Wednesday, March 1, 2023

1000 Books Project: Part Two of Elie Wiesel's Night Trilogy - Discussing Dawn


I don't really have too much to say about Dawn. Not quite as compelling as Night, but still gripping in its own right. I did find myself wondering how many young people who survived the Holocaust (the camps) ended up exactly where Elisha did...part of a terrorist movement? It's sad to become so consumed with hate, but it is very understandable. I can see how fighting back against oppression is very important to them. Of course, Gad is a convincing recruiter. 

"Gad's stories were utterly fascinating. I saw in him a prince of Jewish history, a legendary messenger sent by fate to awaken my imagination, to tell the people whose past was now their religion: Come, come; the future is waiting for you with open arms. From now on you will no longer be humiliated, persecuted, or even pitied. You will not be strangers encamped in an age and a place that are not yours. Come, brothers, come!"

The ending is truly hard to read. I think to myself, I could never kill another human being, but I have never been faced with oppression. That being said, is terrorism really the answer? It has been around for hundreds of years, and nothing has ever really changed. Much the same as war. Something to think about.

*********

What did you think of Dawn? Share any and all thoughts in the comments.

We are reading Book Three of the Night Trilogy, The Accident, this month. According to our reading schedule, I will post the discussion on (around) March 31.


truebookaddict
Get new posts by email:

2 comments:

  1. I'm almost done and I'll be back with thoughts soon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dawn was really interesting to me to see it from a survivor's point of view and how he was convinced to commit violence in the name of something "more noble." It is something to think about but we're a species that is very prone to tribalism and violence, and I just don't think the philosophy of violence will be the more noble or most cohesive or best philosophy in the end. Like you said it hasn't ever turned out well over time. A hard read for sure but one that was worth it.

    ReplyDelete

Comment moderation is active. I get a lot of spam comments here. If I continue to get bombarded, I will have to turn on captcha. Thanks for understanding.