while running, am idea began to fascinate elie. what was the idea? what kept him from carrying out his idea?

While running, Elie was fascinated by the idea of dying. The only thing that stopped him was his father’s presence. “The idea of dying, of ceasing to be, began to fascinate me. To no longer exist. To no longer feel the excruciating pain on my foot. To no longer feel anything, neither fatigue nor cold, nothing. To break rank, to let myself slide to the side of the road. My father’s presence was the only thing that stopped me.” (86)