Transit- Anna Seghers: Chapter One

The theme overall found in Chapter One was boredom. Our narrator talks to the readers either sarcastically or as if he was bored to death by everything. The only time he seemed to be amused was when he was nosy and read letters from the dead man's suitcase (Weidel). The unnamed narrator also seems to be carefree, since he had all the legal papers and documents to board the ship. Yet he did not end up boarding to leave the country...twice. What kind of man is our narrator? He was able to escape the concentration camps, time after time (a total of three times). Perhaps, he should flee the country to be an escape artist as a profession. He is so good at what he does, why not get paid for it? We learn that he is German, but he was sent to concentration camps. I wonder what he did to get himself in a sticky dilemma like that. Returning back to him snooping through stuff that is not his, he was left utterly disappointed after he found entertainment through Weidel's unfinished novel. *cue the drama queen* He should consider taking an occupation in theatre, in case he fails to be a great escape artist. If I were him, I would not have looked through other people's possessions, especially if they were deceased. His storytelling so far would be more useful towards falling asleep than counting sheep. I was told that it would get better, the more we read. The setting is shown to be chaotic, because there were cows that you could have resourceful with. The cows could have been a source for traveler's thirst, as well as a food source. Allusions to slavery and fairytales could be found on pages 9 and 21. Lastly, I would like to give props to our author, Anna Seghers, for incorporating many details for her descriptions and story, such as using real life locations and mentioning the taste of rosé.