— What did you learn from this story that you did not previously know about life in Nazi concentration camps?
–This story can be described as a kind of “initiation story” for the narrator. How is he changed or transformed by the events of the narrative?
–A tall, grey-haired woman who has just arrived on the “transport” whispers, “My poor boy,” to our narrator. What does she mean?
–“Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
–Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.” What seems strange about it?
Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.” What seems strange about it?
I thought the title was eerily humorous because the way it is phrased reminds me of an amusement park or a carnival where one is leading someone to a rollarcoaster. Here it trivializes how serious the gas chambers were and what they meant for millions of Jewish men and women. This title fits the odd nature of the Holocaust fiction where the author has the leeway to change the tone of his subject and create some levity. The author’s choice of a seemingly funny title creates an uncomfortable feeling for the reader who is about to experience the Holocaust through his voice and I believe that was his purpose due to the nature of the subject.
The title of the story is significant for its hypocrisy. The future prisoners are being referred to as ‘ladies and gentlemen’ but they’re being treated inhumane and equivalent to vermin. The narrator says the Nazi’s gave strict orders that all prisoners are to be lied to all the way up to their extermination, as a form of good will towards the prisoner. Using formal language like ‘ladies and gentlemen’ represents Borowski’s emphasis of the delusion the Nazi’s created for all prisoners on their way to their deaths.
“Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
The narrator asks this to his friend because he personally felt guilt handling the dead babies waiting for a woman to come and claim it. The ‘grey-haired’ lady that did come and claim the babies added a “poor boy” comment and thats what I believe caused the guilt. The narrator asks because he realizes that every person at the camp was in some shape or form was doing something horrible. Whether it be the nazis who killed jews, to the prisoners/narrator himself who was taking part in helping the nazis, even though it was through force. The narrator realizes a poisonous environment all through Auschwitz and the holocaust itself has created this atmosphere of survival and everyone is doing some sort of wrong.
“Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
I think narrator as this question because he is furious of what the Nazi has done, but frustrated that he is unable to change anything he have seen. This self-doubting is the result of the environment arounds him. For instance, it is not because the narrator does not want to save the babies, but rather is because he does not have the ability. He knows where the old lady who save the babies will go, but he could not help her. He says he hate those who do not want to save the babies, but I think he hates Nazi and himself as well. People may ask since the narrator is not the one who tortures the prisoners, why would he question himself. But for the narrator, seeing those prisoners are being torture and knowing most of them will die anyway is even more torturing for him.
–Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.” What seems strange about it?
The language that used for writing the title is in a more respect way as it refers the women and men as ladies and Gentlemen. However, it also sounds ironic and hypocritical, those men and women are treated and tormented in a inhuman way. The title sounds that those people are invited and directed to a place for something nice, but in reality they are directed to a way of death and which is in a inhuman way by burning them to the Gas. this title is very significance by using an ironic and hypocritical way to describe the inhumanity of Holocaust.
A tall, grey-haired woman who has just arrived on the “transport” whispers, “My poor boy,” to our narrator. What does she mean?
When I first read through this moment of the story my initial idea was that this woman pitied our narrator. She felt bad for him because he thought that getting rid of the babies would do him any good in the camp. I interpreted as his denial towards his ultimate demise in the concentration camps. Although he does not evidently die there is no way of his knowing that at this point in the story. This older woman that approaches him feels his frustration and fear and sympathizes with him when she calls him a “poor boy”.
–“Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
I think the narrator asks “Are we good people” because women were leaving their babies behind because they didn’t want to be sentenced right away. This is just one example that stood out to me. He is asking this question because of what he is experiencing. Since everybody in the camp was kind of forced to act in an immoral way.
A tall, grey-haired woman who has just arrived on the “transport” whispers, “My poor boy,” to our narrator. What does she mean?
When the grey-haired woman whispered to the narrator “My poor boy”, I feel like the old woman sees how much horrific things the narrator had witnessed and she also see’s that he feels very bad for all the things that had happened to the Jews. She can also probably tell that the narrator didn’t want to be at the transports anymore because he couldn’t take anymore of the cruelty that was put onto the Jews. The narrator describes his home as a very bad place but at the same time he’d rather be back in his bed than working at the transports.
–“Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
When the narrator asks this, it shows that he’s dealing with inner conflict. He hates what he’s doing, but he doesn’t have a choice. He has to listen to the Nazis and is tasked with making women take dead babies that aren’t even theirs. In this exchange, he questions whether he’s still the same person he was before the concentration camps. He thinks that the horrible things he’s doing is unforgivable and has changed him into an evil person. He is looking for hope that he’s still a good person by asking his friend this layered question.
“Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
The narrator asks that because the powerless and helpless that he has. I think he wants to help the babies and the women. Due to the limit of ability, he chooses to not help. This reminds me about the normal human being. Sometimes when we see someone needs help, but we do not have the ability to help, we then hope there is someone who can help. Same as the narrator, he wants to help, but he cannot; which makes him thinks that is he a good person.
Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.” What seems strange about it?
When I first read the title of the story, it sounded cheerful to me as if the person saying it was enthusiastic about the gas chambers. But, the title is actually quite ironic and hypocritical. Those “Ladies and Gentlemen” are being led to their imminent death. I think that Borowski did that on purpose, to show how tragic the situation is yet it is very real.
Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.” What seems strange about it?
The title of the story shows respect to men and women. However, after reading the story, we can say that the title is actually hypocritical because the men and women are dehumanized and treated as if they are vermins. When we first read the title, we infer that these people are going to an exciting place. Instead, they’re directed to the death sending them to the gas chamber. The title is significant because it shows how inhumane the time of the Holocaust really was.
“Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
The two main characters are basically stealing from the murdered for their own survival. They depend on more people arriving on the train and leaving their valuables, so they end up looking forward to more shipments of victims. This logic feels morally twisted to the main character and he is concerned about his own morality. This is complicated because it depends on your concept of selflessness and ethics. Is is moral to use others for the means of your own survival? To what extent can you use others before it becomes immoral? I believe taking from the already or soon to be dead and complying with the people who have guns to your heads is now immoral. In fact fighting back by trying to stay alive seems to be the righteous thing to do.
Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
This has to do when the protagonist ask his friend when he sees the Jews suffering. He is in a conflict with himself because he gets mad at them because they are suffering. I think that it goes with the psychological problem that he is having in his mind. It goes with the thing that we were talking class about how some Nazis were forced to obey to law because they were going to get killed if they did not obey. So are they good people for obeying their laws? That is a philosophy question.
— What did you learn from this story that you did not previously know about life in Nazi concentration camps?
Honestly, I did not know exactly about the Nazi concentration camps. I knew Nazi concentration camps are like a prison. Before I read this story, I thought Japan is only the most grievous country in the world because of historical issues with Korea. However, now I think Nazi government is the devil like old Japanese government. I was really surprised some people endure the life in Nazi concentration camps because I think the death is better than the life in concentration camps.
–“Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
Since the narrator sees that the women and the infants go on the trucks without choice. He might feels guilty as he forces them go to gas chamber. However, he can only do what Nazi tells them to do in order to survive. As a part of concentration camp system, he is powerless to help those innocent people. Even though the narrator says that “I feel no pity. I am not sorry they’re going to the gas Chamber” (702). He uses his humanity to exchange his survival. And he doubts his moral principle when he does crucial things like that. In fact it is natural and predictable to against someone weaker when they need place to abreact furious emotion. They cannot blame Nazi or themselves, they can only do wrong things if they have to do.
Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.” What seems strange about it?
Before I read this story, the title makes me think this is a story about the host invited some customers. And the title calls them “ladies and getlemen” seems that the plot will be nice. However, after I read this story, I found that the title is ironic and hypocritical. The Nazi caught the women and men to the Gas station. Nazi treats them inhuman and cruel. The title seems to respect the death and criticize the Nazi to kill the good people.
— What did you learn from this story that you did not previously know about life in Nazi concentration camps?
With this story I learned that people being oppressed by the Nazi officials were oppressing people that had less power than they did. For example, in this story the Nazi officers were cruel to the people at the concentration camps but the people who were at the concentration camps were being cruel to the ones who were just arriving. This is scary, it makes me question my views. This made me realize that human beings are capable of a lot of things under duress.
“Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
I think that our narrator is having an epiphany in this moment; he’s starting to consider the possibility that perhaps saving his own skin is in fact not the best decision. His being in the concentration camp because of a suspected crime instead of his being a Jew forces him to act superior, although he himself is trapped also. He is a priviledged prisoner, but he begins to feel guilty about the fact after the work that he is forced to do, and he realizes that his humanity is being challenged, but ultimately chooses to continue saving his own skin instead of helping others, which is what everyone else in the story seems to do also.