Dawn Post 3

We now lean that Elie had a violent past.  "I had taken part in various tangles with the police, sabotage operations, in attacks on military convoys making their way across the green fields of Galilee, or the white desert" (Wiesel 21).  I wonder what police did to people whom underwent trauma from the Holocaust.  What do you do to a man who was forced to say goodbye to his family while naked and being yelled at because of his religion, a man who has seen death on a level that ordinary citizens could never fathom, a man who has seen and been involved with humanity at its worst... What would one say to him?  Would he be punished, thrown in jail?  What is fair to do with him?  After being one of the few survivors, what would happen to him?  How would the government ensure that these survivors received the treatment they deserved, and didn't end up corrupt?

Being part of this operation seems the most corrupt thing that Elie could possibly have done.  His indoctrination was based on the concept that one needed to be weary of where they stepped and killing was the only way out of anything.  "The goal was to simply get the English out; the method, intimidation, terror, and sudden death" (Wiesel 22).  Who in their right minds would teach this to children?  To young people who have a future?  What is the point of this--this sick minded training that is being preformed on people who are already mentally scared, and have seen it all; felt it all?

The thing that I find really interesting is the introduction to the Eleventh Commandment:  "Hate your enemy" (Wiesel 23).  Rather than hating the enemy, Wiesel steps inside the enemy's shoes.  He imagines himself as an SS officer treating Jewish men, women, and children as the Nazi's thought they "deserved" to be treated.  This is a turning point in the novel Dawn because rather than hating the enemy, Elie allows himself to give the enemy a face; a chance.  Also introduced was the word "comrade."  I have grown to dislike this word, especially when calling another man or woman a comrade.  This is because it was used in 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell, and it seemed as though it was derogatory and degrading.  It was used in a hateful way, and a way that was supposed to eliminate any sense of self-worth of the people in the society.

I can't wait to see what happens to Elisha.