Postmodernism Attacks

On the second chapter of Seize the Day, we see a struggle between two ways of thinking. First of all, we have Dr. Alder, who wants his soon to be a salesman. Who seeks perfection. Who believes on tradition. And who is afraid of change.

On the other hand, there is Dr. Tamkin, someone with whom Tommy agrees. He is an inventor, and thus has a different way on earning money. We can also see that he is more imaginative, as he mentions the wetsuit and finally, we see deduce that life isn't only the right way, or the wrong way. There are plenty of possibilities that can be unconventional, on which you can earn money and live, as perhaps the author may implying with writing, but there is not way of knowing.

When the author is talking about Americans, he states that "Everybody wants to make something. Any American does." pg 37. Following the contrast between Dr. Tamkin and Dr. Alder, the author believes that people are changing their lifestyle. With the theory of relativity proposed by Einstein, society was affected. People started to change from Dr. Alder's point of view, to Dr. Tamkin's point of view and in my opinion, this is what Wiesel wants to emphasize on this chapter.