Question

Give at least two examples from pages 8-12 that support the idea that Wiesel’s community had been in a state of denial and “delusion” that the situation wasn’t as bad as it seemed and they would be ok.

What mood does Wiesel establish when describing the conditions of the cattle cars? Support by citing an example from the text.


Explain the incident with Mrs. Schachter and why you think Wiesel felt this was worth including. (Consider what happened, how others treated her, and what this suggests).




Explain how the news about Auschwitz misleads Elie and the others.

Answer 1

the first example is from page 8, where the Jews doubted that Hitler would be able to harm them. This is vital since they are denying that with such a humongous population of Jews, it would be impossible for Hitler to wipe them all out. The second example is how Ellie's dad thinks that the star of David isn't lethal, on page 11. He believed that the star is not lethal, but it marked the Jews and condemned them to their demise.

Ellie established a hopeless mood when describing the cattle car, saying how there was little air, not being able to sit down, and little food and water, all of which are on page 23.

Mrs.Schachter was hallucinating on the train from thirst, which made her yelled "fire". She was seem as mad by everyone, but when they arrived at camp, the Jews actually smelled burnt corpses in the air. Ellie included this information because Mrs.Schachter was right, which can also be used as a foreshadow. The people treating her badly on the train could symbolize the German treating the Jews badly, and Mrs.Schacter screaming fire could symbolize the Jews begging for forgiveness and mercy from their doom.

The news about Auschwitz mislead ellie and the others by making them think that they will be safe and be freed by working, but the labor is what will kill them and sinus the camp.