Reading Pages 85-97

QUOTE #1:

"My father's presence was the only thing that stopped me. He was running next to me, out of breath, out of strength, desperate. I had no right to let myself die. What would he do without me? I was his sole support"(86-87).

RESPONSE:

This is what made Elie keep on moving. His dad was close to death, and without Elie, he would have for sure died. The only thing Elie had to live for was his father. This made me emotional because, I would have done every little thing I could to keep my father and myself alive, just like Elie tries to do.

QUOTE #2:

"We were stronger then than cold and hunger, stronger than the guns and the desire to die, doomed and rootless, nothing but numbers, we were the only men on earth"(87).

RESPONSE:

This shows you how much effort the prisoners at the concentration camps put forward. They all wanted one thing, and that was to survive as long as they could. When I read this quote, I imagine the sights and sounds of what it was like back then, dark, scary, not knowing if you'll even be alive the next minute. I don't know how the survivors got through it, to me those survivors should be recognized as hero's for going through what they did.

QUOTE #3:

"I saw myself in every stiffened corpse. Soon I wouldn't even be seeing them anymore; I would be one of them. A matter of hours"(89)

RESPONSE:

Elie has practically given up hope now. He is saying basically all he See's is hell around him. I would have said the same thing if I was looking at all those dead bodies. I would have gone insane if I had to see what Elie saw.