Dawn

by

Elie Wiesel

Dawn: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Elisha has probably killed before, but the circumstances were very different. He has participated in various actions against the British occupiers, like ambushing military convoys and setting an army encampment on fire. Ever since he arrived in Palestine a few months ago, he’s been trained in terrorist techniques, the use of various weapons, and the Movement’s ideology. In the basement of the Movement’s hideout, John Dawson is securely imprisoned right now.
The varying circumstances of war create very different experiences of killing. In turn, those experiences impact one’s conscience in different ways. Previously, Elisha was mainly involved in group actions that allowed his enemies to remain anonymous. This time, it will be a face-to-face action, just him against a helpless prisoner.
Themes
Revenge, Terrorism, and War Theme Icon
Hatred, Killing, and Humanity Theme Icon
Gad tells the recruits that once the British learn that the occupation will cost lives, they will leave. While this is cruel, he says, the Movement has no choice. For centuries, Jews have tried to be better than other people, but this only led to the death camps. Now they’ve learned that they can only rely on themselves. Therefore they must be like everyone else and “kill those who have made us killers.”
The Movement’s ideology is based on revenge. In the past, Gad explains, Jewish attitudes have backfired: their refusal to kill has made them victims. Now, at last, the Jews must stand up for themselves, fighting according to the terms imposed on them by the rest of the world.
Themes
Revenge, Terrorism, and War Theme Icon
Past, Present, and Future Theme Icon
Hatred, Killing, and Humanity Theme Icon
Quotes
On the last day of training, a masked man—Elisha thinks it was the Old Man himself—lectured on “the eleventh commandment,” which is “Hate your enemy.” The man’s gentle voice filled Elisha with emotion, and his masked face reminded Elisha of the beggar. Elisha felt part of “a Messianic world” where every action has meaning.
The “eleventh commandment” is a play on the Ten Commandments, the core of Jewish belief, and it’s intentionally subversive—implying that the Ten Commandments are obsolete, at least where the Movement’s goals are concerned. The Movement has plainly religious overtones that take the place of Elisha’s abandoned childhood beliefs.
Themes
Revenge, Terrorism, and War Theme Icon
God and Religion Theme Icon
Hatred, Killing, and Humanity Theme Icon
Once, when Elisha was a young boy, the grizzled master had taught him the reason behind the sixth commandment: it’s wrong to kill because, in doing so, a person takes one of God’s jobs into their own hands. Now, Elisha reasons that it’s necessary for the Jewish people to “become God” in order to change the course of their history.
The Movement’s teachings go directly against what Elisha was taught as a child. Whereas Elisha once regarded it as wrong to take God’s prerogative into one’s own hands, now he accepts that it’s necessary in order for Jewish people to have a better life.
Themes
Revenge, Terrorism, and War Theme Icon
God and Religion Theme Icon
Hatred, Killing, and Humanity Theme Icon
Quotes
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Dawn PDF
The first time Elisha participated in a terrorist action, it made him sick. Imagining himself in an S.S. officer’s uniform, Elisha found himself “hateful.” He remembers how the ambushed British soldiers ran helplessly like drunken rabbits. Six terrorists carried out this attack against about 20 British soldiers; it was accomplished in under a minute, with everything going according to plan. When Elisha returned to the training school and saw Gad’s pride, he was overcome with nausea, remembering S.S. guards casually mowing down Jewish prisoners.
Even though Elisha accepts the Movement’s teachings, that doesn’t mean he finds them easy or pleasant to follow in practice. In fact, doing so makes him feel like one of the guards who once terrorized him and his fellow camp prisoners. This suggests that when someone participates in acts of revenge, they will end up taking the place of their oppressor to one degree or another.
Themes
Revenge, Terrorism, and War Theme Icon
Past, Present, and Future Theme Icon
Hatred, Killing, and Humanity Theme Icon
That first operation wasn’t easy, but at least Elisha had been with a group. When he executes Dawson, however, Elisha will be alone. Gad turns off the Voice of Freedom broadcast and reminds Elisha not to torture himself. Elisha wonders if God wears a uniform. Then he reminds himself that God is a terrorist.
Elisha continues to struggle with what shooting Dawson will entail. Elisha’s thoughts about God wearing a uniform show that he believes God is on his side (or tells himself that); terrorists didn’t wear uniforms, whereas Nazis did.
Themes
Revenge, Terrorism, and War Theme Icon
A short time later, Ilana arrives, accompanied by her bodyguards Gideon and Joab. She looks exhausted and reports that today she saw the Old Man crying. Joab adds that there’s unrest and anxiety everywhere as people appeal for Dawson’s execution to be called off. Gad frets that Jews still have a mindset of persecution and don’t yet have the courage to strike back. He feels especially bitter about David ben Moshe’s execution because they were childhood friends. He’d even been commanding the operation when David was wounded and captured.
Dawson’s execution stirs up anxieties because it represents a turning point in the Movement’s actions—the willingness to commit vengeful acts of terrorism. If they execute Dawson for vengeance’s sake, will they ever be able to turn back? Gad argues that his people must reconcile themselves to vengeance if they are going to survive.
Themes
Revenge, Terrorism, and War Theme Icon
Hatred, Killing, and Humanity Theme Icon
During the nighttime operation, a British army truck pulled into a paratroopers’ camp and resupplied their arms, citing an expected terrorist attack that evening. The truck was actually filled with Movement terrorists, not British soldiers. Just before the British sentry figured this out, Gad knocked him senseless. However, the sentry recovered in time to start shooting at the fleeing terrorists, and he wounded David ben Moshe while David was providing cover for his comrades. Elisha understands Gad’s pain over the whole incident. Yet he almost envies Gad’s ability to mourn his friend. Elisha himself has no more friends to lose—that’s why he became a terrorist in the first place.
The flashback to Gad’s terrorist operation sheds light on his personal bitterness and regret: his friend was injured and captured on his watch and will now be executed by the enemy. This personal element colors Gad’s feelings about the Movement as a whole. But Elisha is the one who must execute Dawson in retaliation for ben Moshe’s hanging. For Elisha, the personal element is not present to the same degree; everyone he loved has already been killed. In a way, this makes him especially susceptible to Movement thinking—he doesn’t have anything else to lose.
Themes
Revenge, Terrorism, and War Theme Icon
Past, Present, and Future Theme Icon