Night Point of View Essay
David Wicks1-15-12 Mr. ChesnoffEnglish 10H P. O. V #2 As the seemingly endless, grueling, painful run from camp to camp came to an end, we had to endure yet another horrible situation. Due to the excitement of arriving at our destination, we all packed into the barracks too quickly. People were being trampled and suffocated under the mad dash of the freezing bodies. I was one of the unlucky ones who had been pushed, shoved and fell and now was being crushed under the weight of the ice cold flesh.
I surely would have been killed by the lack of air or under the immense amount of weight that was crushing my frail body. I stayed calm for a moment to collect my thoughts and then gathered up my strength to yell, ‘”You’re crushing me… have mercy! ’ I thought, I’ve made it this far and I can’t die like this. Once more I mustered up the strength to exclaim, ‘you’re crushing me… mercy, have mercy! ’”. To my surprise the body right on top of me answered my cries of help. It was Elie, the boy I remembered from my original work camp, he was the one who received 25 lashings.
What a surprise to meet him here! I was surprised and a little delighted that someone I knew had made it this far. I explained to him how I was tired, and how my feet were swollen and hurt me because of the ice cold stiff ground we were forced to run on. In addition I told him I was worried that the weight of the people would break my violin and that I needed to find a way out. I had hid my violin under all of my garments while I ran and wherever I went to keep it safe. This violin was the only link left that I had with the outside world.
I needed to keep it safe at all costs. I managed to slip away from the cluster of bodies and found an empty part of the room where I pulled out my bow and brushed off my violin of all the dirt and snow. I took a moment to observe what the Germans had broken us down to. I can only describe it as lifeless skeletons, who live only to see their next ration. The sight was too much for me to bear. I thought of the most moving and inspirational piece that I knew and I began to play parts of a Beethoven concerto. I knew my ultimate fate yet I continued to play.
As things calmed down, I had noticed that my music had put many to sleep including Elie. I played for about ten minutes until I had finished my piece, that’s when the guards came for me. With club in hand I was held back as I watched my violin get smashed, crushed and turned to nothing. I had just witnessed my last true happiness, my last connection to the world outside these gates, outside these restraints. I opened death with open arms because I knew that though they could kill my body, they could never kill my legacy.
