The Ogre Day 2

After the reading for today I have decided that I am not really fond of this book. I think that it is hard to follow at times and Abel is a very bizarre character. However there are a couple parts in the book for today’s reading that I have found interesting. They play even more so off the themes that we discusses in class on Tuesday.

 

The first is the continued commentary of the significance of the left hand. I think that it is interesting that Abel finds that he is able to write equally as well with his left hand and he didn’t even realize it. It is very interesting that the handwriting is different. I think this distinctly shows the duel sides to his personality.  Building on this theme is how he has come to find his “twin” The man, Weidmann, is a murder and I has been found out that he is left handed committing all of these murders with his left hand. Abel even writes the sinister murders or killings like his own sinister writings. I think this is just a bizarre coincidence. It is also even more strange that the woman he goes with to the execution sees the physical similarities enough to call them twins. 

 

It caught my attention when Abel writes that the reason he does not have the urge to kill is because of his infatuation with Martine. However, it is strange how she almost betrays him by saying that he raped her.

 

This sinister side to his personality is represented through being a ogre.  I was trying to figure out exactly which actions are ogre like and I keep going back to the photography that he takes. There is one point (not sure of the page number) where he describe taking pictures almost like eating. Like when the photo is snapped the image is captured. I think this action is where he is being an ogre. By taking photos this is his way of capturing and eating children.

 

One additional comment is with his infatuation with cuts. On page 106 he goes into great detail of this boy who falls and has a cut on his knee, and how he sets him up to take photos of it. It kind of reminded me of when he licked the cut of the boy back at St Christopher’s. This to me is ogre like as well. The need for blood. I think again by taking pictures of it, it is like him ingesting it.

 

He even writes by taking these photos I have given up eating raw meat and have not lost weight.