Summary:
A couple of weeks pass by and Elli's mother is worried sick about her health so she decides to bring her to the doctors. When she gets there the doctor is able to diagnose that that she is very thin for her age and if she does not gain about ten more kilograms, there would be a very high chance she will die before the age of sixteen. Because of this news, her mother becomes insanely worried about her daughter's health because she only has her and her brother who which she can call her family since her husband died. She would not want to lose someone else in her life again, especially after the holocaust is over. So she starts to feed her daughter large amounts of food during every meal. Trying her hardest to get her to gain some weight.
When Bubi, her brother, comes back home from school he thinks that is if she gets a job at a children camp, would encourage her to eat more. After a long search he finds he a camp for her and was also able to get her an interview at at a camp called High Tartas. When she goes in for the interview, after she thinks that she is not qualified for the job, but unexpectedly Bubi tells her that she got the job and would be spending the summer at the camp, even though she did not know anything about the Jewish culture that much.
Elli starts to get ready to leave to camp and her mother makes her clothes out of pillowcases that came in a Care package. When she got her suit cases packed she went and stayed at her brothers room at his school for the night. The next day she goes the the station where she was told to read off a list of names, to see if they have everyone. Before she was even able to do anything she was made to look over two little kids around the age of four. When they get on the train,she tells the group of little children a story about a kitten and after a couple of hours they reach Vysne Ruzbachy.
On the first official day of camp she wakes up late and sits and watches everyone go off doing their own tasks. Before the day is over Frieda, one of the counselors, receives a telegram that says she got her certificate that allows her to go to Palestine to live there. Without haste she packs her clothes and leaves to Palestine that very night, and tells Elli she will be fine by herself taking care of the kids and that she will send for a replacement. Weeks pass by and there isn't a replacement yet, however things are running well and everyone has fallen in love with Ellie's stories every the teenagers encourage her to keep on telling them. Sruli, the only other counselor at this time, agreed to take care of the teenagers, only if Elli would be able to take care of the little kids all by herself. As the days were going by well, one day around three a.m there was a emergency that everyone from the camp had to flee to the train station, because a group of drunken partisans were coming to kill the little kids. Almost at the edge of getting killed they lose the group of teenagers that were with Sruli, however they are able to reach the four o'clock train and escape the drunken men.
When Bubi, her brother, comes back home from school he thinks that is if she gets a job at a children camp, would encourage her to eat more. After a long search he finds he a camp for her and was also able to get her an interview at at a camp called High Tartas. When she goes in for the interview, after she thinks that she is not qualified for the job, but unexpectedly Bubi tells her that she got the job and would be spending the summer at the camp, even though she did not know anything about the Jewish culture that much.
Elli starts to get ready to leave to camp and her mother makes her clothes out of pillowcases that came in a Care package. When she got her suit cases packed she went and stayed at her brothers room at his school for the night. The next day she goes the the station where she was told to read off a list of names, to see if they have everyone. Before she was even able to do anything she was made to look over two little kids around the age of four. When they get on the train,she tells the group of little children a story about a kitten and after a couple of hours they reach Vysne Ruzbachy.
On the first official day of camp she wakes up late and sits and watches everyone go off doing their own tasks. Before the day is over Frieda, one of the counselors, receives a telegram that says she got her certificate that allows her to go to Palestine to live there. Without haste she packs her clothes and leaves to Palestine that very night, and tells Elli she will be fine by herself taking care of the kids and that she will send for a replacement. Weeks pass by and there isn't a replacement yet, however things are running well and everyone has fallen in love with Ellie's stories every the teenagers encourage her to keep on telling them. Sruli, the only other counselor at this time, agreed to take care of the teenagers, only if Elli would be able to take care of the little kids all by herself. As the days were going by well, one day around three a.m there was a emergency that everyone from the camp had to flee to the train station, because a group of drunken partisans were coming to kill the little kids. Almost at the edge of getting killed they lose the group of teenagers that were with Sruli, however they are able to reach the four o'clock train and escape the drunken men.
Quote:
"Oh, God, am [I] entitled to such happiness?" (Jackson 94).
Reaction:
Before Elli asked this question, she was talking about how all the children were promised that their parents will come back after the holocaust and that if there is no news about where they were it meant that they would soon come back. However she drifts away from that topic and talks about how she can not wait until the climbing trip and being able to spend the day in Sruli's company. When I read this quote, it reminded me about a normals girl diary, where they write about what they believe in and, their feelings, their thoughts. This was the point that I noticed that I was reading a biography and that everything that was being said happened in reality. It made me look over what I just read, not believing what the children had to face at such a young age. I think that the camp was a good way for them to relive those times that where taken from them to act like little kids, and learn. Moments like this in the novel, is when i start to see how life is different for everyone, and that we all do not have it easy at times. These children are able to go though out their day as everything is okay and that they were not just in concentration camps a couple weeks ago, is very shocking to me. It was as if at this exact moment Elli also noticed what these children had to face and how she is also lucky in life compared to their lives.
the quote expresses a key part of survivor stories, guilt for their experience
ReplyDeleteMLA="Oh, God, am [I] entitled to such happiness?" (Jackson 94).