Marco Corona
Ms. Bosch
English Honors 10
12 January 2009
Journal Entry’s
1-10
Pg. 8
“Moshe the Beadle came running to our house. ‘I warned you,’ he cried and without waiting for a reply, he fled.”
Reflection:
I was surprised with Moshe, for in the beginning Moshe was a great person, a lively person one could have said, however when he returns, he is truly dead inside himself. Moshe was a cheerful man and a man that had a faith so powerful that it did not matter who intervened or put him down he was happy and that was what was important.
11-20
Pg. 13
“Then he understood. He got out of bed and with automatic movements began to get dressed. Then he went then he went up to the bed where his wife slept and touched her brow with infinite tenderness; she opened her eyes and it seemed to me that her lips were brushed by a smile. Then he went to his children’s beds and woke them swiftly, dragging them from their dreams. I fled.”
Reflection:
The reason why I chose this quote was because it showed the affection and tenderness of a family, more so because the father had an idea of what they were going to confront. Another factor was that the father was strong enough to stick with his family instead of hiding trying to forget to not suffer what he felt he might suffer along with his family. I also chose the quote because it shows how family, is all the Jews had, anything else would have been of less or equal importance.
21-30
Pg. 24
“Once more the young men tied her up and gagged her. They even struck her. People encouraged: Make her be quiet! She’s mad! Shut her up! She’s not the only one. She can keep her mouth shut...”
Reflection:
I chose this quote for I wanted to show wrong of it was of the Jews to do that to the poor women. Supposedly, the woman was mad, according to the Jews on the bus. The Jews go by the Old Testament, they do not believe in the New Testament. The Old Testament is important for the prophets in the stories, so if the Jews believed so much in their God during that time they might have realized that it is hypocritical of them and almost ironic to be considered a Jew, and say that you have no faith in prophets, or visions sent from the unknown.
30-40
Pg. 31
“Father,’ I said, ‘if that is so, I do not want to wait here. I’m going to run to the electric wire. That would be better than slow agony in flames.’ He did not answer. He was weeping.”
Reflection:
The reason I chose this quote was because it shows how the Father cannot stand to watch his only son die, he does not weep for his coming death for that of his sons.
41-50
Pg. 40
“Yes, my mother’s had news from your family. Reizel is very well. The children too...”
Reflection:
The reason why I chose this quote was to show how Elie’s has still not completely changed and still is not dehumanized. His uncle Reizel had told Elie that the only thing that was keeping him alive is knowing that his family is okay. Elie did not wasn’t to see his uncle kill himself or give up faith, so he obviously lies to him.
51-60
Pg. 52
"I had watched the whole scene without moving. I kept quiet. In fact I was thinking of how to get farther 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. I was angry with him, for not knowing how to avoid Idek’s outbreak. That is what concentration camp life had made of me."
Reflection:
The reason why I chose this quote because it shows Wiesel how dehumanized once more, he starts changing the way he feels about his father. He starts losing respect and at times does not honor his father. It struck me the way Wiesel talks about his father; it almost angered me.
61-70
Pg. 65
“This day I had ceased to plead. I was no longer capable of lamentation, on the contrary. I felt very strong. I was the accuser, god the accused. My eyes were open and I was alone-terribly alone in a world without God and without man.”
I chose this because this is a result of the dehumanization. First physically the Nazi’s physically destroy the Jews chances of survival, and later destroys them mentally so that those who do survive live in fear.
71-80
Pg. 72
“These were terrible days. We received more blows than food; we were crushed with work. And three days after he had gone we forgot the Kaddish.”
Here in the quote indicates that the Jews like Wiesel don’t care of friends dieing, the way they felt I believe is either you make it or you don’t the ones that fail or give up die. They felt no remorse for the pass of their good friend, Akiba Drummer. Farther and farther into the novel they stop caring, the dehumanization process is almost finished.
81-90
Pg. 82
“ Make an effort Zalman… Try…’ ‘I can’t…’ he groaned. His trousers lowered, he let himself sink down. That is the last picture I have of him. I do not think it can have been the SS who finished him, because no one had noticed he must have been trampled to death beneath the feet of the thousands of men who followed us. I quickly forgot him”
Reflection:
I pulled this quote out because it struck me how Elie was able to do that. It brings to my attention how people are so self-mined, including myself.
91-100
Pg. 94
“Throw out all the dead! All corpses outside!’ The living rejoiced. There would be more room. Volunteers set to work. They felt those who were still crouching”
Reflection:
The Jews became familiar with the dead corpses and at times rejoiced to the death of some Jews that way there can be more room and space for themselves in the wagons. The quote shows how far the dehumanization has driven them to result to extreme savagery.
101-110
Pg. 101
“But at the same time this thought came into my mind. ‘Don’t let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I can use all my strength to struggle for my own survival and worry about myself.” This completely struck me. He did exactly what he asked god to not let him do. The actions are just as bad as the intentions.