Monday, February 14, 2011

Chapter 4 (pages 47-65): Roles are changing

How are the traditional roles of father (or parent) and son changing since Elie and his father arrived in camp? What does this tell you about family relationships in the camps? What does this tell you about Elie and his father?

2 comments:

  1. At the beginning of the book , Elie describes his father as being a man who cared more about his work than his family. He always felt that his father cared more about the happiness of others instead of that of his own family. When they are rounded up into the cattle cars and sent to Birkenau, they are given the order "Women and children to the left, men to the right." Elie was at a borderline age, he could have gone with his mother and sister, but he decides to stay with his father who otherwise would have been alone. Elie's decision ties the two of them together in a sense for the rest of the book. In their first few months in the concentration camps it seems like both men are only living for each other, but later on Elie starts viewing his father as sort of a burden.He can't march well or keep up with the others. At times his father physically saves Elie from death; in turn Elie saves his father several times from the fate of death. The last word that Elie hears from his father's mouth is his name "Eliezer". It is at that point that he begins to feel guilty, guilty for his father's death.

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  2. The way that emma puts it is very mind opening cause the examples she puts are the clearest ones. Like Emma says both of them gain this need for each other to survive. This need grows through out the book you can see that Elie and his father are always backing each other out. Also when selection comes you can see that need for each other they are scared that one of them might not make it so Elise father gives him the spoon there most important item and that is when you see that elise father really loves him. Also the guilt that Elise feels for his fathers death is the need for him. The guilt that he feels is the emptyness of losing the most important person for him the only person that took care of him through out the camp.

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