Annihilation

Quote
"Don't let yourself be fooled with illusion. Hitler has made it very clear that he will annihilate all the Jews before the clock strikes twelve, before they can hear the last stroke"(76).

Response
Historical Evidence:
Just to think about what the Jews went through in the Holocaust and that it actually happened is very sad. This quote shows that it was all real and the struggles people went through.

One Man for Himself

Quote
"These were terrible days. We received more blows than food; we were crushed with work. And three days after he had gone we forgot to say the Kaddish.

Response
Choice of Detail:
After Akiba Drumer found out that he was going to be sent to the crematory he asked Elie and his dad after he passed if they could say the Kaddish for him. But after three days had passed Elie realized that they never said it for him. The camp had consumed peoples ability to have feeling for other people and all people worried about was their own survival.

All Faith Gone

Quote
"Blessed be the name of the Eternal! Why, but why should i bless Him? In every fiber I rebelled"(64).

Response
Authors Identity:
All through his life (Elie) he  had always had God, it was a part of him. His religion was a part of him that was important. But here in the camp he has lost faith and feels like Man is greater than God. He feels like God is supposed to be such high in power nut he is letting all these thing happen to him and the Jews and all they have done is warship and pray to God. A part of him has ben taken away that will never be the same.

Nothing in Return

Chapter 4 - Struggle for Survival

Quote
"I'll give you an extra ration of bread and margarine. He was very keen on my shoes; but i did not give them up to him. (Later on they were taken from me just the same. But in exchange for nothing this time)"(46).

Response
Choice of Detail:
Elie didn't want to trade his shoes for bread because they were new and he liked them. But somebody else ended up taking them from him but they did no give him anything in return. Its ironic because he had a chance to give them away or extra food but instead decided not to and the still got taken away.

No Emotion

Chapter 4 - Struggle for Survival


Quote
"That same evening in the lavatory(bathroom), the dentist from Warsaw pulled out my crowned tooth, with the aid of a rusty spoon"(53).

Response
Voice:
As the book progresses you can tell that when Elie writes he shows no emotion. In the quote above Elie describes how he a man pulls out his tooth in a bathroom, which is probably very dirty, with a spoon. He uses no emotion to describe the event.

No Body

Chapter 4 - Struggle for Survival

Quote

"I had watched the whole scene without moving. I kept quiet. In fact i was thinking of how to get my father away so that i would not be hit myself. What is more, any anger i felt at that moment was directed, not against the Kapo, but against my father "(52).

Response

Authors Identity:

Elie's character has changed so much since before coming to Auschwitz. It's as if he has no feelings but anger and he was mad at his father for getting beat up instead of feeling scared. He wants to stay under the radar so he can survive, but he doesn't want his father to die either.

Night

Chapter 3 - First Night

Quote
" Never shall i forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night"(32).

Response
Symbolism:
This detail that Elie adds to his book shows how the first night that he went to Auschwitz has scared him for his life. Night doesn't have the same meaning for him as it does to us. Its a symbol for the day he got everything taken away.