Journal Entry 13

March 10, 2007

Chapter 13. October 1944

Lottery: any happening or process that is or appears to be determined by chance. (dictionary.com)

I found that the chapter was captivating because I didn't feel any distinct emotion. I knew I was supposed to feel scared, just as anyone would when death knocked at their door; however, for some reason I felt that the process of selection was strange yet familiar. I knew I felt pity and sorrow, but it wasn't the same feeling as seeing a poor person on a street. I'm predicting the reason I am not feeling any solid emotion is because many complex feelings are mixed up in my mind - my brain is trying to sort out emotions.
" The SS man, in the fraction of a second between two succesive crossings, with a glance at one's back and front, judges everyone's fate, and in turn gives the card to the man on his right or his left, and this is the life or death of each of us." (pg. 128)
The reason I felt familiar to context was because the processing of selecting seemed a lot like lottery. It didn't matter if a man was nice or if the man was mean ... the man was given a 50/50 chance of being chosen to die or live. It's like flipping a coin, and whatever side comes out, you die or you live. This leads me to the question: who were they to determine the life and death of another human being?