so many who have experienced difficult situations with loved ones. Another example is when a person is a drug addict or an alcoholic....
ReplyDeleteI didn't see the action as selfish, because I felt that it he was trying to keep the promise that he made when he didn't want to be the type of son to abandon his father.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mrs. Schulz. In one way we can look at it as selfish because he needs his father in order to keep his will to live but his father had also done the same to him. When Elie fell asleep in the snow his father woke him up.They relied on each other for an external will to survive. Elie loves his father. His goal is that they both survive and both be able to share freedom with each other.
ReplyDeleteI can see your point King. I think had his father died a large chunk of Elie's reason to live would've died along with him, and therefore he was too scared to have that happen. He was selfish in the sense of not willing to let his father die (at that time) because he too was afraid to die.
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