The Terrible Things by Eve Bunting
The Terrible Things by Eve Bunting is an allegory of the Holocaust. The animals, which represent the Jews who were taken little by little to concentration camps during World War II, each watch as their peers get taken away. "Not me," they are all quick to say, though when it is time for the terrible things to call on their group, they hope for someone to step in to help. By the end, the whole forest has been cleared, and the final group of animals is taken with little hope of being saved. The animals all comply with what is being asked of them, even though they know it is wrong, in hopes that they won't be affected. Instead of standing up for themselves, they allow themselves to be taken away without even putting up a fight.
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The most important theme in the short story is the idea that fear can paralyze us and that fear can push us to do things which we normally would not do. In the short story, the animals were quick to excuse themselves when the Terrible Things came and point out that they were not what the Terrible Things were looking for. The fear of being taken away pushed them to abandon their friends and fellow animals and they pretended not to see when the other animals were taken. A similar thing happened during the Holocaust. In the countries where the Jews and other minorities were persecuted, the population deemed as being safe turned a blind eye to the suffering of those around them.
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