Excerpts Categorizations with explanations
- “Physically, he was as awkward as a clown. His waiflike shyness made people smile.” Page 3
- “They called him Moishe the Beadle, as if his entire life he had never had a surname.” Page 3
- “They dwell in the depths of our souls and remain there until we die.” Page 5
- “The race towards death had begun.” Page 10
- “The barbed wire that encircled us like a wall did not fill us with real fear.” Page 11
- “The courtyard turned into something like an antechamber to an operation room.” Page 13
- “The shadows around me roused themselves as if from a deep sleep and left silently in every direction.” Page 14
- ‘I woke the head of the household, a man with a gray beard and the gaze of a dreamer.” Page 14
- ‘My throat was dry and the words were choking me, paralyzing my lips. There was nothing else to say.” Page 15
“His very presence in the procession was enough to make the scene seem surreal. It was a page torn from a book, a historical novel, perhaps, dealing with the captivity in the Babylon or the Spanish Inquisition.” Page 17
“The street resembled fairgrounds deserted in haste. There was a little of everything: suitcases, briefcases, bags, knives, dishes, banknotes, papers, faded portraits. All the things one planned to take along and finally left behind. They had ceased to matter.” Page 17
“Open rooms everywhere. Gaping doors and windows looked into the void. It all belonged to everyone since it no longer belonged to anyone. It was there for the taking. An open tomb. A summer sun.” Page 17
“Monday went by like a small summer cloud, like a dream in the first hours of dawn.” Page 18
“As for my mother, she was walking, her face a mask without word, deep in thought” Page 19
“They were our first oppressors. They were the first faces of hell and death.” Page 19
“The stars were but sparks of the immense conflagration that was consuming us. Were this conflagration to be extinguished one day, nothing would be left in the sky but extinct stars and unseeing eyes.” Page 21
The synagogue resembled a large railroad station: baggage and tears.” Page 22
“A prolonged whistle pierced the air.” Page 22
“We had fallen into the trap, up to our necks. The doors were nailed, the way back irrevocably cut off. The world had become a hermetically sealed cattle car.” Page 24
“A quiet, tense woman with piercing eyes, she had been a frequent guest in our house.” Page 24
“She looked like a withered tree in a field of wheat.” Page 25
“We were still trembling, and with every screech of the wheels, we felt the abyss opening beneath us.” Page 25
“It was as though she was possessed by some evil spirit.” Page 25
‘But it was all in vain. Our terror could no longer be contained. Our nerves reached a breaking point. Our very skin was aching. It was as though madness had infected us all.” Page 26
“We were to leave the train here. There was a labor camp on site. The conditions were good. Families would not be separated.” (Irony) Page 27
“Confidence soared.” Page 27
“A wretched stench floated in the air.” Page 28
“The man interrogating me was an inmate. I could not see his face, but his voice was weary and warm.” Page 30
“Another inmate appeared, unleashing a stream of invectives..” Page 30
“I couldn’t believe his ears.” Page 30
“The wind of revolt died down.” Page 31
“This conversation lasted no more than a few seconds. It seemed like an eternity.” Page 32
“My father’s voice tore me from my daydreams…” Page 32
“My heart was about to burst. There. I was face-to-face with the Angel of Death…” Page 34
“The blows continued to rain on us.” Page 35
“A glacial wind was enveloping us.” Page 36
“Suddenly, the silence became more oppressive. An SS officer had come in and, with him, the smell of the Angel of Death. We stared at his fleshy lips.” Page 38
“ A tall man, in his thirties, a crime written all over his forehead and his gaze. He looked at us as one would a pack of leprous dogs clinging to life.” Page 38
“The word chimney here was not an abstraction: it floated in the air, mingled with the smoke. It was, perhaps, the only word that had real meaning in this place.” Page 39
“At every step, white signs with black skull looked down on us. The inscription: WARNING! DANGER OF DEATH. What irony. Was there here a single place where one was not in danger of death?” Page 40
“That SS officer in the muddy barack must have been lying: Auschwitz was, after all, a convalescent home…” Page 42
“...he was judged too humane. The new one was ferocious and his aides were veritable monsters. The good days were over.” Page 44
“Every time he came, tears rolled down his icy cheeks.” Page 44
“And he himself was so thin, so withered, so weak…” Page 45
“The camp looked as though it had been through an epidemic: empty and dead.” Page 47
“He was a stocky man with big shoulders, the neck of a bull, thick lips, and curly hair. He gave an impression of kindness. From time to time, a smile would linger in his gray-blue eyes.” Page 47
“‘Burna is a very good camp. One can hold one’s own here. The most important thing is not to be assigned to the construction Kommando...”’ Page 48
“An assassin’s face, fleshy lips, hands resembling a wolf’s paws. The camp’s food had agreed with him; he could hardly move, he was so fat.” Page 48
“We still had march in our ears.” Page 49
“He paid as much attention to us as would a shopkeeper receiving a delivery of old rags.” Page 50
“The women silently greeted the musicians with their eyes.” Page 50
“The dentist, a Jew from Czechoslovakia, had a face not unlike a death mask. When he opened his mouth, one had a ghastly vision of yellow, rotten teeth.” Page 51
“He threw himself on my like a wild beast, beating me in the chest, on the head, throwing me to the ground and picking me up again, crushing me with ever more violent blows, until I was covered in blood.” Page 53
“She was smiling her mournful smile as she slipped me a crust of bread. She looked straight into my eyes. I knew she wanted to talk to me but that she was paralyzed with fear.” Page 53
“And he began beating him with an iron bar. At first, my father simply doubled over under the blows, but then he seemed to break in two like an old tree struck by lightning.” Page 54
“All of a sudden, this pleasant and intelligent young man had changed. His eyes were shining with greed.” Page 55
“I wanted to run away, but my feet were nailed to the floor. Idek grabbed me by the throat.” Page 57
“His voice was calm and reached me as through a thick wall.” Page 58
“I nodded, once, ten times, endlessly. As if my head had decided to say yes for all eternity.” Page 58
“In no time, the camp had the look of an abandoned ship. No living soul in the alleys.” Page 59
“Two cauldrons of soup! Smack in the middle of the road, two cauldrons of soup with no one to guard them! A royal feast going to waste! Supreme temptation! Hundreds of eyes were looking at them, shining with desire. Two lambs with hundreds of wolves lying in wait for them. Two lambs without a shepherd, free for the taking. But who would dare?” Page 59
“Jealousy devoured us, consumed us.” Page 59
“Ten thousand caps were back on our heads, at lightning speed.” Page 61
“He was tall and strong, a giant compared to me.” Page 61
“Like a sword, the order cut through the air.” Page 52
“Thousands of lips repeated the benediction, bent over like trees in a storm.” Page 67
The old men stayed in their corner, silent, motionless, hunted-down creatures.” Page 70
“Run as if you had the devil at your heels! And most important, don’t be afraid.” Page 71
“He nodded to the Blockalteste: we can begin! As if this were a game.” Page 72
“The race seemed endless; I felt as though I had been running for years..” Page 72
“Now, it no longer mattered that the work was hard. All that mattered was to be far from the block, far from the crucible of death, from the center of hell.” Page 74
“I felt sick at heart. How kindly they treated me. Like an orphan.” Page 75
“His eyes would suddenly go blank, leaving two gaping wounds, two wells of terror.” Page 76
“... a glacial wind lashed us like a whip.” Page 77
“He was skin and bones, his eyes were dead.” Page 78
“It was like an injection of morphine.” Page 80
“After the war, I learned the fate of those who had remained at the infirmary. They were, quite simply, liberated by the Russians, two days after the evacuation.” Page 82
“Through the frosty windowpanes, we could see flashes of red. Cannon shots broke the silence of the night.” Page 83
“My foot was on fire.” Page 83
“I was putting one foot in front of the other, like a machine. I was dragging this emancipated body that was still such a weight.” Page 85
“Death enveloped me, it suffocated me. It stuck to me like glue.” Page 86
“These human waves were rolling forward and would have crushed me like an ant.” Page 87
“By now, I moved like a sleepwalker. I sometimes closed my eyes and it was like running while asleep.” Page 87
“The road was endless.” Page 87
“The snow seemed to me like a very soft, very warm carpet.” Page 88
“The icy wind whipped my face.” Page 89
“All around me, what appeared to be a dance of death.” Page 89
“Death, which was settling in all around me, silently, gently. It would seize upon a sleeping person, steal into him and devour him bit by bit.” Page 89
“On the road, it snowed and snowed, it snowed endlessly.” Page 92
“I felt I had lost my foot. It had become detached from me like a wheel fallen off a car.” Page 92
“I could drink a little air.” Page 94
“All I could hear was the violin, and it was as if Juliek’s soul had become his bow.” Page 95
“Our heads empty and heavy, our brains a whirlwind of decaying memories. Our minds numb with indifference.” Page 98
“The night was growing longer, never ending.” Page 98
“Then, two ‘gravediggers’ grabbed him by the head and feet and threw him from the wagon like a sack of flour.” Page 99
“Beasts of prey unleashed, animal hate in their eyes. An extraordinary vitality possessed them, sharpening their teeth and nails.” Page 101
“Suddenly, a cry rose in the wagon, the cry of a wounded animal. Someone had just died.” Page 103
“The discussion continued for some time. I knew that I was no longer arguing with him but with Death itself, with Death that he had already chosen.” Page 105
“I fought my way to the coffee cauldron like a wild beast.” Page 106
“I will never forget the gratitude that shone in his eyes when he swallowed this beverage. The gratitude of a wounded animal.” Page 106
“Everyday, my father was getting weaker. His eyes were watery, his face the color of dead leaves.” Page 107
“From afar, I saw my father and ran to meet him. He went by me like a shadow, passing me without stopping, without a glance.” Page 107
“He looked at me for a moment and his gaze was distant, otherworldy, the face of a stranger. It last only a moment and then he ran away.” Page 108
“On my return from the bread distribution, I found my father crying like a child.” Page 109
“Suddenly, the sirens began to scream.” Page 114 /
- Simile:This example of figurative language compares Moishe's awkward traits to that of a clown. Due to its directcomparativenature using "as", it is classified as a simile.
- Simile: This excerpt is a simile because it directly connects Moishe's title to one that has no surname.
- Metaphor:This excerpt is an example of a metaphor because it confines the words of God and answers of life into the human soul, even though we can determine such not be unreasonable and not literally applicable.
- Simile: This quote is an example of simile due to its use of "like" to directly relate the barbed wire to a wall.
- Simile:This excerpt is an example of a simile because it uses "like" to clearly correlate the courtyard's state to that of an antechamber.
- Personification: Because shadows cannot rouse themselves, sleep, or leave in their own effort, this example of figurative language is personification.
- Personification:Words have no ability to physically choke someone nor paralyze their lips, so this example is merelypersonificationdescribing Elie's state of silence.
Simile: The context of this quote bluntly compares the nature of the street's compiled mess to a deserted fairgrounds using "resembled". The use of "resembled" makes this relation direct and clear, therefore a simile.
Metaphor:This excerpt corresponds the state of the town to that of an open tomb or summer sun, in the aspect that an open tomb is open to all to look into, and a summer sun is anyone's to enjoy or be within. It vaguely correlates these, and instead of using a direct comparative word, such as "like" or "as", it frankly associates the town and tomb/sun in a way that is not literally applicable, making it a metaphor!
Simile: This example of figurative language is a simile because it uses a direct comparative word, "like", to relate Monday's feeling of shortness to that of a summer cloud and a dream.
Metaphor:This excerpt is a metaphor because it compares Elie's mother's lack of emotion to that of a mask without using directcomparativewords or being literally applicable.
Metaphor:This is a metaphor because although the comparison of theoppressors' faces to those of hell and death is figuratively rational, it is not literally applicable.
Metaphor: It is not a literal claim that the stars were sparks of a destructive fire, but more so a metaphor to describe anguish and dehumanization bringing ruin to the Jewish Holocaustvictims
Simile:This is an example of a simile because the comparison between the synagogue and a rail road station is directly madenon-literalwith the use of "resembled".
Personification: Due to a whistle inability to literally pierce the air, this excerpt is an example of personification.
Metaphor:The world had not literally become a sealed cattle car, but such a description is figuratively applicable making this a metaphor.
Simile: This quote is an example of a simile because it relates the woman's looks to that of a withered tree in a field of wheat using "like" toemphasizeits inapplicable use when being literal in detail.
Metaphor: An abyss was not literally opening beneath the passengers, but instead this literary device acts as a metaphor to describe the lowered hopewithin the Jewsas time passed.
Metaphor: This excerpt is a metaphor because the woman was not literally possessed, but in a figurative sense she acted in a metaphorical comparison to such.
Personification: This quote is an example of personification because madness is being described to have living traits its ability to infect people, such as a virus.
Irony:This is a hugely ironic excerpt from the text because, upon arriving to the labor camp, the Jewish believed they would live in fair conditions, however, their beliefs were extremely wrong and everything inhumanely possibleoccurred. :(
Metaphor: A voice cannot literally be warm, so using such a metaphor to describe the man's voice shows his appeal to emotions and sensitivity.
Metaphor: There was no literal "stream" of incentives, but this device is used to depict the quantity of such incentives and serves as a metaphor due to its figurative appliance.
Idiom: Similar to the idiom "I couldn't believe my eyes", this idiom is structured to show the unbelievable aspects that Elie witnessed. It details how Elie cannot find what has been said to his father believable .he can hardly believe his father was spoken to in such a way!
Hyperbole:When Elie implies that the conversation felt like an eternity, he doesn't literally mean a whole eternity; no one can relate to such a length of time. He uses such an exaggeration to convey the unrealistic feeling of length the conversation, but surely doesn't truly mean an eternity, making this a hyperbole.
Personification: This is an example ofpersonificationbecause a voice cannot physically tear a person from their daydreams, but can only wake one up.
Hyperbole: Elie's heart was surely not going to actually burst, however, this hyperbole greatly aids in emphasizing the distress Elie was facing.
Metaphor: The silence was not literally oppressive, but in figurative nature this metaphor serves to describe how the silence caused instability and anxiety.
Idiom: The phrase "written all over (person's body part)" is used commonly in our English language to convey the clarity of someone's personality and habits. It certainly does not truly mean the man had literal crime written all over his forehead, but serves to show that he lookedsuspiciousand like a criminal.