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Imagery
Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—On a Sunny Road:
The laborers that remain from the original group are transported from Auschwitz to Buna, and the men are forced to walk through several unbothered German villages on their journey. The story creates situational irony by describing this march of death in such an idyllic setting:
At ten o’clock, we were handed our daily ration of bread. A dozen or so SS surrounded us. At the gate, the sign proclaimed that work meant freedom. We were counted. And there we were, in the countryside, on a sunny road. In the sky, a few small white clouds.
We were walking slowly. The guards were in no hurry. We were glad of it. As we were passing through some of the villages, many Germans watched us, showing no surprise. No doubt they had seen quite a few of these processions…
Related Themes:
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—The Arrival of Winter:
When winter finally arrives at Buna, the experience is unimaginable: conditions torturous and unmanageable in normal weather become deadly. With imagery, the story paints the chilling conditions in which the prisoners are held:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Winter had arrived. The days became short and the nights almost unbearable. From the first hours of dawn, a glacial wind lashed us like a whip. We were handed winter clothing: striped shirts that were a bit heavier. The veterans grabbed the opportunity for further sniggering:
“Now you’ll really get a taste of camp!”
We went off to work as usual, our bodies frozen. The stones were so cold that touching them, we felt that our hands would remain stuck. But we got used to that too.
Christmas and New Year’s we did not work. We were treated to a slightly less transparent soup.
Explanation and Analysis—Nothing But Ashes:
During Rosh Hashanah, many of the Jews pray together, but Eliezer no longer believes in any of the Jewish holidays or the Jewish faith altogether. With an ironic metaphor, the story depicts Eliezer’s declining relationship with God:
Unlock with LitCharts A+But now, I no longer pleaded for anything. I was no longer able to lament. On the contrary, I felt very strong. I was the accuser, God the accused. My eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God, without man. Without love or mercy. I was nothing but ashes now, but I felt myself to be stronger than this Almighty to whom my life had been bound for so long. In the midst of these men assembled for prayer, I felt like an observer, a stranger.
Related Themes:
