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Symbols
In Dawn, faces and eyes symbolize death, both physical and spiritual. The frequent presence of faces and eyes in the novel suggests that the dead are always watching the living and witnessing their actions. In other words, death is always hovering over life, and the past always weighs on the present, no matter how the living try to ignore or escape this reality. For instance, before Elisha executes John Dawson, he is haunted by the faces of loved ones and acquaintances who’ve died. These ghosts silently witness Elisha as he becomes a killer and remind him that whatever he does, he carries them with him and involves them in his actions.
When Elisha was a young boy, a beggar had taught him to distinguish day from night by looking for a face in the window at nightfall. Whenever Elisha gazes into a window, he usually sees the face of someone dead, but Elisha sees his own face in the window after Dawson’s execution, suggesting that, in committing murder, Elisha has undergone a moral death. The grizzled master also taught Elisha that Death is a creature who is “all eyes”—meaning that it’s made up purely of eyes and no other body parts. When Elisha prepares to execute Dawson, he wonders if he will appear to be “all eyes,” and he wonders if David ben Moshe’s hangman looks the same way.
Faces and Eyes Quotes in Dawn
The Dawn quotes below all refer to the symbol of Faces and Eyes. 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:
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Chapter 1
Quotes
I did not know the man. To my eyes he had no face; he did not even exist, for I knew nothing about him. I did not know whether he scratched his nose when he ate, whether he talked or kept quiet when he was making love, whether he gloried in his hate, whether he betrayed his wife or his God or his own future. All I knew was that he was an Englishman and my enemy. The two terms were synonymous.
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"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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Chapter 6
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The night lifted, leaving behind it a grayish light the color of stagnant water. Soon there was only a tattered fragment of darkness, hanging in midair, the other side of the window. Fear caught my throat. The tattered fragment of darkness had a face. Looking at it, I understood the reason for my fear. The face was my own.
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Get the entire Dawn LitChart as a printable PDF.
Faces and Eyes Symbol Timeline in Dawn
The timeline below shows where the symbol Faces and Eyes appears in Dawn. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...still dwelt in our town.” The shabby, gaunt beggar had an otherworldly look in his eyes. From Hassidic literature, Elisha had been taught that a beggar might be the prophet Elijah...
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...and night. He said that Elisha should look at a window or into a man’s eyes. If he sees a face, then he’ll know that night has succeeded day. Then the...
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...since then, Elisha always watches for the arrival of night. Every night, he sees a face outside the window. It’s not always the same face—sometimes it’s the beggar’s, and later, it’s...
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Chapter 2
...tanned young man in a raincoat. He has unruly hair, a firm mouth, and warm eyes. The man lets himself into the apartment and tells Elisha that he knows everything about...
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...seat and, smoking nonstop, talks throughout the night while staring intently at Elisha with fiery eyes. It reminds Elisha of being a child, listening to the grizzled master tell stories from...
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...When Elisha glances in the mirror, he is frightened by the sight of his own eyes. When he was a child, his grizzled master had told him that the creature Death...
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Chapter 3
...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...
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Chapter 4
...that when he was arrested and tortured, he kept quiet because he could feel God’s eyes watching him, and he didn’t want to disappoint God by admitting guilt. God’s eyes, Gideon...
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Chapter 5
...master, the same thing happens. Finally, the beggar says that it’s “a night of many faces.” He gently squeezes Elisha’s arm and tells him to speak to the little boy, who...
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...but to eat. The ghosts whirl around Elisha, and he wishes he could close his eyes.
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...But even if Elisha does forget this night, the dead will remember, and in their eyes, Elisha will always be a killer. It doesn’t matter if he kills once or dozens...
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...them, not wanting to disrespect his parents. He turns around and walks among the familiar faces of the ghosts. His father looks especially sorrowful. Elisha begs his father to judge God,...
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Chapter 6
...handsome and distinguished. He is in his 40s, seemingly a professional soldier. He has searching eyes and a firm chin. He sits up when Elisha enters the room and stares at...
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After Dawson finishes writing his letter, he studies Elisha’s face sadly and asks, “You hate me, don’t you?” Elisha wants to hate John Dawson. He...
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Dawson’s eyes are filled with tenderness, and he asks Elisha again if he hates him. Elisha says...
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...today. Elisha pictures David entering the execution chamber and seeing the hangman, who is “all eyes.” He knows David would refuse to die with his eyes covered, wanting to look death...
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...light turns a grayish color. There’s a dark shape beyond the glass; it has a face. Fearfully, Elisha recognizes that the face is his own.
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