Darielle Mercado
Prof.: Dr. Thomas Brown
HIS 59 SEC 09 The woman speaks of her experiences, from childhood to adulthood, during World War Two (WWII) to post war times. She was scared as a child, fearing survival and not having enough food. Unlike her, her younger sister grew up in a time of material things, without fear of life. She recalls an event that happens to her, as though it is minor, she compares it to that of the Holocaust, of when she was injured with a scar on her face that didn’t receive attention to be fixed for eight years. She also had a friend, Martha, who had gone as crazy as she did after seeing the photos of the aftermath of the Holocaust and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Lastly, she remembers her mother …show more content…
She tries to belittle her accident compared to the Holocaust, but in her mind and towards herself, she feels that the even was just as major. It left a burn on her face that wouldn’t get reconstructed until eight years afterward. Although her mother was religious, she didn’t like the fact that she felt condemned by God and his purpose for her. She also seemed biased towards her younger sister’s generation. Born during the baby boom era, material things are what held more value than food or survival. The generation that felt they had entitlement to all things they wanted when she didn’t have that, she feared not having food, and not being safe from bomb threats and war. It was security, of food and material things, vs insecurity, of no food or safety, although they both shared the insecurity of sudden death. Everything became clear to her when she would see the photos of the mushroom clouds left by the bombs. Then there’s the point where she speaks of her mother’s death. Right before she says that there is no bottom, no foundation, nothing of either anymore. She had said: “I don’t need to be Jewish to be burned up.” I think that she believes that there is no difference between her being in America and not in Europe during the Holocaust, she still has the scars and the pain to match. It doesn’t seem as important as it once did, and as she says that her mother is “less compos mentis,” she may also be referring to herself as well, as being not of a sound mind. Then she sings “How Firm a Foundation,” a hymn, from the bible. At this point it seems as though she has let go of her pain and know that it is healed because of the scar that’s left; to sing to comfort her
Prof.: Dr. Thomas Brown
HIS 59 SEC 09 The woman speaks of her experiences, from childhood to adulthood, during World War Two (WWII) to post war times. She was scared as a child, fearing survival and not having enough food. Unlike her, her younger sister grew up in a time of material things, without fear of life. She recalls an event that happens to her, as though it is minor, she compares it to that of the Holocaust, of when she was injured with a scar on her face that didn’t receive attention to be fixed for eight years. She also had a friend, Martha, who had gone as crazy as she did after seeing the photos of the aftermath of the Holocaust and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Lastly, she remembers her mother …show more content…
She tries to belittle her accident compared to the Holocaust, but in her mind and towards herself, she feels that the even was just as major. It left a burn on her face that wouldn’t get reconstructed until eight years afterward. Although her mother was religious, she didn’t like the fact that she felt condemned by God and his purpose for her. She also seemed biased towards her younger sister’s generation. Born during the baby boom era, material things are what held more value than food or survival. The generation that felt they had entitlement to all things they wanted when she didn’t have that, she feared not having food, and not being safe from bomb threats and war. It was security, of food and material things, vs insecurity, of no food or safety, although they both shared the insecurity of sudden death. Everything became clear to her when she would see the photos of the mushroom clouds left by the bombs. Then there’s the point where she speaks of her mother’s death. Right before she says that there is no bottom, no foundation, nothing of either anymore. She had said: “I don’t need to be Jewish to be burned up.” I think that she believes that there is no difference between her being in America and not in Europe during the Holocaust, she still has the scars and the pain to match. It doesn’t seem as important as it once did, and as she says that her mother is “less compos mentis,” she may also be referring to herself as well, as being not of a sound mind. Then she sings “How Firm a Foundation,” a hymn, from the bible. At this point it seems as though she has let go of her pain and know that it is healed because of the scar that’s left; to sing to comfort her