We Must Not Think of Ourselves: A Novel

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-7

Chapters 8-13

Chapters 14-22

Chapters 23-34

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Languages

Languages are a motif throughout the book with different layers of symbolism. Language is synonymous with culture in the context of the story, specifically Yiddish to the Ashkenazi Jews. Although Adam himself is not religious, the Nazis’ antisemitism brings every Jew’s religious and cultural identity into focus irrespective of their personal beliefs. Thus, for even a non-religious Jew like Adam who marries a Catholic and conducts his personal life in Polish, and his professional one in English, Yiddish eventually takes on importance. He reflects on how it is the language that reminds him of his childhood, upbringing, and culture. If he dies, the Yiddish dies with him and will be forgotten, signifying the extermination of an entire race and culture at the hands of the Nazis. Thus, languages as a motif underlines the theme of The Importance of Memory and Documentation—it is both a tool for documentation and a way to remember an entire culture.

Because language is synonymous with culture, access to multiple languages also symbolizes access to multiple values and worldviews. Adam teaches languages, and this gives him insight into a host of perspectives in different ways. He is able to access different kinds of literature, and his work in the ghetto—his English classes and his archival work—bring him in contact with a range of different people and stories. In fact, it is his work with teaching and languages that earns him an invitation to join the Oneg Shabbat Archive.

Literature

Literature is another motif throughout the book. Having once been a foreign language teacher, Adam now takes English literature classes in the ghetto, where he bases his lessons around poetry. Adam consciously only teaches happy poetry as a way to remind the children of joy. Literature thus becomes a tool for Adam to preserve The Resilience of the Human Spirit in his students.

Literature in different forms also exposes the characters in the book to different worldviews. Even before her marriage to Emil, Sala has dreamed of a richer life than what she had grown up with because she was exposed to different ideas when she read about the world in the newspaper. Similarly, the children contemplate the irrelevance of the values and ideals presented in Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” to their present lives; they pen a response piece about how to survive in the ghetto instead. Because literature of different kinds offers insight into different perspectives, it is included in the Oneg Shabbat Archive to help present a multidimensional view of Jewish life in the ghetto. In this way, literature also speaks to the theme of Memory and Documentation.

Kasia’s Necklace

Kasia’s pearl and diamond necklace is an important recurring symbol in the book. The necklace is part of her wedding jewelry and is one of the pieces that Henryk demands from Adam in return for papers and a safe passage out of Poland. The necklace thus symbolizes several things: It is one of Adam’s last remaining connections to his late wife, and it also points to the complicated relationship Adam shares with Henryk and the layers of obligation and exploitation it encompasses.

Adam keeps the necklace hidden and secret from everyone else in the ghetto, even denying its existence to Nowak and Henryk. He does not want to part with it because not only is it a connection to Kasia, but it is also a safety blanket in an emergency. Thus, the necklace embodies Adam’s hope: He clings to it for as long as he can, only finally trading it in when the deportations begin. Adam accordingly reflects on how he feels free from hope—i.e., hopeless—after he gives the necklace away.

The necklace is what ultimately buys Adam a safe passage out of the ghetto, albeit through Nowak instead of Henryk. Nevertheless, because of its connection to Kasia and her family and how Adam came into possession of the necklace, it still points to privilege. Adam’s connections to the Duda family are a privilege not available to many others in his community. It allows him to find a way out of the ghetto, where most others will perish. The fact that he shares that privilege with others, taking on the responsibility of Sala’s sons, means that he doesn’t use this privilege selfishly. Rather, he makes a sacrifice so that others can benefit from his good fortune.