- Elie Wiesel witnesses two hangings. After the first, he says, "I remember that on that evening, the soup tasted better than ever ... (p. 40-41). After the second execution, he writes "That night, the soup tasted of corpses" (p. 42). It is unlikely that the soup's flavor differed greatly from day to day. What point is Wiesel making by comparing the two executions with the flavor of the soup? Why might the soup have tasted differently?
- Discuss how concentration camp life has changed Elie. Provide one example from the story as support.
Provide examples from the novel as support.
Respond to at least two posts.
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The soup could have tasted bad to him because he witnessed the hangings. He had to see men and women and a child go through slow cruel hangings. That image could have made the soup taste bad to him. He had to see their tongues hang swollen, bluetinged.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The mood I am in greatly effects my appetite. If I am upset about something things don't always taste the same. I think birthday cake is the best because I'm happy when I am eating it.
DeleteI agree the soup might have tasted bad for him
DeleteI agree with you. What happened to Wiesel on a particular day, determined what his food tasted like to him.
DeleteThis such a life changing experience and I think when he said the soup tasted bad, he was referring more to the situation. Elie was use to seeing men being killed, but a child? That's a whole new level of cruelty.
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ReplyDeleteI think that Wiesel is showing that more death and the more people that are being killed is not making things better but making them worse. I think that the soup didn’t taste any different from the day before and that he is just showing that death only makes things worse. The life in the concentration camps for Elie changed from always being worried and scared to more laid back and calm. In the beginning he was taken to the first concentration and had thoughts of suicide and fear and now he is thinking of survival but he is calm and not worried as much.
ReplyDeletei agree! she changed a lot!
DeleteI agree with you that Wiesel is more focused on staying alive then anything else.
DeleteI agree too. He is determined to stay alive. He refuses to give up hope and die.
Deletei agree he changed a lot but the major change was his religion.
DeleteElie has changed in many ways because of living in the concentration camp he now doesn’t pray to God and is losing faith in him the longer he is at the concentration camp. He also doesn’t stand up for his father when he is hit or yelled because he is scared that they will begin to hit him or worse kill him. He also thinks more about just staying alive and feeding himself he is more concerned with staying a live then anything else.
ReplyDeletei agree with this reply!
DeleteHe lost the faith because he no longer believed that God cared and was a just and fair God. He felt that God did still exist but wasn't completely fair and just. He failed to account that God gave humans free will and they are able to make their own decisions. It wasn't God that put the Jews through this trial.
Deletei agree his religious ways are no longer there but a faint memory.
DeleteBeing in a place like that is hard and I would have to say if I were that situation all I would care about is staying alive too.
DeleteThe soup was likely from the same batch. The change in flavor he was referring to was caused by the atmosphere that had been set. The grim sight of hangings and death can completely devastate people. Some people experience severe depression and require psychiatric help. The soup couldn't be enjoyed in the same manner as previously in the day because of the bleak things the Elie had witnessed. Wiesel used this comparison to show how greatly the hanging's effected his younger self. He couldn't get over the vivid deaths and this is why the soup even tasted of corpses to him.
ReplyDeleteI think that the atmosphere for them has also changed and that has made the soup seem different to him to
DeleteI agree, I think that Elie couldn't get over the deaths of the people that got hanged
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ReplyDeleteI agree. I think Elie was glad that he wasn't being hanged. He did feel bad for the second victim, though. The little boy had to suffer more than the other people that had been hanged. Elie hated to see him dying, and that is why he felt like his soup tasted bad.
DeleteElie knew that the concentration camp had changed him after he became angry at his father for not knowing how to avoid Idek's outbursts. Even though his father had been severely beaten by Idek with an iron rod, Elie was angry at him. It is surprising that Elie was angry at his father, because Elie had also been beaten by Idek. Elie was also not concerned that his father was hurt. Elie was wondering how to get farther away from Idek while his father was being beaten.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you he was angry with his father for being beaten and said that it was his own fault.
DeleteI agree it is surprising that Elie would feel this way after having gone through the same experience. I believe he may have felt a bit of remorse later for the emotions that he felt for his father. Although this experience showed how the camps had changed him for the bad, the experience with Franek showed how it had not changed him. He did help his father when Franek would lash out at him, and I feel this would have been what Elie would have done before the change.
DeleteIt's amazing how much this experience changed him. It's sad how he feels towards his father being beaten in this chapter, that just shows how much he's use to the cruelty.
DeleteConcentration camp life changed Elie from the sweet boy he had been to an almost cold hearted puppet. He did not feel much even when his father was beaten. Elie's father was struck when asking where the restroom was, Elie admitted that if this had happened weeks before he would have attack the man who hit his father. Idek had changed his target from Elie, to Elie's father. Elie would have been sorry for his father and angry with the perpetrator, but everything in his time at these camps has changed him and he became angry with his father. He was angry because he thought his father should have been able to stay out of Idek's way. He showed no compassion for his father in the situation. But later when Franek got back at Elie for refusing him, he took his frustration out on Elie and this is when Elie decided to do something to help his father.
ReplyDeletei agree the concentration camps have made Elie hard
DeleteI agree. The concentration camp did change Elie. It isn't his fault, though; being in a place like that for so long would change anyone. It is probably better that Elie did not attack Idek for hitting his father, because Elie probably would have been killed. Elie is still somewhat himself though. As you stated in your comment, Elie did help his father later.
DeleteI agree that the camps did change Elie, even tho he most likely he did not want to change that way, he had to survive in the harsh conditions.
DeleteThe concentration camps have made Elli spite god. he no longer is real religious like he was.he has grown to accept the kapos command so him and his father were not beat. he learned not to try and hold on to stuff because u will always loose it. He also learned how cruel germans can be for no other reasons then race.
ReplyDeletei agree also
DeleteStephen, use proper grammar! No texting abbreviations!
DeleteTyler, explain your reply! Capitalize. Punctuate.
I think the soup "tasted better than ever" because there was no emotional attachment to the victim. Wiesel was probably just glad that the victim was getting hanged, not him. Thats why the soup tasted so good. Wiesel was happy that he survived another day. The second hanging was worse. The little boy's hanging was terrible. He died a slow death. He was hanging for over half and hour before he finally died. All of the prisoners were forced to watch his death. There was an attachment to this little boy. Everyone loved this little boy. They were all devastated that he was being hung. I think this is why the soup "tasted like corpses". All of the prisoners were upset that he was hung and that his death was not quick. The soup was the same soup, it was the same flavor. But what Wiesel went through determined what the soup "tasted" like that particular day.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think Elie was glad that he wasn't being hanged. He did feel bad for the second victim, though. The little boy had to suffer more than the other people that had been hanged. Elie hated to see him dying, and that is why he felt like his soup tasted bad.
Deletei agreeee
Deletei agree, Everybody was attached to the little boy and the hanging of him was horrible. Thats why that soup tasted like corpses.
DeleteI agree that the little boys death was the reason why the soup tasted bad.
Deletei agree, the little boy had a slow and painful death and that's why the soup tasted different.
DeleteI agree.The hanging of the little boy was terrible.
DeleteI agree that the hangings and events of the day have greatly effected how the soup tastes to Elie.
Deletei agree, when he witnessed the hanging of the little kid, it could have made everything taste vile.
DeleteI think when you have an emotional attachment to things it hurts worse and I agree thats probably why the soup tasted worse.
DeleteThe soup could have tasted bad to him because he witnessed the hangings. It also shows that death is not making things better but making them worse. I also think he thinks more about just staying alive and feeding himself and survival for him. Its made him tougher.
ReplyDeleteI agree, he did not have concern for the other people as long as he and his father were fed.
DeleteI agree with this, because he cared more about him and his father staying alive than other people around him.
Deletei agree, he just wanted to make sure him and his father were okay.
DeleteI understand your answer, but I think he was saying seen it once, had it once, it's no longer tasty or shocking. (comparing hangings to soup)
DeleteI think that the soup he had eaten tasted different because the scene of the 2nd hanging was more cruel than the first. That image of the kid being hung could have made everything become vile to him. The point that Wiesel is trying to make when he compared the tastes of the two soups was that the more people being killed does in fact not making things better for the prisoners there. Being in the concentration camp has changed Elie tremendously. He use to be sweet and kind to everyone, now he is cold and cruel because of the things he has witnessed.
ReplyDeleteWhen Elie witnessed the two hangings, he was depressed. I don't think the soup tasted any different from the first time he tasted it. I think Wiesel made the comparison to show the effect and depression of Elie when he witnessed the hangings. The soup might have tasted different to him because of the deaths he has seen, that he cant get over.
ReplyDeletei agree, the hanging could make him depressed.
DeleteI agree that the soup didn't differ.
DeleteConcentration Camps has changed Elie a lot. Some reasons are that changed Elie is that he doesn't pray as much as he use to and he doesn't have a lot of faith. All the death and beaten up people has made him more emotional each day. Everyone he has loved is gone(Besides his father).
ReplyDeleteThe soup was probably from the same batch. They probably tasted the same as the night before. I think he says this because the first hanging was not as brutal as the second. The kid being hung probably scared ellie for life because he was still alive as he walked by. Yes, it has changed him a lot he doesnt not have the strong fate as he use to.
ReplyDeleteThe soup could have tasted bad because he had just watched a public hanging. As he watched the small child die he felt sad for him being so small and frail. Elie disliked watching the the public executions. Especially because he felt the child had suffered a lot more than what other people had went through.
ReplyDeleteElie was scared and thinking suicidal thoughts at the beginning when they went to the first concentration camp. After time passed on and he went to the other concentration camps he was calm and more laid back. Also he learned the ways to survive and avoid Idek's outbreaks of anger and more. He tried to help his father march and avoid being beaten up and he realized that being in the concentration camps and seeing so many violent things that it had changed him and that he really couldn't do anything about it.
ReplyDeleteElie had changed so much while in the concentration camp. He stated in the book he was no longer the boy he used to be. He heart had become full of dark flames. He was no longer religious. I think he lost his faith.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Elie was scared.
DeleteConcentration camp life has changed Elie in many ways. Elie was only fifteen when he was first transported to Auschwitz, so all of these events have forced him to grow up fast. Witnessing all of the cruelty towards other Jews, especially his father, has caused Elie to become use to it. In chapter four Elie tells about how he was mad at his father while he was being beaten, because he didn’t avoid the Kapo. If you go back to chapter two, Elie reacted completely different when his father had been struck across the face. He was furious, now he has accepted the act and shows no pity. Elie’s faith has also taken a turn for the worse while he’s been in the concentration camp. Before being sent off to the concentration camps, Elie use to be very religious, now he barely prays and questions God’s presence and justice.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. Concentration camps has changed him in a bad, but necessary way.
DeleteI agree with you that he changed a lot from just being a simple kid to having to fight for his belongings.
DeleteGood job explaining the ways that he changed.
DeleteBeing in concentration camps has changed Elie in many ways. One way is his religious views. Elie has gone from being very religious and always keeping his faith in God to having no hope in Him at all. Before concentration camps, he was caring for others and did what he could to help but now, he is mostly concerned with his own safety and well being, and sometimes his father's.
ReplyDeleteI agree. His religious views was the main thing that changed him the most. After the Concentration Camp he kind of became a careless person almost in my opinion. He use to care so much about people and what they thought then when he went to camp he focused on himself. I could not blame him though, you have to do what is right for yourself because not many or no one would help you out in a situation like that.
DeleteHe changed a lot from entering the concentration camps, he was very religious and after a little bit he questions there was a god and started to not believe in him anymore. his heart became very dark compared to how he was before. himself physically became very skinny and basically a skeleton with a layer of muscle on it.
ReplyDeleteI agree. He distanced himself away from God and started to believe that he was the higher being. He was not like that before the Concentration Camp happened. He worshipped the synagogue and prayed day and night. Sadly, the guards were starving, and working the prisoners to death then they became so small and skinny.
DeleteIn my opinion the reason why he stated that the soup "tasted of corpses" was because after seeing a child being hung, you probably would not have much of an appetite either. He was probably scared to death and probably could not get that out of his mind the whole night and just kept replaying it in his mind. Before he went to the Concentration Camps he was such a religious child, worshipping the synagogue every day and night, praying every day and night. Then once he was in the Concentration Camp he took a complete left turn. He stopped praying, he felt that there was no God there. He started to think that he was higher than the God he use to praise and worship. Elie became so small from being starved to death every single day. Then including they worked all the prisoners till they could barely physically move.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I feel bad that they had to witness that.
DeleteThe soups he ate were most likely the same. The reason he thought it tasted bad was because of the second hanging. The first one didn’t hit him as hard as the second hanging. Yes this has changed him. I don’t think he really knows what to think. He is stunned.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. The second hanging was more powerful than the first. The reason is because of the child that was in it.
DeleteMy opinion on he point is Wiesel making by comparing the two executions with the flavor of the soup is that they each caused him to feel two different types of ways. The first execution was of the boy. I think Elie might have been happy that it wasn’t him so the soup tasted better. The second execution was of three different people. Two of the three (the adults) died instantly, the other one (the child), was still alive. I think Elie said the soup tasted like corpses because the fact that the people tried to hang a little boy made him feel sick. He probably didn’t want the little boy to be killed.
ReplyDeleteI think why he said the soup tasted worse after was because maybe the first hanging didn’t affect him that much. I think the more hangings he sees it starts to bother him. It causes him to start thinking about more people getting hung. As he sees more it probably makes the soup taste bad because he is thinking about death and is losing his appetite.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the first hanging was probably a person he didn't know. The second hanging was a kid and it was hard for him to see
DeleteThat's a great answer. The soups might have tasted differently. In my opinion, I think the soup was the same; it was just the fact that the child was in the second hanging.
ReplyDeleteHe is saying how the two executions were different. The first hanging wasn’t so bad. It just happened and then it was over. But the second hanging was much different; they had to witness a little boy die very slowly. The soup didn’t really taste different. He let the hangings get to his head.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the first hanging didn't get to him, but the second hanging was a kid and it got to him
DeleteThe first hanging that Elie witnessed, was a grown up. He probably didn't know him or maybe he did. When he ate the soup he said it tasted very good. He probably didn't feel anything about the hanging. The second hanging was a kid. He knew him, because the kid lived around the village. When he ate the soup he said it tasted bitter. He knew the kid and saw him get hanged.
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