Part 2 Chapter 23 Page 63 - close reading

• The first paragraph reflects the idea that if things only happen once, they may as well not happen at all, ‘…but no photographic documentation exists; sooner or later they will therefore be proclaimed as fabrication.’
• ‘Carnival of hate’ – carnivals are usually associated with happiness, yet this is combined with the negative connotation of hate. These contrasting dictions are used to emphasise the hate that exist in humanity.
• The setting reveals the ugly side of humanity, the painful exploration of human existence.
• ‘All previous crimes of the Russian empire has been committed under the cover of a discreet shadow.’
• Preserving history ‘Czech photographers and cameramen were acutely aware that they were the ones who could best do the thing left to do: to preserve the face of violence for the distant future.’
• Photographs serve as a symbol for the preservation of history. It is through the ‘[shots]’ taken by photographers that, the ugly, negative side of humanity can be revealed.
• The passage is told in a first person narrative, resulting for a very detailed description of the setting. This allows the readers to be able to imagine the scene, to almost experience ‘violence,’ the primitive characteristic of the human nature.
• At times of war, politics fail, it is only through the ‘lenses’ of ‘Czech photographers and cameramen’ are the people able to fight against oppression.