Journal for Dawn

Journal for Dawn

1) A summary of the book up to page 44.

So far Dawn has taken place during autumn in Palestine. Elisha is eighteen years old and Gad recruits him to become a Freedom Fighter; part of his job is to execute John Dawson. He has killed many people before, but always under the cover of darkness and with a group. The thought of execution troubles him and there are many symbols expressing the loss of his innocence; such as a crying baby. He flashed back to what lead him to that spot, all the acts of terrorism that he had committed. Finally it’s the night of the execution and each member of the group talks about how they escaped death. The ending scene is of Catherine, who loves Elisha, whispering poor boy and weeping because she felt that Elisha was going to die.

2) A PREDICTION about what you think will happen.

Elisha is going to feel ashamed that his ancestors are going to become murderers because he was about to become a murderer; he doesn’t follow through with the murder. However, Gad will not be pleased with Elisha. He will force another worker to take Elisha’s place, and either kill Elisha, or demerit him and send him off to a small country town.

3) What you would do if you were in Elisha's situation.

First, I would pretend like I was going to go through with it, but in reality I wouldn’t. I’d tell my fellow comrades that I was going to have a few last words with the man I was to murder; they, of course, would allow me to. Then, I would unlock whatever contraption held him and aid him in his escape from the building. I already had a plane ticket booked for myself; I would be flying far away from the war and death. I would never look back; although, I would often remember those horrible moments right before I was supposed to turn into a murderer. But let’s get real, I would most likely curl up in a ball crying in the corner of the room screaming nonsense.