In the poem, I Cannot Forget, Alexander Kimel describes the trauma and misery that Jewish people were subjected to. During the Nazi rule in Germany, the Jewish community were subject to horrors everyday, not only in concentration camps, the first of which was ran by a recently released patient from a ward for the criminally insane, but also in the ghettos, in which they were contained. I will be discussing how Kimel conveys these themes through repetition and how mood is created.
Kimel uses repetition to emphasis the terrors and how the survivors of the Holocaust suffer trouble forgetting those disturbing events. Research done in Israeli estimated that up to 65% of Holocaust survivors developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The repetition of “No, I don’t want to remember, but how can I forget?” demonstrates the long-lasting affects that were inflicted onto the Jewish community. Kimel’s final line “I have to remember and never let you forget” is talking about how this event is a crucial event in our history that learning about can help us ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Kimel also uses negative metaphors to create a frightful atmosphere. By using phrases such as, “searching for children in vain”, “the creation of hell”, “children shaking like leaves”, “dripping with fear” and “begging for life”, Kimel creates a dire mood and an excellent imagery of the horrible conditions and hopelessness in the ghetto. By choosing words, such as “torturous”, “wailing” and “fearful”, Kimel not only created mood, but also left very little room for interpretation. From the first stanza, his stance and opinion are blindingly clear and show that the events were so horrific, that there leaves little room for interpretation.
In conclusion, like Niemöller, Kimel uses repetition to emphasis a different aspect of the Holocaust, however he also created a comprehensible nightmarish mood, through his use of metaphors and adjectives, which is not seen in Niemöller’s poem.
Kimel uses repetition to emphasis the terrors and how the survivors of the Holocaust suffer trouble forgetting those disturbing events. Research done in Israeli estimated that up to 65% of Holocaust survivors developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The repetition of “No, I don’t want to remember, but how can I forget?” demonstrates the long-lasting affects that were inflicted onto the Jewish community. Kimel’s final line “I have to remember and never let you forget” is talking about how this event is a crucial event in our history that learning about can help us ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Kimel also uses negative metaphors to create a frightful atmosphere. By using phrases such as, “searching for children in vain”, “the creation of hell”, “children shaking like leaves”, “dripping with fear” and “begging for life”, Kimel creates a dire mood and an excellent imagery of the horrible conditions and hopelessness in the ghetto. By choosing words, such as “torturous”, “wailing” and “fearful”, Kimel not only created mood, but also left very little room for interpretation. From the first stanza, his stance and opinion are blindingly clear and show that the events were so horrific, that there leaves little room for interpretation.
In conclusion, like Niemöller, Kimel uses repetition to emphasis a different aspect of the Holocaust, however he also created a comprehensible nightmarish mood, through his use of metaphors and adjectives, which is not seen in Niemöller’s poem.