Holocaust Poetry

Read the poem and answer the question below. Include both the questions and the poem in your blog post.

Holocaust
by Barbara Sonek

We played, we laughed
we were loved.
We were ripped from the arms of our
parents and thrown into the fire.
We were nothing more than children.
We had a future. We were going to be lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers. We had dreams, then we had no hope. We were taken away in the dead of night like cattle in cars, no air to breathe smothering, crying, starving, dying. Separated from the world to be no more. From the ashes, hear our plea. This atrocity to mankind can not happen again. Remember us, for we were the children whose dreams and lives were stolen away.

1. What is your initial reaction to this poem? My initial reaction is that this person has been hurt by the holocaust and has like many people lost dreams, hopes and years of her life. 
2. How does the author use 'we' in this poem? The Author uses 'we' in this poem by referring to the Jews and talking about their lives before the holocaust. "We played, we laughed, we were loved." This quote talks about how the Jews' lives were peaceful before the holocaust. It is also an example of repetition and emphasis. 
3. What are the verbs used in the first sentence? Played, Laughed & Loved, in reference to the children's lives before they were taken away to the concentration camp
4. What are the verbs used in the second sentence? How do they contrast with those used in the first sentence? Ripped & Thrown: in contrast, these have a darker meaning and they talk about what happened to them during the holocaust. They also amplify how bad it was to go through that change from bad to good. This is another example of juxtaposition
5. What effect does the listing of 'lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers'? What is it meant to signify? These jobs signify what the Jews did before the Holocaust. It's significance is that it represents the Jews and their professions and that all these jobs are used to help out other people to refer to how kind and calm the Jews were. These are also jobs that people were aspiring to; dreams lost. 
6. What simile is used in the poem and what effect does it have? "We were taken away in the dead of night like cattle in cars," this simile refers to how much cows deteste cages and confined spaces and how it felt when the Jews were taken away - bad and painful. 'Cattle in Cars' is also alliteration and refers to how they Jews were treated like animals. 
7. How has the poet represented herself in the last sentence? The author represents herself in the last sentence as having lost her dreams and life and how she hurts from it. Also 'Remember Us' is a command, not just a request 
8. If you could communicate to this person, a victim of the Holocaust, what would you want to say? What do you feel that you must do in your life as a response to this poem? (should be longer response) If I could communicate to this person, a victim of the Holocaust, I would say to them how sympathetic I am (immensely) and I would also say how much strength it must've taken to get through what they have and how they'll be stronger for the rest of their lives because of it.