Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Chapter 1 (pages 3-22) Possible escape?

What are some of the signals or signs that Elie's father and family didn't pay attention to that could have saved them from ghetto and Auschwitz?

15 comments:

  1. There were many signals that Elie’s father and family didn’t pay attention that they could have saved from the ghetto and Auschwitz. If they would have believed what Moishe the Beadle had said, they could possibly be ready and do something to save them. Also, when the dad’s friend knocked the window, they could have known that there was danger and go to a safe place. Another possible way they could have been safe is when Maria, the former maid, came to take them to a safe shelter.

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  2. During the warnings that Elie's family had before going to Auschwits or the ghetto could have saved them. The first "signal" that could have saved them was moving to Poland. The father did not wanted to move to Poland because "it was too late" to change his life and that it would have been useless. The other "signal" they got was after they got to the ghetto. Their maid, Maria, invited them to go live with her because she had a refuge for them and the refuge had food, beds, water, and all that they would need, also it was close to her house. Elie's father said no, however, nothing would convinced him to go save his family's and his own life.

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  3. @arako, hello, I'd like to elaborate on your point about Moishe a little.

    The family turned a blind eye to a detail I thought was quite a contradiction to earlier statements. If Mosche the Beadle was a well-liked member of the community, why did they not heed his warning? Sure, he was poor, but he'd already proven his honesty and strong faith... one would assume that a likable, trustworthy member of the community would be trusted... right?

    The soldiers and officers already entered the community, and by that point had shown their true, antagonistic nature. The family should've taken this revelation about the soldiers and officers far more seriously in the first place, and have a plan to escape should things turn ugly.

    To elaborate on my second paragraph, they should've known something was wrong when Elie's father's friend had knocked on the window harshly. Well, to their defense, the family could've assumed it was anyone - Elie notes she did not know who it was until much later - but nevertheless, in the dangerous climate since the soldier and officers' arrival, they should have expxected the words.

    - Chris Ramirez.

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  5. They had many chances that could have saved them, but they just wouldn't listen to what the others were hinting. One signal was what Moishe had said to them, hinting the danger. Another signal, which I believe was the biggest was the maid. She offered them to stay in a safety shelter she had, that contained food water and everything they needed with her living close by. Then all the soldiers with the bad eary vibe, they didn't even really consider it a big deal. If you see soldiers out like that you know something is going on wrong. Then the fathers friend knocks on the window with such emotion obviously showing that something is wrong, why else would someone knock so hard. So they didn't listen, putting them in front of danger. -Alex

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  6. Signal after signal was given to Eli and his beloved family. They had a chance to fix it, they had a chance to run. Why didn't they? But then again I'm very hard headed and dont like trying new things. Maybe thats why they didn't listen to the signs. Some people don't like to listen to others (including me) and they might of looked at it as someone pushing them around and telling them what to do. I hate authority and when I see someone above me I tend to change into a different person. They wanted to stand their ground and show they are the authority. -Josh

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  7. Elie Wiesel's family had many opportunities to escape from the terror that was approaching them. There were many signs as well to warn them of the dangers. The first sign i noticed was when Moshe the Beadle was deported along with many foreign Jews and were killed when they went back to the land. Miraculously, he was able to escape alive, the Nazi thinking he was dead by a wound in his leg. They left him there to "die" and Moshe was able to escape. To warn the other Jews of the Nazi, he came back t warn the others, but they did not believe him, even though he was a truthful and faithful man.

    Another sign was when Elie's father's friend told his family that if there was any trouble, he would knock on the window. Some time past and one night he knocked on the window, and the family thinking it was nothing, just stayed there, without believing it was his friend.
    -Chris Raygoza

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  8. Moshe the Beadle spoke very clearly of the danger that was to come to the Jews. He was deported along with the other foreign Jews and was supposed to have been killed. However, he survived and returned to Sighet to warn the others, but didn't believe him and thought he had gone mad.

    Before the family was to be expelled from their home, they heard knocking coming from a window, but did not get to it fast enough to see who it was. The author says that he later found out it was someone from the Hungarian police that had come to warn his father of the coming danger. He says "if he could have spoken to us that evening, we could perhaps have fled.."(12).

    The maid also came to them, clearly worried for their lives. She offered them a refuge while they still had time to escape. The father, however, turns down her offer, choosing instead to face whatever was to come head on without running away. This was the last chance they had to save themselves.

    - Katie :)

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  10. Elie and his family had many chances and warnings but they decided to ignore them all. They threw away warning after warning as the time flew by. I think the reason for their ignorance is that they do not trust others that are not within their family tree. Every one may seem to be their enemy, and because of this way of thinking, they pushed away their "friends" and welcomed their enemies. This is the exact opposite of what they tried to accomplish. They can not blame any one but themselves. They also might not have listened to the signals because they saw Moshe the Beadle as an intruder or outsider telling them what to do. Not many people would want a stranger being any kind of authority or higher rank. (For example: the president or captain.) Then again they could just be immature and ignore any thing that sounds out of the ordinary every-day life. They could think that what happened on the day of 9/11 could never happen in a million years, but every thing is not sugar-coated. Bad things can happen to many people. Every person in the entire world is not as nice as they may have thought. They thought they knew who to trust, but for once they were terribly wrong.
    -Saphira

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  11. The Jews were extremely prideful people. They took pride in their religion, their culture and belief. Who in a million years would have thought this could happen to them. It had never happened before, so why now, why to them? They could not believe that any of this could happen to them, so they gave the whole thing the cold shoulder. Maybe if they had been more attentive and not ignorant and oblivious to the sings that were being given to them, like that of Moshe the Beadle, their old servant Martha, or the knock on the window from the German solider that was a friend of their father's, maybe they could have escaped all of those horrid events that took place. But Eli's father was a proud man that did not believe that any of the things that were happening would ever cause much harm. Sadly this was the case for many Jews and their death. Many Jews could have escaped or fled, they were given many chances, but their mind was set on the hope that one day everything would disappear and they would wake up from this horrible nightmare. But the thing was, it was not a nightmare, it was real life, but the people believed on a false hope that led most of them to their death.
    -Cecilia

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  12. I think that the people from the town of Elie should have listened to Moishe the Beadle because Moishe was warning them what can happen if they don’t listen but no one in the town wants want to hear his story. Moishe is trying to help the people in the town so it doesn’t happen again. Even in the Budapest radio said that the Fascist party had seized power, and even Elie told his dad that they should leave to Palestine but his dad said that he was too old to start a new life. If Elie’s dad have listened to Elie they would not gotten into Auschwitz.

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  13. One of the many sings that Elie's family recieved was Moishe the Beadle. He warned the whole town. He tried to tell everyone about his experiences but they waved his stories away. They were trying to convince themselves that everything would be okay and that they weren't in danger. They soon found out just how wrong they were. Had they listend to Moishe, their lives could have been spared. But they were foolish and pretty much signed their own death sentence when they ignored him.
    Another sign was when Elie's father's friend knocked on their window. Elie states that his fathers friend had told them before they left for the ghetto that if they were ever in danger, he would warn them. I believe that Elie's father knew who it was that knocked that night, but he was too stubborn to admit that he was afraid and that they were in danger. Had he not been so foolish, he could have saved not only his own, but his families lives.

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  14. There had been several signs and signals that warned the Wiesel family, but they continued not recognize them. One of the first signals was the exportation of the "foreign" jews. The second sign was when Moshe the Beadle warned them after luckily surveying and escaping an execution period. No one in the signet/town believed nor wanted to believe the story he came back with explaining how the Nazi's execution proceeded on the foreign Jews. Elie was in fact someone who believed him and tried to persuade his father to move out of town together with his family, but he stubbornly he refused.

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  15. Elie and his family had many chances and warnings but they decided to ignore them all. They threw away warning after warning as the time flew by. I think the reason for their ignorance is that they do not trust others that are not within their family tree. Every one may seem to be their enemy, and because of this way of thinking, they pushed away their "friends" and welcomed their enemies. This is the exact opposite of what they tried to accomplish. They can not blame any one but themselves. They also might not have listened to the signals because they saw Moshe the Beadle as an intruder or outsider telling them what to do. Not many people would want a stranger being any kind of authority or higher rank. (For example: the president or captain.) Then again they could just be immature and ignore any thing that sounds out of the ordinary every-day life. They could think that what happened on the day of 9/11 could never happen in a million years, but every thing is not sugar-coated. Bad things can happen to many people. Every person in the entire world is not as nice as they may have thought. They thought they knew who to trust, but for once they were terribly wrong.

    ReplyDelete