The opening line providesin this
chapter:
The summer was coming to an end.
Summer is often equated with a sense of freedom and growth. In this
line, then, we see the impending end of both of these ideas for Elie. Gripped by the power of
the SS, he begins to lose any hope of a return to normalcy and the freedoms he once
enjoyed.
Further foreshadowing focuses on Elie's father:
And my father? Suddenly I remembered him. How would he pass the
selection? He had aged so much...
This line foreshadows
the long journey ahead for Elie in trying to protect his father. He realizes the advantage of
youth in this situation and the inherent difficulty in continuing to pass selections with an
older body. These lines speak to the long and difficult journey Elie will be forced to undertake
in an effort to save his father.
When Elie is hospitalized later in this
chapter and yells out a condemnation of Hitler, his roommate replies,
Ive got more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. Hes only one
whos kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people.
This foreshadows the future devastation that Hitler will bring, just as he has promised
to do. It offers no end for Elie and the rest of the prisoners as Hitler has proved ruthless and
has maintained his promises against the Jewish people. Thus, these lines foreshadow a long
period of hopelessness for Elie, devoid of any possibility of escape.
Several
times in the book, Elie and his father are caught in a delicate balance between life and death.
He captures that feeling as he lies in bed in this chapter:
Through the frosted panes bursts of red light could be seen. Cannon shots split the
nighttime silence. How close the Russians were!
Liberation is so close, yet Elie remains a prisoner, hidden behind cold, frosted panes
of glass. This symbolism foreshadows a long struggle ahead during which Elie will be able to
almost see his freedom, yet remain trapped in the darkness, only catching
an occasional glimpse of the red light of liberation.
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