Eliezer Character Timeline by FERNANDO DAZA AGUAYO

Event #1

fdazaagu0001 — 2024-10-15 17:33:20 UTC

"Quote" ( Wiesel pg. #).

1 sentence summary.

2 sentences of commentary

Eliezer Meets Moishe the Beadle

fdazaagu0001 — 2024-12-02 04:03:06 UTC

"Why do you cry when you pray?" he asked though he knew me well." " I don't know", I answered, troubled." I had never asked myself that question." I cried because... because something inside me felt the need to cry."

This is the first interaction with Moishe the Beadle who is his Kabbalah mentor, and they discussed the purpose of prayer.

At this point in the chapter it establishes that Eliezer is a highly religious person. This moment relates to Family Loyalty and Obligations since the father wanted Eliezer not to do Kabbalah.

Eliezer and Jews are packed to trains.

fdazaagu0001 — 2024-12-04 18:55:29 UTC

"'The fire, over there!' She was pointing somewhere in the distance, always the same place. No one felt like beating her anymore. The heat, the thirst, the stench the lack of air, were suffocating us. Yet all that was nothing compared to her screams, which tore us apart. A few more days and all of us would have started to scream." (28)

This is when the Jews are packed in cattle carts which are transported to Auschwitz. During the trip there a woman name Mrs Schachter went mad and yelled and screamed that she saw fire and the Jews were gonna be burned.

This event is important because Elizer and the Jews realized that they weren't safe from the Nazis. This moment connects to the theme of Individual survival vs. The Collective Good since they beat Mrs Schachter to shut her up.

Eliezer becomes a prisoner

fdazaagu0001 — 2024-12-04 19:10:19 UTC

"Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky. Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes. Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God himself. Never."

Eliezer and his father were separated from his mother and sister and were brought for selection which will choose if they would live or not. They are helped by other inmates what and what not to do.

This is when Eliezer first witness the horrors of the Nazis killing life people in the crematoriums. This moment connects to the theme of state sponsored violence since the Nazi's made camps to eliminate people.

Eliezer and His Farther Are At Buna

fdazaagu0001 — 2024-12-04 19:31:28 UTC

“Where is God now?”
And I heard a voice within me answer him:
“Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows. . . .”(65)

At this point in the chapter, Eliezer and his father are at Buna and under command by a Kapo named Idek. By the end of the chapter they witnessed the hanging of a pipel and he was saddened by this since he was so young and innocent.

This moment is important to Eliezer because now he questions his faith since God was letting all this happen. This moment connects with the theme struggle of religious faith since now he has witnessed so such horror and dread and it seems god had abandoned all of them.

Eliezer's Rebellion against God

fdazaagu0001 — 2024-12-05 22:25:57 UTC

"The last night in Buna. Once more, the last night. The last night at home, the last night in the ghetto, the last night in the cattle car, and, now, the last night in Buna. How much longer would our lives be lived from one 'last night' to the next?"

At this point of time both Eliezer and his father are at Buna and during this time most Jewish holidays come but Eliezer does not want to participate since he had lost faith in God. Also during this time Eliezer got a foot injury and he had to choose to stay behind in the camp but he feared he'll be shot by the Germans or maybe the Russians could have liberated him.

This is important because Eliezer did not want to honor god and lost faith. This moment connects to the theme of struggle with religious faith since he started as a religious person but at this point he had given up on God.

The Evacuation of Buna

fdazaagu0001 — 2024-12-05 22:47:48 UTC

"We were the masters of nature, the masters of the world. (83)

At this point and time the Eliezer and the prisoners leave Buna and force march to Gleiwitz. Also during this time a son of a Rabbi wanted to abandon his father to increase his chances of survival knowing this he prayed that he won't meet the same fate as the Rabbi's son.

At this point he feels like he and the other prisoners were more powerful than normal people since they have endured so much and don't fear death. But Eliezer still shows humanity in himself for not wanting to put himself first than his father.

Liberation

fdazaagu0001 — 2024-12-06 22:53:54 UTC

"I remained in Buchenwald until April 11. I shall not describe my life during that period. It no longer mattered. Since my father's death, nothing mattered to me any more…I spent my days in total idleness. With only one desire: to eat. I no longer thought of my father, my mother. From time to time, I would dream. But only about soup, an extra ration of soup." (113)

At this point in the chapter Eliezer is moved to the children's block after the death of his father. The war was ending and a group of partisans and Americans liberated the camp.

This moment is important to Eliezer because is finally free from the Nazis but at this point nothing mattered to him since everything he loved was gone. This moment also connects to the theme of Individual survival vs. The Collective Good since at the end of the war all he wanted or care for was to eat, instead of caring for everyone who also endured with him.

The Death Of Eliezer's Father

fdazaagu0001 — 2024-12-06 23:02:24 UTC

“Yet at the same time a thought crept into my mind: If only I didn’t find him! If only I were relieved of this responsibility, I could use all my strength to fight for my own survival, to take care only of myself… Instantly, I felt ashamed, ashamed of myself forever.” (106)

At this point at the chapter Eliezer's father is close to death since he had dysentery. He also feels ashamed for wishing that he was dead so he could increase his chance of survival.

This is important to Eliezer since he broke the promise that he made to himself to not be like the Rabbi's son. This moment connects to the theme of Individual survival vs. The Collective Good since he wants his father dead.

Train To Birkenau

fdazaagu0001 — 2024-12-06 23:20:02 UTC

“I woke up from my apathy only when two men approached my father. I threw myself on his body. He was cold. I slapped him. I rubbed his hands, crying: ‘Father! Father! Wake up. They’re going to throw you outside…”(99)

At this point Eliezer and his father and the prisoners are in a cattle cart and the problem was it was very hard to tell who was alive or dead. Eliezer had to intervene to save his father since he wouldn't respond when they threw away the dead. bodies.

This moment is important to Eliezer since it shows he still cares for his father even though the prisoners wanted dead. This moment connects to the theme of Family Loyalty and Obligations since he still needed to take care of his father no matter the situation.