Akiba Drumer, fellow prisoner of Elie's, was once optimistic and deeply religious. However, Elie describes how the brutal conditions and pain of the camp had destroyed him. Having lost all faith in God, Drumer was weak and defeated and knew he could no longer fight. Elie utilizes metaphors and imagery to emotionally affect the reader in order to convey Drumer's empty and suffering state. Elie describes him, saying "His eyes would suddenly go blank, leaving two gaping wounds, two wells of terror."(76) Elie compares Drumer's eyes to gaping wounds and wells. The eyes are such a meaningful and significant part of a person. They conveying emotion, personality, and are even said to be the windows to the soul, a reflection of one's true self. Elie …show more content…
The pain and permanence of a wound such as this is severe; something that has caused devastating damage and will remain as a scar forever. He then elaborates further, describing Drumer's eyes as "wells of terror." Wells are made to hold and retrieve water, which is essential to human life; quenching thirst, allowing for prosperity and life to occur. Many civilizations in the past and present have relied on wells as a necessary source of water. However, Drumer's wells are not full of water- but terror. Deep and dark, these wells are dry and contain nothing but darkness. Water, the symbol of life and prosperity is absent. They are empty. Through this comparison of Drumer's eyes to gaping wounds and wells, Elie conveys the result of Drumer's unbearable experiences destroying his ability to believe in a God. His entire being, his soul, was left lifeless and agonized without the essential hope of religion. Elie is implying that after the destruction of his faith, Drumer's soul itself became empty. These comparisons provide graphic imagery that creates fearful and pained emotions in the reader, allowing them to better understand and empathize with the emptiness and deep pain felt by Drumer.