When reading this chapter, I noticed the difference from the
very beginning of the book in where Elie was really scared to lose his father
and to be separated from him, to showing a bit of relief when he found out his
father was taken to the crematory. Although Elie was upset that his father was
gone for good, I feel that he also felt a sense of relief that his father was
now dead. This was because he knew now his father would finally be at peace. He knew
that even if his father still lived physically, emotionally and mentally they
were dead. Elie said “a corpse gazed back at me,” when he was finally free and
looked in a mirror. This shows that he isn’t happy that he’s still living. The
Nazis caused for the Jews to lose their sense of humanity. Elie really felt
that he has nothing to live for now that he has no one.
I agree with your thoughts on how Elie seemed to feel about his father. At first I thought it was terrible that he found it relieving that his father had died, but after considering all of the terrible things he had been through, it seemed as if death was less cruel than how he was being treated.
ReplyDeleteHis conflicting emotions were quite obvious and I think he was very upset that he felt relieved. He was obviously very sad, but he knew a weight had been lifted from him and this is where the relief stems from. This was definitely in stark contrast to how he felt at the beginning of the book, so I agree with you on that.
ReplyDeleteLizette, I had initially interpreted Eli's relief at his father's death a result of Eli being lifted of his father's burden and of the responsibility he felt towards him. But after reading your post, I see that Eli's relief could also come from him knowing that his father is finally at peace.
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