Stories From the Buddha Belly: October 2008

I just finished Night by Elie Wiesel this weekend. It wasn't exactly something to read before bedtime, and I guess I learned this the hard way (Thinking of this before bed sets sleep time back a little while.) Although I may have lost sleep, I definitely gained interest and understanding about the book. I figure I can start backtracking through the memoir and comment on my findings in the authors writing styles. (You're welcome to comment, although I'm not sure if it will be exactly compelling to follow...)

I guess I'll start with the literary devices I've come across in the memoir. Most of my findings were metaphors or similes, but there are a few that's come across as more exciting.

- "At first my father crouched under the blows, then he broke in two, like a dry tree struck by lightening, and collapsed." (page 52)

This is a simile. Wiesel uses the comparison of a dry tree towards his father while he is beaten. He "breaks in two", implying that he is broken emotionally and physically by the officer. The beating he endures forces him to give up all his strength willingly towards the officer, who holds all the power. The "lightening" references the force of the officer in charge, striking him so violently and forcefully that he gives up. This gives compassion to the reader, feeling sympathy towards the father. We feel as if we are in a loss of control in the situation, with desires to help him and fight for him. The reader feels useless.

- "I was a body. Perhaps less than that even: a starved stomach" (page 50)

This is a synechtochy. Wiesel uses the stomach as symbolism of what his life has become. He has a single focus and desire :food. He states that he is "less than a body" because he has become so physically and emotionally frail that he is unsure if he is even existant in any other terms than hunger. This gives the reader the impression of a destroyed sense of self and mind.

-"On April fifth, the wheel of history turned" (page 107)

This is a metaphor. It represents the shift in power in the war and in the lives of the surviving prisoners. The "wheel" is the direction of history, controlled by solely God, and the change in pace is celebrated by the prisoners. This "turning" symbolizes the freedom and liberty they are about to gain. It gives the reader a sense of hope and anticipation after such a long and difficult battle.

-"Where is He? Here He is- He is hanging here on this gallows..." (page 62)

This is a synechtochy. The little boy who is hung on the gallows represents god because of his innocence and his fragility in terms of the situation. He is proof that the Nazi's are rebelling against God's will for life. He is the symbol of hope that was destroyed for many of the prisoners.

-"That night, the soup tasted of corpses" (page 62)

This is a metaphor. This is also in reference to the loss of hope and the destruction of the prisoners desire for truth from God. It symbolizes the everlasting hope that evaporates from the prisoners after witnessing such an act of murder towards pure innocence. The hanging represented the death of God, therefore the soup they're eating tastes physically of the sadness and disapointment in their faith and religion.

Motifs

- The motif the "Night" is reoccuring throughout the text. Wiesel comments repeatedly on how long the night becomes after longer and longer in camp. This motif is repeated for the effect of everlasting pain and hunger, throughout a time where there is nothing to do but dream- or rather have nightmares. A very powerful statement is made in this motif on page 79.

"The last night in Buna. Yet another last night. The last night at home, the last night in the ghetto, the last night on the train, and now the last night in Buna. How much longer were our lives to be dragged from one "last night" to another?"

Thi explains the impact that one or two simple words can create. The impact of "Night" creates a sense of disapointment, prolongment, and everlasting thought.

-Another motif that returns throughout the text is that of the "stomach". Wiesel frequently returns to the comparison of his body to an empty stomach, of himself represented by complete hunger. It is a repetitive motif because of the lacking portions of food, and the draining hope for survival. Eventually, losing faith, Elie feels that he is no longer mentally in the camp, yet physically he is there with the sole sensation of hunger. On page 50, Wiesel uses synectoche to represent this motif.

"Bread, soup - these were my whole life. I was a body. Perhaps less than that even : a starved stomach. The stomach alone was aware of the passing time."

This line demostrates the significance that food has become to Wiesel. The passing time was only relevant because of the everlasting hunger, and not the boredom or hope that he felt.

-The first motif we are exposed to in the memoir is the ever-returning hope of the Jewish families. They continuously have hope in society, in God, and in themselves. They are constantly optimistic. In situations of murder, suffering, and pain, they have hope in their hearts for a better tomorrow. In the beginning, where the Jewish community is moved into the ghetto's, on page 9, the feel hope, reunion, and no fear.

"We even thought ourselves rather well off; we were entirely self contained. A little Jewish republic..."

and

"We should no longer have before our eyes those hostile faces, those hate-laden stares. We were living among Jews, among brothers..."

These lines demonstrate the adaptations they're willing to make mentally to adjust to this awful way of life they'll soon be exposed to. The religion is their only hope.

Sensory Imagery

See: (page 51) "I had seen those eyes before somewhere. It was she.

"You don't recognize me?""

(page 60) "I never saw a single one of the victims weep."

(page 109) "From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me."

Hear: (page 27) "Eight words were spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion"

(page 32) "Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live"

(page 57) "Then we began to hear the airplanes."

Feel: (page 50) "I ached all over. I felt a cool hand wiping my blood-stained forehead."

Taste: (page 62) "That night the soup tasted of corpses."

Smell: (page 26) "In the air that smell of burning flesh."

Top 5 Themes

"The effects of adversity on the human spirit"

I felt this theme was important because of the way it follows Elie throughout the entire story. The adversity present is the forces of the German Nazi's on the Jews. The first example present is when the Jews are moved to the ghetto's, forcing them out of their homes against their will. This scene shows the control and power held by the officers. Another scene that shows this theme is when the cattle train towards the concentration camps is driving, and Madame Schacter yells "FIRE!". This example, (on page 22) demonstrates the effects of adversity by showing the way anxiety and terror can affect someone in terms of adversity. Madame Schacter is paralyzed by fear in the situation, and she invisions a "fire", representing the crematoriums. The last scene I chose is the very last. Wiesel says "From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me. The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me." This concludes the memoir, demonstrating his loss of self during these times. He changes his writing from first person to show the effects of the camps and the war have placed on his soul, allowing him to be unrecognizable to himself in a mirror.

"Responses to circumstances beyond familiar experience"

The first scene I chose to represent this theme is when Moshe the Beadle returns to the town to tell the people about the horrors of the Nazi's. He pours out his story, traumatized, and the town refuses to beleive him, saying "He's just trying to make us pity him. What an imagnation he has!" (page 4/5) The people chose to ignore the truth in order to continue to feel safe at home. Another scene is when Elie arrives at the camp, and his family is seperated. He and his father must tell the officers their age/profession, and they lie (as advised by another prisoner) to survive. The last scene I chose was after the small child, known as a representation of God, is hung and Elie says that he finds that the soup tastes "of corpses". This response is one of humanity, and the prisoners still find that they feel pain and emotion for this boy, even after all the hardship they've endured.

"Significance of our memory of the past"

The first scene chosen is when a man meets Elie's father at the concentration camp and says that they were friends years ago. He asks about his wife and children, and Elie lies to make him feel better about his life. This man was only alive because his family was, and in his mind, they were his sole reason for life. Another scene is when Elie is moved into another section of the camp, and he requests that he is with his father. He feels an inability to lose his father, as he is his last tie to his past and family. The last scene I chose was the scene where Elie's father dies. He eventually says "I no longer thought of my father or of my mother." This shows how the camp has destroyed his need for family memories to survive, and he is now in a "state of total idleness" (107). The camps have dehumanize him to the point that his past memories are completely insignificant.

"Perseverance"

This theme is demonstrated in every camp Elie enters. The first scene I thought of is when the officer tells the prisonersd that the only way to survive is to stick together. These are known as "The first human words", therefore signifying that the officer felt the need to help the prisoners persevere. Another scene that comes to mind is when the young boy is marching along side his father, and his father slows down because he is weak. The boy keeps going, and lets his father die. This shows his individual desire to survive even though his father doesn't. This perseverance is solely one sided. Another scene that shows this theme is when Elie's father is dying. He asks for water, and Elie tries his best to deny his father of a quicker death, because he wants him to pull through, but eventually must give in and help him die. Therefore, Elie realizes, that he must now persevere to prove himself alone.

"The significance of characters' responses to the beliefs on behaviors of others"

The first scene that comes to mind is when the Jews of Sighet are forced to wear theStar of David. The significance of this forceful action made by the Nazi's is the complete prejudice and discrimination towards the Jews. Their beliefs are seen as less valid, therefore they are less important people. The second scene chosen is when they lose all their rights as people when they are in the ghetto, moving to the concentration camps. The people of Sighet seem to feel continuous hope in face of such terror. Their response is simply to have faith and hope for better tomorrow, which is a beautiful thing in peope. Their continuous optimism really caught me. Th last scene I chose for this theme is when Elie meets the French girl, who tells him later that she got aold of false papers declaring her as Aryan. Her response to the war was simply survival, not being true to her faith in front of people. She uses intelligence to save her life, and though her beliefs and views are seen as invalid, she finds a way to dodge the bullet.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Top Ten's!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Night

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Smile, it's THURSDAY!

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