Dawn

Isolated body parts are a common motif in Dawn. Throughout the text, Elisha describes disembodied torsos, hand, legs, and fingers. Some are the product of focus (e.g., when he studies John Dawson’s hands at length); some describe metaphorical disembodiment (e.g., when he sees the British soldiers as “running legs”); and others recall literal dismemberment (e.g., when he recalls Stefan the sculptor’s fingers being severed). However, the body parts Elisha focuses on the most are faces and eyes. Elisha’s attention to eyes stems from a remark made by his childhood rabbi: “Death […] is a being without arms or legs or mouth or head; it is all eyes. If you ever meet a creature with eyes everywhere, you can be sure that it is death” (22-23). As such, eyes are closely linked to death in Dawn. Elisha notes that a hangman wears a mask: “You can’t see anything but his eyes” (35-36). Open eyes signify facing death head-on and with dignity: When Elisha says, “A Jewish fighter dies with his eyes open […] An Englishman dies with his eyes open” (100), he signifies admiration for David and John’s stoicism in the face of their execution. Critically, Elisha imagines that David faces death in this manner, but he watches John face death firsthand.