The Gold Crown

In the chapter that starts on page 47, I was surprised by how much space in this relatively short memoir Elie Wiesel allots to the story of his Gold Crown. The story seems simple: the Nazis want his crown, but he is saved by a combination of his own cunning and luck. Then, the foreman of his block blackmails Eliezer into giving up his gold crown in exchange for a promise that his father won't have to endure the whip for marching incorrectly. After all that, the inmate gets transferred to another block anyway so it doesn't seem to matter that Eliezer gave up his gold crown. I think that the gold crown is actually a symbol of what is left of Eliezer's freedom of choice. Crowns are so small, but so precious, and there is not much left of Eliezer's independence, but he cherishes it. He never wants to give in to the Nazis' pressure to just give up, and neither does Eliezer want to give in to the Nazis' pressure to give them his gold crown. Only when his father's safety is in danger does Eliezer give up his gold crown. Eliezer is so dedicated to his father that he gives up his independence in order to care for him. This forfeight is demonstrated many times when Eliezer could be more safe or comfortable if he would just give up his father, but he never does! Then, the fact that the ordeal was for naught mimics Eliezer's fear that his father will die anyways and he might as well have conserved the extra energy for himself. The use of the golden tooth as a symbol of independence is just another example of how a simple object can be imbued with so much meaning.