The self vs. the collective

Respect/awareness

Complicity

Opposition

A Horse Walks into a Bar

The Trial

Survival in Auschwitz

Survival in Auschwitz

Survival in Auschwitz

The Tenants of Moonbloom

Enormous Changes at the Last Minute

The Mind-Body Problem

The Trial

Enormous Changes at the Last Minute

Existing as a part of the collective. This can either mean finding a way to maintain individuality in a society, or losing yourself in the collective and becoming simply a fragment of a whole.

When existing in a collective, there needs to be awareness. Primarily, awareness of the fact that you are part of the collective, not the whole or the center. Along with this comes the idea that though a collection of individuals can form a collective, they still hold individuality. I.e., not everyone in the collective is the same as you.

When faced with a collective existence, some fight against it, desiring to maintain exclusive individuality, unaffected by homogenization. Some identities, however, are othered by those within the collective, revoking their membership by force.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

Page 152. Outlined for us are the three possible results of the trial: actual acquittal, apparent acquittal, and protraction.

Page 213. While speaking with K. about his trial, a priest says "At least for the moment, your guilt is assumed proved," then "The judgement isn't simply delivered at some point; the proceedings gradually merge into the judgement." When faced with an accusation, a forced othering, those in the "in" group will judge you based on your reactions. K. is a Jewish man who is deemed both not European enough for Prague and not Jewish enough for the Jewish populations. He is accused, and then continues his behaviors just the same as before, which leads both identity groups to believe their assumptions about K. even more.

Page 216. The allegory of the man from the country. By calling the man "the man from the country," he is immediately labeled as other. He attempts to gain access into the Law (which stands in for belonging, a cessation of identity guilt, by bribing the door keeper over and over, as well as simply waiting. Neither of these things work. Similar to K., he did not alter himself in attempts to gain access to the Law, maintaining his identity as "the man from the country." The in group continues, then, to deem him unworthy.

Page 121. Primo meets Lorenzo, a fellow prisoner in the internment camp. Lorenzo acts as a force of resistance to the brutality of Lager, as he constantly reminds Primo, just by being there, that "there still existed a just world outside [their] own." The perpetuation of his kind soul helped to perpetuate those around him, creating more resistance to a forced reductive collective.

Chapter 9. Two identities are outlined in this chapter: the drowned and the saved. The drowned are individuals who, due to the brutality and dehumanization of Lager, experience a spiritual death before a physical death. The saved are the individuals who are able to maintain some semblance of hope, even in the face of death. Even if the hope is not for themself, they provide it for those around them. These saved become forces of resistance, directly combatting the aim of Lager, which was to strip each ounce of humanity from the interned peoples.

Pushing against orthodoxy. Throughout the novel, Renee continually attempts to leave behind her former Orthodox life. She leaves for school, as the expectations of her as an Orthodox woman are incredibly restrictive (PAGE NUMBER). However, she again and again runs into similar barriers in the secular world (PAGE NUMBERS). She even continues to lean on Orthodox assumptions and perspectives (13) and consistently uses Yiddish words (38, 102, 179, et al). When faced with the challenges and strangeness of integrating oneself into a new community or culture, it is hard not to lean on former systems of meaning for a sense of control and comfort.

Chapter 9. Those who were defeated in spirit by Lager were deemed by Primo "the drowned." People who have sunk to the bottom, unable, now, to return, despite being alive in body. In the conditions of the camps, they were unable to maintain a grip on their individuality, being reduced from person to object.

Chapter 9. The presence of saved individuals, those who did not lose their individuality in the face of the camps, helped other interned people maintain awareness of the world beyond the camp. If one's worldview was completely reduced to the camps, hope was destroyed. However, if it was possible to remember that the camps were not defining of the entire world, survival became a step more possible.

Page 12. The poem at the beginning of the book states "I commend these words to you. / Carve them in your hearts / At home, in the street, / Going to bed, rising; / Repeat them to your children..." The primary purpose of the book, this asserts, is for Primo to share and perpetuate a story of past transgressions, so that those who never have or will experience anything like the Holocaust may view it with understanding, perspective, and respect, in hopes to prevent a similar event from occurring again.

Page 231. As K. is killed, we are left with the line "it seemed as though the shame was to outlive him." Throughout the novel, K. is in forced conflict with "the system"—his identity conflicts with the "proper" identity, thus he is deemed other. He does not change his behaviors for the better or for the worse throughout the novel, maintaining his essential "K.-ness." However, without doing anything to either deliberately oppose or comply with said system, he is killed—a metaphor for the erasure of his identity stuck in the interstice. All that will remain, then, is the shame of not doing more to either maintain his identity while still integrating or even integrate at the cost of his self.

Tikkun Olam: a Hebrew phrase that means "repairing the world," and a central theme of Tenants. There are many interpretations of tikkun olam, though a common modern interpretation is social action and the pursuit of social justice.

Page 241. Norman visits Basellecci's apartment in order to address the long-standing plumbing issue in his wall. After the wall bursts, Norman exclaims "I'M BORN!" followed by "You'll be healed. Everything will be alright!" After spending so long living transiently, Norman found joy and purpose in helping his tenants. Particular joy was found in this moment due to the resolution of something that has long been plaguing Basellecci—even though the resolution wasn't exactly what they imagined, it was a resolution nonetheless, and now they can move forward in life together.

Page 30-32. Since youth, Norman has been experiencing a severe lack of purpose.

Page 81-82. When Norman breaks through the veneer of ambivalence that has been separating him from his tenants. He falls ill and undergoes a metaphorical metamorphosis. No longer is he able to ignore each detail in the city around him, nor does he know what to expect of himself. This is a display of him breaking out of a shell of vacancy, attaching himself to a new purpose as one who will help these people rather than just exist as a set piece. The transition is difficult, but he notes that it feels irreversible. Now, he cannot exist without knowledge of those around him.

Page 3. Seemingly without catalyst, Joseph K. is arrested. From the beginning, it is established that Joseph exists outside of the requirements/expectations of 'normalcy,' whatever that may mean in a given context.

Actual acquittal is deemed a myth, as acquittal in its most pure sense is something unattainable to all people alike, implying that no one is "perfect," regardless of their membership to the in group.

Apparent acquittal is a facade. Though one appears "innocent," there are individuals with the knowledge of their "guilt," which will always threaten the accused's membership to the in group.

Protraction is deemed the most likely reality. Debates about membership will never cease, as the individual and the qualities deemed "correct" are both constantly under flux. This will leave the accused in a constant state of accusation, never being in or out in full, but always being seen as wrong in an indescribable way.

Page 181-184. Dov (a stand-in for Israel) has decided that it is better if his mother dies, relieving her from the pain and trauma of the Holocaust. However, her memory partially dies with her. Because of this, people seem to hate Dov. An old man spits on the sidewalk as Dov passes, etc. By removing the memory and respect of those who experienced the Holocaust, all that Dov is left with is the violence of Zionism without any foundation.

Page 15. Dov's father and mother had little in terms of understanding and connection. With her experiencing the Holocaust first hand and him not even being touched by it, there is a severe gap of perspective between them. This shortage of respect by the father leads him to be violent and hateful towards his wife, as he cannot comprehend her trauma. The lack of awareness leads, largely, to the downfall of their marriage and life.

Page 122. "Upset yourself with reality for once!" John spends so much time and energy fearing things that will have no effect on him at all, yet does not engage with the community or issues directly surrounding him. This misguided focus perpetuates the issues in his direct community, as it is one less person viewing them as valid or pressing issues.

Page 99. While citizens are protesting the Vietnam War, cops arrive and disperse the protest, and people comply. Richard grows enraged at the shallow display—if people truly cared about said issue, they would not have given up so easily, he asserts. This reductive display of complicity seems to perpetuate issues both in and out of their direct community, as awareness is driven down and inaction is driven up.

Page 411. Landsman compares life in the Diaspora to life under the nation-state. Though each have their pros and cons, he deems life in the Diaspora to be preferable. In the Diaspora, the only thing limiting you is yourself, not the red-tape, bureaucracy, and expectations that come with membership to a strict specific government. Still, though, he does not claim life in the Diaspora to be perfect.

GENERAL KEY!!!!


Grey: central idea
Red: three sides of central idea
Purple: texts
Green: evidence/explanation
Yellow: expansion of particular idea
Blue: related ideas