Chapter 5, Herr Kremer and Fraulein Ilse, Part 5 Summary

Ernie's emotional hurt is worse than the physical beating. Ernie seeks solace by the river where he finds a ladybug. He examines her minutely, much as he did the fly three years earlier. This time, though, instead of releasing her, he pulverizes the ladybug between his thumb and forefinger. He begins killing and eating dozens of insects, running and becoming more crazed with each death. He lies down, staring at the sky and thinks that he is smaller than the insects, and he had aspired to be a Just Man. He cannot be a Just Man, he is simply a nothing. And for that, there is no reason to live, for God is no longer there and cannot or will not hear him.

Trudging home, Ernie's mood only darkens further. He...