SUMMARY #3: pages 30-48
The Jews all reach the camp, where Eliezer and his father become separated from his mother and three sisters. Eliezer and his father meet a prisoner, who instructs them to lie about their ages. Eliezer, who is fifteen, has to say that he is eighteen, while his father, who is fifty, has to say that he is forty. Taking the prisoner’s advice, Eliezer lies about his age and tells Dr.Mengele he is eighteen and that he is a farmer, instead of a student, and remains together with his father on the left side. Eliezer begins to wonder whether the left side means the crematorium or the prison. Eliezer observes his surroundings and sees a huge pit where babies and adults are being burned. Every prisoner weeps and begins to recite the Jewish prayer for the dead, the Kaddish, including Eliezer’s father. Eliezer, however, refuses to because he doesn't know what he has to thank the God for.
In the camp, the Jews are having their heads shaved, disinfected with gasoline, showered, and clothed in prison uniforms. A Nazi officer lectures the prisoners and tells them that they either work hard or go straight to the crematorium and die. When Eliezer’s father asks to go to the bathroom, he gets beaten by the head prisoner name Kapo who is in charge of the other inmates. Eliezer just stares at his father being beaten and is surprised at himself for not having defended his father like he would have if the event occurred before being forced into the camp. Soon, the prisoners make a short march from Birkenau to Auschwitz where Eliezer gets his prisoner number A-7713 tattooed on his arm. He explains that from then on, he had no other name and had lost his identity. Eliezer and his father meet a distant relative name Stan from Antwerp, who asks about news of his family. Eliezer lies to Stan and tells him that he heard that Stein’s family are all alive and well. However, when a transport from Antwerp arrives, the man receives the real news about his family, and Eliezer never saw him again. After many hours of walking from Auschwitz to Buna, the Jews arrive at the work camp where they will be confined in for months.
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I think this is the part where Eliezer starts to change from his old self. One of the first times this is shown is when they are standing on the line. You wrote, "Every prisoner weeps and begins to recite the Jewish prayer for the dead, the Kaddish, including Eliezer’s father. Eliezer, however, refuses to because he doesn't know what he has to thank the God for." Before being sent to the camp, Eliezer dedicated his entire life to prayer and God. Here, he seems to lose faith. He also shows a big change when his father is being beaten. "When Eliezer’s father asks to go to the bathroom, he gets beaten by the head prisoner name Kapo who is in charge of the other inmates. Eliezer just stares at his father being beaten and is surprised at himself for not having defended his father like he would have if the event occurred before being forced into the camp."
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree with Rosemarie on this one. Also later on he got mad at God and didn't want to give thanks to him anymore because he has done nothing for him to give thanks to him, but later regrets he done that.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting how in the beginnning of the book, it talked about how Eliezer was really into religion and worshiping the God. But gradually, he started to lose his faith in religion and God since being in the concentration camps showed him that believing in God didn't matter, he was still going through horrible events at the camp. He felt that God wasn't doing anything to save him or his father from the germans, so that is why he stopped believing in God and simply stopped caring.
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