Faith By: Emily Bowtruczyk & Stasha Greenalch

Quote #1 “Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.”

Eli is losing his faith in god. He is upset because he doesn’t know why god would ever put him through something like this. He is saying even when he eventually sees God he will never forget these moments God put him through. In this quote, he is showing that he has lost his faith.

Quote #2 "Why, but why should I bless Him? In every fiber, I rebelled. Because he had had thousands of children burned in his pits? Because he kept six crematories working night and day, on Sundays and feast days? Because on His great might, He had created Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna, and so many factories of death."

Eli is wondering why he should pray and bless God, when he has put him through such misery. This quote shows Eli no longer having faith in god. He isn’t understanding that God still has faith in him but cannot control the situation, therefore Eli is blaming god for all the torture.

Quote #3 "For the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me. Why should I bless His name? The Eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All- Powerful and Terrible, was silent. What had I to thank Him for?”

Eli is questioning whether or not he should have faith in God. It relates to the theme of faith because it is the feeling that Eli is losing. If God controls everything, why is he putting them through this? Eli has faith in God, and at this point in time is wondering why he still does.

Quote #4 "I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I had no more tears. And, in the depths of my being, in the recesses of my weakened conscience, could I have searched it, I might perhaps have found something like- frees at last!”

Eli regained some of his faith. At the end of the story when he is feeling freedom, he has nothing but faith. He no longer has lost his faith in God, but still won’t forget what he was put through. This relates to the theme because instead of losing his faith in someone or himself, he actually has the feeling of it coming back.

Quote #5 “We had already lived through so much that night; we thought nothing could frighten us anymore. But his clipped words made us tremble. Here the word 'furnace' was not a word of empty meaning: it floated on the air, mingling with the smoke.”

This shows Eli once again having faith, but not for the right reasons. His faith comes back after he has lost it all. This relates to our theme because even though Eli has regained some faith, it wasn’t done in the right ways. He is only having faith because he feels there is nothing left to be taken away.

Quote #6 "I did not fast, mainly to please my father, who had forbidden me to do so. But further, there was no longer any reason why I should fast. I no longer accepted God's silence. As I swallowed my bowl of soup, I saw in the gesture an act of rebellion and protest against Him.” need-to-know-about-christian-fasting.jpg

This shows Eli having faith in himself, and not just in God. He eats because he felt God was the reason he was fasting, and he no longer was going to listen to God. He wasn’t allowing God to make his choices. This relates to the theme because even though Eli may have given up on his faith in God, he hasn’t given up on faith in himself.

Quote #7 “Then I remembered something else: his son had seen him losing ground, limping, staggering back to the rear of the column. He had seen him. And he continued to run on in front, letting the distance between them grow greater.”

This relates to our theme because once again, Eli has regained his faith. He realizes that this boy has seen so much and gone through a lot yet he still continued to push forward. It made him have faith in this boy. He saw this boy have faith in himself, so therefore Eli was given the same will power to have faith in himself as well.

Quote #8 “Death wrapped itself around me till I was stifled. It stuck to me. I felt that I could touch it. The idea of dying, of no longer being, began to fascinate me.”

Eli feels that death would be better for him, and that is an area where he loses faith in himself. He feels that being dead is the best thing for him at this point. He no longer has faith or interest in surviving and no longer wants to make it through, even though he still does.

Quote #9 “The student of the Talmud, the child that I was, had been consumed in the flames. There remained only a shape that looked like me. A dark flame had entered my soul and devoured it.”

This quote shows Eli losing faith in himself. He is remembering when he was a child, and did have faith in himself. He no longer has faith in the kid he used to be, because he feels he will never be the same after these experiences. It relates to our theme because it is part of how faith can be lost in the easiest ways.

Quote #10 “My mind was invaded by this realization; there was no more reason to live, no more reason to struggle."

This quote shows Eli giving up on himself. Once again, he has lost all faith in living. It relates to the theme because sometimes faith isn’t just lost in people, but things as well. Instead of giving up on God or himself, Eli is losing faith in the matter of life. He feels death is the best answer at this point in time.