Wiesel's novel includes some psychological insight into the mind of a Holocaust survivor. Elisha is haunted by the memories of his family back in eastern Europe. His memories of them, as well as their influences, remain with him as he comes to terms with the fact that he will kill an innocent man. Elisha is afraid to know the man, but he nonetheless feels compelled to learn more about him, perhaps because of all the suffering that he witnessed in Buchenwald The novelist manifests the protagonist's guilty feelings by making Elisha wonder if the neighbors—the crying baby and the old woman who closes her shutters—know what his duty is and whether they pity Dawson. Elisha's thoughts are clearly untrue—the baby is too young to know what is going on (he cries not for Dawson, but because.....
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