Trauma In Elie Wiesel's Men In The Sun

Trauma affects all of us differently; some more harshly than others. In the novel Dawn by Elie Wiesel and the short story Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani, there is an underlying connection between trauma and the loss of innocence and childhood for the main characters Elisha and Marwan. Elisha, after leaving the concentration camp and learning of his family’s death, was thrust into adulthood to find a way to survive on his own. From his experiences, he was recruited by Gad to join a group of liberators fighting for the freedom of Israel. Marwan, after watching his father leave and learning of his brother’s marriage, took it upon himself to travel to Kuwait in search of a job to support his mother and siblings. He sought out help from Abul

Every month, Marwan’s brother Zakaria, who lived in Kuwait, would send two hundred rupees back to the family in the refugee camp, until Zakaria got married. When the small source of income stopped coming in, Marwan’s father backed out of the marriage. He says “… a man wants to be able to settle down in his old age and not find himself obliged to feed half a dozen open mouths” (Kanafani 40). Marwan’s father wanted stability, something that wasn’t guaranteed while living in refugee camps. Marwan and his family were forced to flee from their home in Palestine ten years ago because of the war. They made it to the refugee camps, where the life was extremely tough. There was no source of income, so their eldest son, Zakaria, made his way to Kuwait, to find work. The money he sent back was barely enough to keep the family going, until he stopped sending money altogether. When the money stopped, Marwan’s father couldn’t take it anymore. He needed to get out, so he married another woman. This left the family without anyone being able to provide for them. Since Marwan was the second eldest son, he took it upon himself to journey to Kuwait to find a job and send money back to his family. Marwan, at a young age, is becoming the man of the house and providing for the

Both characters were forced out of the homes they knew and grew up in. They had to live in a place where they faced poverty and many hardships. As a result, Elisha and Marwan had to grow up and become adults. A second similarity between Elisha and Marwan is that they lost their innocence and childhood. Elisha’s innocence is lost when he kills John Dawson. Marwan loses his innocence when he realizes that people aren’t fair; they will do what benefits them. Another similarity between the characters is that they have experienced loss of family. Elisha’s parents died in the concentration camp while he managed to survive. Marwan’s brother moved to Kuwait in search of a better life and Marwan’s father married another woman for stability. Marwan was left to take care of his mother and younger