At loss

 The passage on page 41 in the book The Assault by Harry Mulisch is a description of what loss and numbness perceptively feels like to Anton. The context of the passage is after Anton's brother Peter had run away, his house was burned down, and his mother and father had been taken away. Anton, on some level was aware of what has been  happening, and is still happening, but still displays a sort of confusion. The imagery used in this passage displays such disconnect: he notes how he is riding on a motorcycle with a man under the starry sky, how he rides "clinging with his torso to the man's gun-strapped back", but only states observations pertaining to the situation he is currently facing, unrelated to what has happened. Through his simple observations,the feeling of numbness is displayed. He feels no fear, he states no fear, of riding on a motorcycle with a man with a gun strapped to his back, he states no preference about riding under a starry sky. "...he had to make an effort not to drop asleep again" is the conclusion of the passage, not the last sentence, but the final point. The only emotion that Anton provides in this passage is tiredness. Through imagery, Harry Mulisch displays the perspective of a 13 year old at loss in the Holocaust.