Ten Hours: A Holocaust Short Story
Azam, Nadeem. "'Ten Hours': A Holocaust Short Story." 1991. 1Lit.com, Inc. 22 June 2015. “Ten Hours: A Holocaust Short Story” was set in a concentration camp. It was cold, -5°, and the door was frozen shut. The main character is a man from Berlin, he is not sure where the rest of his family is located since he was dragged from his wife and children. He often day dreams about his family and their times together. The guards at the camp were cruel and intimidating. The guards often beat the prisoners, hitting them in the stomachs and kicking them while down on the ground. “He wanted to die, but they wouldn’t let him. Were they dead?” thought Yossi, one of the prisoners. (Azam, 2) The prisoners often wondered about dying and at times thought they
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Both showed several examples of human ugliness and transcendent beauty from the cruelty of the officers and quietness of the many prisoners. Many saw the smoke in both camps, early in the mornings and late in the day. The characters were thin and frail, showing signs of being beyond malnourished. Many prisoners died in the camp from being beaten as well as starved to death. Both camps surrounded by electrified fence. The demise of Magda at the end of “The Shawl”, was heart wrenching to read as was the death of many prisoners at Sobibor, from the barbaric …show more content…
Rosa, the mother, like the thousands of others caught in the dismay of the Holocaust, can hardly bear it. There are only three characters; Rosa, a younger Jewish mother; her young toddler daughter, Magda; and her teenage niece, Stella. The Nazi officers are evil and inflict pain and death rather than real human existences. Rosa, described as a “walking cradle” as she shelters her baby between her breasts under her shawl. She feels in a daze and often day dreams of what life was like before being a prisoner of the camp. While Magda is tucked in her shell, Stella, very thin and frail, is resentful of Magda’s cozy self. At the end of the story Rosa loses Magda to the ferociousness of the Nazi
Both showed several examples of human ugliness and transcendent beauty from the cruelty of the officers and quietness of the many prisoners. Many saw the smoke in both camps, early in the mornings and late in the day. The characters were thin and frail, showing signs of being beyond malnourished. Many prisoners died in the camp from being beaten as well as starved to death. Both camps surrounded by electrified fence. The demise of Magda at the end of “The Shawl”, was heart wrenching to read as was the death of many prisoners at Sobibor, from the barbaric …show more content…
Rosa, the mother, like the thousands of others caught in the dismay of the Holocaust, can hardly bear it. There are only three characters; Rosa, a younger Jewish mother; her young toddler daughter, Magda; and her teenage niece, Stella. The Nazi officers are evil and inflict pain and death rather than real human existences. Rosa, described as a “walking cradle” as she shelters her baby between her breasts under her shawl. She feels in a daze and often day dreams of what life was like before being a prisoner of the camp. While Magda is tucked in her shell, Stella, very thin and frail, is resentful of Magda’s cozy self. At the end of the story Rosa loses Magda to the ferociousness of the Nazi