Chapters 2

Silence is a very important theme in the novel, particularly in the second chapter. Elie notes the silence of the Jews, as they are prepared for deportation. He remembers and questions their complacency, their innocence, their naive belief that nothing bad could happen. They did as they were ordered in silence, they turned away from the opportunities they were given to escape, and they boarded the train that would lead them to their deaths quietly...... at least until the silence was broken by Madame Schachter's screams.