In section eight of Elie Wiesel's memoir Night, Elie's father has been badly weakened by virtual starvation and the forced march from Buna to Gleiwitz. At Buchenwald, he has been stricken with dysentery. Dysentery is an intestinal problem which causes severe diarrhea and blood to be evident in the feces. Weak and on the verge of death, Elie's father begs for water, which Elie writes was worst thing he could have:
I knew he must not drink. But he pleaded with me for so long that I gave in. Water was the worst poison he could have, but what else could I do for him? With water, without water, it would all be over soon anyway....
Elie labels water as poison for two reasons. First, the water, which was probably contaminated, most likely had been the cause of his father's dysentery in the first place. Second, since water passes through the system quickly, Elie believes that it will only cause his father more discomfort in the form of continued diarrhea. In reality, of course, replacement of fluids was precisely what Elie's father needed, but not the contaminated water which was available in the camp. A little later in the chapter, Elie is deaf to his father's pleas for water as he becomes paralyzed by the fear of receiving a blow from the SS guards. That night, his father dies, and when Elie wakes up he is gone.
No comments:
Post a Comment