Blog Post#1-Myles

I would describe my personal experience with reading the first three chapters of the memoir Night as eye-opening. Reading a first-hand story from a holocaust survivor is moving because you get an inside look at what the author is thinking and how his mindset changes throughout the book. One pattern that is consistent throughout the book is the faithfulness and optimism of the Jews. "Who knows, they may be sending us away for our own good. The front is getting closer, we shall soon hear the guns. And then surely the civilian population will be evacuated…" "They worry lest we join the partisans…" "As far as I'm concerned, this whole business of deportation is nothing but a big farce. Don't laugh. They just want to steal our valuables and jewelry. They know that it has all been buried and that they will have to dig to find it; so much easier to do when the owners are on vacation…"(Wiesel 21) While reading the first three chapters, I developed a sense of pity for the Jewish families as they quickly said goodbye to their old lives and awaited their undetermined fate. Eliezar’s mindset transitioned from thinking the situation couldn't get worse, to any possible change is for the better. I also noticed that Eliezar uses Jewish language and terms that some people wouldn’t easily understand. Elie Wiesel has odd writing techniques that he uses to show a change in events. For example, Elie will have a character make an assumption that the Germans would not come all the way to Sighet, then they jump to three days later when the Germans arrive. “But not for long. The optimism soon revived: The Germans will not come this far. They will stay in Budapest. For strategic reasons, for political reasons … In less than three days, German Army vehicles made their appearance on our streets.” (Wiesel 9) I enjoy this aspect of his writing because I believe it portrays a sense of how fast Elie’s life was drastically changing. In conclusion, the memoir so far has made me feel pitiful, more aware, and grateful for what I don't have to go through.

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 8, 2019 at 3:21 PM

    Very nice job Myles. I think the ideas you have here are good and well-developed. However, when you mention the "odd" use of jumping around and pace, I think that was exaggerated. Eliezar used the pace to represent the quick change to his lifestyle, so I think that it was intended to be almost metaphorical. But overall, very nice job.

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  2. Jameson M.October 9, 2019 at 10:27 AM

    This paragraph is close to perfect! I do agree with Taryn though in that your word choice of an "odd" pace is a poor choice of words, but I don't believe that really hinders what point you were trying to make in the paragraph. I would also like to hear more about what 𝘺𝘰𝘢 thought. In the end, it was very nice paragraph and I think you succeeded.

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