Passage #7: Inhumanity of Humans

Page 100, 101-102

One day when we had come to a stop, a worker took a piece of bread out of his bag and threw it into a wagon. There was a stampede. Dozens of starving men fought desperately over a few crumbs. The worker watched the spectacle with great interest.
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IN THE WAGON where the bread had landed, a battle had ensued. Men were hurdling themselves against each other, trampling, tearing at and mauling each other. Beasts of prey unleashed, animal hate in their eyes. An extraordinary vitality possessed them, sharpening their teeth and nails.
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"Meir, my little Meir! Don't you recognize me...You're killing your father...I have bread...for you too...for you too..."
He collapsed. But his fist was still clutching a small crust. He wanted to raise it to his mouth. but the other threw himself on him. The old man mumbled something, groaned and died. Nobody cared. His son searched him, took the crust of bread, and began to devour it. He didn't get far. Two men had been watching him. They jumped him. Others joined in. When they withdrew, there were two dead bodies next to me, the father and the son.

This passage shows the inhumanity of humans toward other humans. They fight with each other for a piece of bread since they are very hungry. When it describes how the men are trampling and tearing at each other, it shows how they are acting like animals-sharpening their teeth and nails, ready for battle. They only care about themselves in order for their own survival and would even kill each other. For example, this boy, Meir, started beating up his own father for the bread, but only ends up being killed himself by other men. I think that the people's experience in the camps are changing them to become cruel with each other because Elie starts to feel that his father is a burden.

--Janet :]