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David ben Moshe
The beggar is a mysterious figure whom Elisha first met when he was 12 years old. The shabbily dressed, gaunt beggar had an otherworldly look in his eyes. The mysterious beggar taught young Elisha how to distinguish between night and day by peering into a window and looking for the reflection of a face. The ghost of the beggar also appears in the room the night before Elisha executes Dawson, but he declines to pass judgment on Elisha’s actions. From studying Hassidic literature, Elisha knows that a beggar could be either the prophet Elijah or the Angel of Death in disguise. Throughout the story, Elisha thinks the beggar represents both of these figures at different points.
The Beggar Quotes in Dawn
The Dawn quotes below are all either spoken by The Beggar or refer to The Beggar. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
"Listen," he said, digging his fingers into my arm. "I'm going to teach you the art of distinguishing between day and night. Always look at a window, and failing that look into the eyes of a man. If you see a face, any face, then you can be sure that night has succeeded day. For, believe me, night has a face." […]
Every evening since then I had made a point of standing near a window to witness the arrival of night. And every evening I saw a face outside. It was not always the same face […] I knew nothing about them except that they were dead.
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Get the entire Dawn LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Beggar Quotes in Dawn
The Dawn quotes below are all either spoken by The Beggar or refer to The Beggar. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
"Listen," he said, digging his fingers into my arm. "I'm going to teach you the art of distinguishing between day and night. Always look at a window, and failing that look into the eyes of a man. If you see a face, any face, then you can be sure that night has succeeded day. For, believe me, night has a face." […]
Every evening since then I had made a point of standing near a window to witness the arrival of night. And every evening I saw a face outside. It was not always the same face […] I knew nothing about them except that they were dead.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
