Chattahoochee River
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Chapter 6 - The Violin
I have always noticed Juliek and his violin, but during this reading of Night, I was really struck by the symbolic value of the violin and perhaps why Elie included such an image during this chapter. The violin is one of the few things of beauty Elie discusses. I believe it represents the will or hope of the Jews. It is interesting how Elie personifies the violin, calling it "an eerily poignant little corpse." The Nazis allowed the Jews to play instruments, and they even commissioned an orchestra at Auschwitz. Perhaps the music provided hope to those who were in the camps; maybe the Jews thought that people who enjoyed music could not possibly extinguish a human race. The music was one of the very few human aspects the Jews experienced during their imprisonment.
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That is an interesting perspective. It seems as though throughout the book we have seen small flickers of humane actions and human aspects in a mostly inhumane environment. These little bright spots give the Jews the little glimmer of hope that some of them need to push through. I think Elie includes them to show that there was still hope despite being spread very thinly.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I agree. I think the message is that even in the worst of all situations, there is goodness to be seen. Sometimes the goodness might be there as defiance of the evil - a message to those who are doing wrong that says no matter how hard you try, we will not succumb to the evil.
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