Answer: the hardships faced by the Pilgrims.
In this passage, we see that the author talks about the children of Pilgrims. He states that these children will talk about how their parents crossed the ocean and risked their lives in the wilderness. And the whole time, they prayed, and God delivered them. The passage discusses the hardships that the Pilgrims faced when they came to America.
On the day of the second selection, other prisoners were trying to comfort Wiesel because his father was part of the second selection.
During the first selection day, Wiesel and his father both thought they had cleared the selection. Wiesel's friends say that he ran so fast they couldn't even read his number. His father also thought he was in the clear until the next morning when he was told to stay behind in the camp for the second selection. Elie Wiesel was required to go to work, but everyone felt sorry for him, including the Kapo who assigned him an easier job. They all thought that Wiesel's last time seeing his father was that morning before they left.
<span>"an enormous ornamental bat", because this is a humorous mental image, and
"as the atmospheric conditions demanded", because this is saying that the atmosphere and weather could make it necessary for someone to look a certain way (that's what is meant by putting on airs) rather than to actually stay dry or warm.</span>
