Dawn, by Elie Wiesel

“There are not a thousand ways to be a killer; either a man is one or he isn’t. He who has killed one man alone, is a killer for life…the executioner’s mask will always follow him.” This was Elisha’s dawn, his dawning.
During the years after World War II, terrorists in Palestine try to drive the British out. This dark, intensely written novel, focuses on a young Holocaust Survivor, Elisha, who has joined a group of Jewish militants. He has been assigned to be the executioner of a British officer.

The book fluctuates between Elisha’s ghosts of the past, Holocaust ghosts, and his present situation, as Elisha continually questions whether what he is doing is right, is for the larger good . We enter his mindset, literally, and feel his struggles between what is the moral thing to do, and, what one does, in what they believe to be in the best interests of their nation, and their historical group of individuals. His dilemma “dawns” on him, as he becomes aware, and strongly perceives the struggle he has to face…within himself.  Dawn, is a word that does not necessarily imply sunrise.  In the novel Dawn, although an execution is to take place at sunrise, the impact and emotions of the situation are deeper and more vivid.  They vibrantly illuminate within, more than any actual morning sunrise ever could.  Elisha has an awakening, and a new life begins and unfolds for him…one he can never return from.

We see how the militant group dynamics can encourage and persuade a young person, in the wake of a horrific trauma of their own, to commit an act, that under different circumstances, they might not involve themselves in.

Wiesel’s intensity in writing, and his analyzing the events for what they are…conflict…on both sides of the coin, leaves one to question what components make up the mind of a murderer, and whether there is justification for violence and murder for a political cause, under certain climates.

Dawn is a story that one does not readily let go of, and the reader is left pondering the dimensions of the characters, and left with lingering thoughts on the issues presented within the novel.  Wiesel is a  masterful and brilliant story teller, his voice resounding, evoking thoughts and emotions with powerful word imagery.   I recommend Dawn to everyone.

Although the copyright of Dawn is 1961, the mindset of the militant group could apply to the continuing Anti-Semitism in world events, today.

I personally own and have read this book.
~~~~~~
Jew Wishes…Peace to you all.

Visit here to read Elie Wiesel’s biography.

© Copyright – All Rights Reserved – No permission is given or allowed to reuse my photography, book reviews, writings, or my poetry in any form/format without my expresss written consent/permission.