"I must confess it: after only one week of prison, the instinct for cleanliness
disappeared in me (p.41)."
This quote made me thinking a lot. Is it an instinct that we want to be clean and pure? Apparently, there are people who do not wash regularly - not because they can't afford to, but because they simply don't feel like washing. It is true that it wouldn't hurt them too much if they don't wash often. But is taking shower or bathing what we instinctly want to do? I doubt it. Rather, it seems that they are only part of what we do because of the social norms. Without dressing properly, without taking shower every night, without eating on exactly the same time everyday, we can manage to live. (and we tend to disobey the rules rather than to abide by them. rules exist only for the sake of better standard of living, not for human instinct.)
So, what's the meaning of "the instinct for cleanliness disappearing?" To me, it sounds like the Jews were deprived of their dignity and humanity. Not washing often, not sleeping regularly, not eating sufficiently, they are becoming more like primitive. How are they different from uncivilized people like the Sawi? It is more humiliating that they are forced to lose their dignity than that they are shot to be killed. Even if they are killed, they can still preserve their humanity.
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