Jeremy Robertson Dr.

Arnold INTL 3111 31 January 2014 Microtheme II In Silence by Tadeusz Borowski, the binary opposite of foreign vs. belonging plays a key role in supporting the theme of the story. The story starts out by setting the scene of Nazi camp prisoners dragging down and preparing to kill one of their tormentors in retaliation to the atrocities that took place at internment camps during WWII. No one other than prisoners of these camps could possibly have any idea of what it was like to endure such an unprecedented amount of evil, therefore no one could have sought revenge like these prisoners. The story halts when an American military officer enters the barracks with an interpreter and begins to speak to the prisoners. This immediately puts a foreign space between the officer and the prisoners since the officer is American, and isnt from a country that is being ravaged by Nazi Germany. The officer also has a translator, putting further space between the familiarity of the prisoners and their new leader, possibly removing respect or adherence to what he is there to say. The American officer doesnt belong; he has yet to establish common ground with the prisoners, and is hardly empathetic to their cause. He immediately dismisses their incredible hardships by saying: I know, of course, that after what you have gone through and after what you have seen, you must feel a deep hate for your tormentors. But we, the soldiers of America, and you, the people of Europe, have fought so that law should prevail over lawlessness ( Burowski). The officer doesnt even come close to familiarizing himself with the torture the prisoners have undergone before asking them not to retaliate. He is from an ocean

away hasnt any idea what its like to endure what the people in the barracks he is speaking to has endured. Perhaps the prisoners feel that law would state that the tormentors deserve what is coming to them from the tormented and therefore wouldnt be considered lawless acts. In their country, it is possible that the law states these terms without being an act of revenge, and so they are doing what they feel is right to do, and the American officer is insulting them greatly. Immediately after the officer and his men left, the prisoners drag their tormentor down and everyone in the barracks, or everyone the American officer just spoke to, trample the tormentor to death. The prisoners didnt even take into consideration what the foreign officer asked of them, and as soon as he left, the group came together sought their revenge.