Elie thinks this to himself in reflection of what happened on his first night at the Auschwitz concentration camp, which changed his life forever. The above quote is portrayed as a metaphor to make it clear that Elie’s life has completely changed from what it used to be. His life has become a single, long night, which means that Elie is calling his current situation a nightmare. The quote contributes to the meaning of the memoir because it foreshadows that life inside the concentration camp will be difficult and life-threatening, like a nightmare.
“Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget those things, even if I were condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never” (34).
Elie thinks this about his life in reflection of the events on the first night he spent at the Auschwitz concentration camp, showing how his views changed about God and life. The above quote is personification because Elie is saying that moments in the camp murdered his God, soul, and dreams. The moments Elie refers to are the life changing experiences he has while being forced into working at the concentration camp. Personification is used to amplify the fact that his beliefs in his religion and dreams have now been ruined by the events he experiences within the camp. The quote contributes to the meaning of the memoir because it shows how Elie will never forget all the things that happened to him and his people, and that the way he views God and his dreams will forever be changed.
“The doors clanked shut. We had fallen into the trap, up to our necks. The doors were nailed, the way back irrevocably cut off. The world has become a hermetically sealed cattle car” (24).
This quote describes the moment when Elie and his family forcibly left Sighet to be taken to the concentration camp.