It is often described that in the final moments of one's life, or at least in the most important, that the small details of everything are what stand out the most. For instance, when my Dad announced his resignation from the church that we had attended for 12 years, all I could hear were me and my siblings crying; nothing else registered. It is the same with Elisha on this fateful night.
The main focuses of Elisha in this time is the silence of the world and the laughter of a man who was condemned to die. The audience has a very unique and troubling view into the mind of this dead man as he sees his dead family around him. All of them are silent in their deaths, waiting for the inevitable. All of a sudden, Elisha fervently seeks laughter in this time of mourning from whoever he can get it from- Gad, John Dawson, even himself. In his mind, he realizes that he cannot kill someone who will laugh in the face of death.
To us in the audience, these focuses are very confusing; why are they important to us? Honestly, I cannot answer this question; I never want to have to experience this level of turmoil within my soul. All I know is that Elie Wiesel was both very imaginative and broken. What do you guys think the significance of these focuses were?
I commented on Caroline's and Rebecca's posts.
The main focuses of Elisha in this time is the silence of the world and the laughter of a man who was condemned to die. The audience has a very unique and troubling view into the mind of this dead man as he sees his dead family around him. All of them are silent in their deaths, waiting for the inevitable. All of a sudden, Elisha fervently seeks laughter in this time of mourning from whoever he can get it from- Gad, John Dawson, even himself. In his mind, he realizes that he cannot kill someone who will laugh in the face of death.
To us in the audience, these focuses are very confusing; why are they important to us? Honestly, I cannot answer this question; I never want to have to experience this level of turmoil within my soul. All I know is that Elie Wiesel was both very imaginative and broken. What do you guys think the significance of these focuses were?
I commented on Caroline's and Rebecca's posts.
Comments
To survive the violence, torture and dehumanization of the Holocaust just to be thrown into an organization that relies on force to get their messages across is entirely horrid. After a traumatic event, most people try and return to their ordinary lives. During this process, many survivors end up developing PTSD or other mental health issues. However, since Elisha never gets the chance to rest after his experience, PTSD never really gets a chance to set in. Instead, his past life and experiences haunt him, like a deranged and ghostly form of schizophrenia.