Another theme throughout the book is the relationship between father and son. Wiesal and his father remained close throughout the book. Both sacrificed for the other and they kept each other going instead of giving up. This bond between father and son helps to show to the reader that the people in the camps still had hope.
Facts about the Author: Elie Wiesel was born in the town of Sighet, located in Transylvania, Romania. He was only fifteen when he was taken to Auschwitz. Today, Elie Wiesal is Andrew Mellon, a Professor in the Humanities at Boston University. He is also the founding chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
My Opinion: This book is truly a masterpiece. Wiesel writes an incredibly moving story that will both sadden and inspire you. The ordeals this man endured and had to live through were truly incredible. Most of all this book makes you question. It makes you question life, death and what being human means to you. While many scenes are disturbing and violent it is important to read through them. They provide a look into the human spirit and into human nature. Even is you don't understand the psychological significance of this account of camp life, you will still be able to understand what the Jews went through during the second World War. While we will never understand why it happened or what it felt like to be in a Nazi death camp, this book helps the reader, even in the smallest amount, to understand just what happened to the Jews during the second World War.
*Next week's book is the second in a trilogy by Elie Weisel, and continues our Holocaust remembrance section.*
Next week's book is : Dawn, by Elie Weisel
If you are interested in this book you may also enjoy reading the other two books in this trilogy by Elie Wiesel, Dawn and Night.
*Next week's book will conclude my segment on the Holocaust*
Next week's book is: Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Prohorov and his family attended the party and indulged in excessive drinking, as did all the other attendees and the host. A statement made by one of the guests insulting Prohorov's profession prompted him to leave in anger. He left swearing under his breath that he would invite all his "customers" to his house for a lavish feast.
The rest of the night is consumed in chaos as a woman dies and the dead rise. The end is an intriguing twist that will suprise, but not shock the reader.
This story has two entwining plots. The first of which describes the journey of a sickly women and her husband to Italy. She is suffering from a painful lung ailment and is unable to accept her forthcoming death. She is determined to travel abroad and see the world. She is convinced this will cure her. Later that night, the women dies beside her mother, cousin, and husband. She was unable to obtain the mystical cure said to have healed others. This is the first death.
The second plot is of a grandfather who is quite sick. He had just bought new boots, which in the old days was a shame, since the dead were buried shoeless. He Bestowed them upon his grandson in exchange that the boy buy him a stone when he died. He died the next day after his granddaughter had dreamed of his passing. This is the second death.
A year later he still did not have a stone. His grandson, guilty, went into the forest to chop down some trees for a wooden cross to mark his grave. He cuts down a tree and it falls to the ground. This is the third death.
This story is about Iona Potapov, a sledge driver. He is depressed and dissatisfied with his work. He takes three fares on one night, an Army officer, three young roughians, and a house porter. During all three rides he experiences voices from the darkness and angered shouts from people in the streets. He is lonely and melancholy, for his son had died just last week. This fact he mentions to all three fares. Finally, at the end of the story, he confesses that all he really wants to do is talk about the death of his son. He confides in a very good listener, but this listener is not one whom you would expect!