preview

The Linz Tattoo Book Report

Better Essays

Journal One

“As he stood on the threshold of his home, where the snows of three winters had cleaned away the traces of his parent’s blood, something seemed to freeze shut inside him” (Guild 65). In the novel The Linz Tattoo, a Norwegian veteran of the Second World War named Inar Christiansen sets out to fulfill a vendetta against Nazi Colonel Egon Hagemann, the man responsible for the death of his parents, and the destruction of his village. During his mission, Christiansen joins forces with a group of Israeli nationalists led by Mordecai Leivick, who wish to prevent Hagemann from locating and selling a nerve gas to Syria, for use against the state of Israel. To locate their foe, Inar and Mordecai decide to break into a Russian prison in Vienna, …show more content…

Firstly, their relationship appears healthy because they have both suffered at the hands of the Nazis. Although the Nazis destroyed Christiansen’s family and home, Mordecai has had an arguably worse experience with them himself. As a Czechoslovakian Jew, Mordecai is revealed to have spent time in the Treblinka concentration camp, until he and his fellow inmates staged a breakout from within it. The following quote recounts Mordecai’s escape from the camp: “I will never forget the moment I heard the first series of explosions. I expected to die in the next few seconds, but I have never known such joy” (Guild 98). This shows that even though Mordecai was aware that he could die during the breakout from Treblinka, he was not afraid of the prospect of death, implying that his experiences in the camp had tortured his body and mind to the point where a quick death would seem merciful to him. Secondly, the duo’s relationship appears healthy because they are both former soldiers. With Inar serving in the Norwegian army, and Mordecai serving with the U.S.S.R. as a Czechoslovakian auxiliary during the Second World War, both men fought against the forces of Nazi Germany. Despite combatting the Germans on opposite sides of Europe, it can be inferred that each man respects the other for combatting a common enemy, and for contributing to the end of the war as a result. Lastly, their relationship appears healthy because they both care about Esther Rosensaft. Although Inar and Mordecai originally rescue Esther from a Russian prison in Vienna, in order to gain her assistance in locating Hagemann and the nerve gas formula, the two appear to become quite attached to her. As a Jewish

Get Access