'Night' by Elie Wiesel help

Position:Home>Books & Authors> 'Night' by Elie Wiesel help

Question:

I was just wondering why the author says 'That night, the soup tasted of corpses!.' This is said after the young pipel has been hung!. Prior to this when another person is hung the author says ''!.!.!.the soup tasted better than ever!.!.!.'

i was just perplexed by this as i didn't understand the comparison

could i please have you help :)

thank youWww@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

If you read a few pages before, Wiesel stated that he found "the soup excellent one evening" (60) after witnessing some hangings of adult prisoners!. You see, he did not care that they were hung!. They were adults!. They committed a crime!. The adults lived their life!. Now let's look at the pipel!.!.!.

Keep in mind that the pipel was a young boy!. It's a heinous sight as it is to see a young child killed before a person's eyes!. When Wiesel saw him die, he felt bad and sorrowful!. How can a child commit a crime and be punished severely!? Here is a quote that may explain why Wiesel wrote that statement:

"To hang a young boy in front of thousands of spectators was no light matter!. The head of the camp read the verdict!. All eyes were on the child!. He was lividly pale, almost calm, biting his lips!. The gallows threw its shadow over him"(61)!.

So you see, Wiesel felt horribly bad that a child died for something he did not understand and perhaps did not commit!. His mind and soul was poisoned!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

i think it could mean 2 things:my first guess is that he was sad about the pipel dying or the people in charge of the camp use the dying as ingredients of food!. Or he felt sad and was glad he was alive and eating even though he was in the camp because he could have been dead like the pipel!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

i read that book too and when i got to that part all that i could think of was that he was used to people getting killed by then, but the first time it was so unusual and shocking so all he could think of was corpses, therefor the taste of the soup was like corpses!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think the author was trying to say he felt so bad about all the people who where burned!. by then however, he was probably use to it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I am not sure, but my teacher said (i think) that seeing someone die just made him think of corpses, so he tasted them!. Not sure though!.

<33 I am Edward's BellaWww@QuestionHome@Com