Violence In Anna Seidler's Journey

In the novel Transit, by Anna Seghers, the story of a man escaping from the horrors of the Holocaust is told. On his journey, he unfortunately falls victim to many sights of injustice and violence. The violence plays a serious role in this novel as it highlights the reality of living in a time like that in which any breath could be their last. Specific accounts of violence that deepened the impact of the work were seen on Seidler's journey to Paris and his time at concentration camps. On Seidler's long trek to Paris, he encounters many refugees from the war. One intense image he recalls is “women carrying their dying children, even dead ones” (26). This violent, graphic scene helps to clearly show just how bad times were. The recollection of this memory helps build the overall meaning of the book because it shows how “together” family was, even in times of peril. Here, Seghers uses this violent scene to appeal to the pathos of the audience. This scene conjures up feelings of helplessness, pity, and a sort of anger towards the perpetrators. The audience wants to help but obviously can’t. This depiction of violence upon human life is so strong that is resonates with the reader and heavily impacts the work. Through Seidler’s moments at concentration camps, he doesn’t fail to mention all the horrors that go …show more content…
Her accounts of the horrors that many would hesitate to tell so publicly in a book show what these unfortunate victims had really gone through. Everything from Seidler’s time on the run to his moments in wretched camps to the unfair ending, where he hears that his love’s ship had sunk, but he still wonder if she will somehow see him again. These events of violence add up to contribute to the novel, and not only tell accounts of this time, but impact the audience in a way that they felt attached to the characters and felt every loss that the characters