The Uncomfortable Truths About War The uncomfortable truths that people must confront when dealing with war is endless. War not only affects the troops that are fighting but it affects the people trying to make a living in that area. The popular war, World War Two caused the German industry to collapse, there were bombings and housing stocks decreased. The victims of war can be affected physically and mentally by all the tragedies they face, whether they be fighting in the war or just living through it. The truths that come with war can be unbearable and tragic to nations but they cannot be avoided. These uncomfortable truths that war brings about do not only affect the country but also the people themselves. When dealing with war, …show more content…
The one outcome out of war a country would want is to win, no matter how many innocent people die in the process. In Germany, the leader at the time, Adolf Hitler, wanted to destroy the Jewish race and religion thinking Germany would be better off without them. Hitler manipulated the citizens of Germany and Austria to be for the elimination of the Jews. The book Night, by Elie Wiesel states, ¨ From that moment on, everything happened very quickly. The race toward death had begun.¨(Wiesel 20 ), in this quote, Wiesel reveals how devastating it was watching other innocent people and himself be forced to evacuate their homes and be sent to the dreadful death camps. The fact that Germans allowed themselves to be manipulated into putting the Jews to death is terrifying because not only were they innocent, but they were citizens and had their rights taken from them. The novel The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, it states, “I am haunted by humans.” (Zusak 550 ) and the author declares that humans behave differently in different situations when under pressure and are capable of doing more evil deeds. Even Death is astonished what Human beings were capable of doing, thus Death believes that it is being haunted by Humans. Just the thought of normal people having the ability to kill their own kind is astonishing and it is an uncomfortable truth people
War leads to oppression and leaves negative implications on all people and societies by impacting the poor, women, children, and nations as a whole. "War is a state of violent conflict between one or more groups" (Rasenberger 3). Rasenberger defines war as a state of conflict between one group within itself or several groups in combat with each other, what is not mentioned are the after-effects of war. War itself leads to many civilian and military deaths, an estimated 1.5-3.8 million people died during the Vietnam War and an approximate 500,000 people died in the Iraq war. The biggest tragedy of War is that it always results in fatality, but another key, negative, factor to understand is that after the War many adverse implications arise. Post-war ramifications in the nation fall upon the poor, women, and children, making them weaker and less motivated leading to the downfall of a society. Regardless if a nation wins or is defeated in war they have to deal with consequences of war and find solutions to the impacted people and society. It is essential to understand that there is never a true victor in war because regardless of the outcome, fatality and a fall of morale within society on both sides are inevitable. War has often been the solution to situations that required force or violence, but in recent times this has
Robert Shapiro, an American civil litigator once said, “To me, the Holocaust stands alone as the most horrible human event in modern civilization,” The Holocaust, a genocide led by Adolf Hitler, killed six million jews, and dramatically affected the whole world. The memoir “Night,” written by Elie Wiesel describes the brutality Wiesel experienced during the Holocaust, and how life changing it was. Although some may believe the memoir written by Elie Wiesel was titled “Night” because he was forced to leave his home during the night, Wiesel illustrates Jews losing hope, faith, and happiness through the symbol of Night, to prove that the memoir was titled “Night” to symbolize the darkness the holocaust created.
In all situations where survival is scarce, hope is often needed to survive. The Holocaust is an example of a situation where survival is scarce because very few people survived and most inmates died. In this situation hope is needed because the want to survive is based off hope and without hope the probability of surviving is not good. From the start of Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie the main character shows the importance of hope. From the time he first arrives at Auschwitz to when his father dies he might have moments when he loses hope but deep down he still turns to hope for his survival. Though at times he may show signs of loss of hope he still utilizes hope for his survival. In the Holocaust memoir Night, Elie Wiesel uses the motif of loss of hope to convey the idea that when faced with extreme circumstances, it helps to have a reason to keep going, so that a person can withstand the challenges.
Why must humans be either inherently good or inherently evil? The narrative Night by Elie Wiesel illustrates humanity in one of the darkest periods of history, to abandon humanity to survive vs keeping it from spiraling down into hopelessness. As Eliezer struggles to survive against starvation and abuse, he also grapples with the destruction of his faith in God’s justice and battles with the darker sides of himself.Throughout the novel, Eliezer feels a conflict between protecting his father who poses as a burden and giving himself the best chance of survival. The narrative also brings up a very important question, ‘’Are humans inherently good or evil?’’ How can we ever compare the kindness of the French girl who healed Eliezer 's wounds to the SS officers that had beaten him cruelly? We can not, and not just for that reason alone. Are humans born inherently good and became soiled by the filth and corrupt of the world, conditioning them to forget their morals and turn against each-other? Or are humans born inherently evil judging by their capability to commit heinous crimes and there is no goodness in this world, just people who are far less evil than others? In my opinion, humans are born neither inherently good or evil. It’s not as if Eliezer was born with a moral compass, he was raised with high morals and to serve God (and abandoning him when he feels God is cruel to let them suffer). His experience in the camps allows him to explore the darker concepts in humanity
Night by Elie Wiesel focuses on giving the reader a precise understanding of the Holocaust from the perspective of a man who endured it. In order to vividly describe the situation, Wiesel uses specific words or phrases to signify the importance and value behind it. Wiesel writes, “Night. No one was praying for the night to pass quickly. The stars were but sparks of the immense conflagration that was consuming us. Were this conflagration to be extinguished one day, nothing would be left in the sky but extinct stars and unseeing eyes” (Wiesel 21). “Night” is used abundantly throughout the book. In today’s American society, night is for rejuvenation, peace,
Man loves to kill. In response to the question asked, man will continue to commit such atrocities as a genocide. Man will never learn from past mistakes or all of a sudden stop mass killings or genocides. Humans have always killed and they will continue to do it. Humans will not all of a sudden be pacifists and stop killing. This has happened with the Rwandan genocide and with the Holocaust in Night by Elie Wiesel. Man will not stop committing such atrocities and have a brighter future and these are only a few reasons why.
As the famous journalist Iris Chang once said, “As the Nobel Laureate warned years ago, to forget a holocaust is to kill twice.” After experiencing the tragedies that occurred during the Holocaust, Eliezer Wiesel narrated “Night”. Eliezer wrote “Night” in an attempt to prevent something similar to the Holocaust from happening again, by showing the audience what the consequences are that come from becoming a bystander. Elie illustrated numerous themes by narrating the state of turmoil he was in during the Holocaust. In Night, Eliezer provided insight into what he experienced in order to teach the unaware audience about three themes; identity, silence, and faith.
Injustice brings anger and fear to everyone. It could cause someone to act unconsciously or hide to wait for an end. Injustice shapes our history, proven by the French Revolution, the Holocaust, and 9/11. Yet these events are history, what is the right way to respond and end injustice? Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and writer, wrote many forms of literacy including Night that shares his experiences and actions during the Holocaust and “We Choose Honor” an article that features 9/11 and the United States’s response to it. Similarly, Maurice Ogden’s poem “The Hangman” demonstrates the flaws that occur when a population refuses to confront authority or injustice. Wiesel argues that the right way to respond to an act of injustice is to work as a group with your peers to solve the situation. Wiesel is correct in his belief of solving injustice because humans, at their core, are social beings that are more likely to succeed helping each other, and a group of humans is more intimidating and have more power to overcome injustice.
During World War II something else was also happening, that was the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a horrific event for Jews everywhere. The book Night by Elie Wiesel is about his experience of being put in a Concentration/Death camp, and how he survived. Perils of Indifference spoken by Elie Wiesel was what indifference is and how he wants people to acknowledge what it is and how people can stop it. I think that the speech, Perils of Indifference was more effective in giving out Elie’s message. The book delivered the message well, but it took more time to figure it out, with the speech is was easy to figure it out.
One of the internal conflicts that I have found was that Liesel had many difficulties she faced on her own. Liesel is still struggling with the fact that her mother abandoned her. She still struggles with it because her mother doesn't bother contacting her at all. Liesel's mother never responds to any of her letters. Liesel also has a hard time accepting her brother's death. Another internal conflict is Hans, and his personal problems. Hans gets called a Jew lover, he believes that Jews are innocent people. Hans doesn't believe that Jews are people that caused the problems in Germany. Many people in the society he lives in thinks Jews are awful people, so they disrespect the Jews. He respects the Jews, and for that he puts his family in great
Fredrich Nietzsche once said, “Be careful when you fight the monsters, lest you become one.” This means that if a person isn’t careful, the evils that person fights against might be the very thing that person will become. This statement is valid and holds true in both life and literature. Night by Elie Wiesel supports the idea to not fight like the enemy. Wiesel uses setting and characterization to develop his story and to get this point across.
Inhumanity Morphs Alone… Forgotten… Hurt… The worst of inhumanity is being caught in it. Many survivors of the Holocaust recognize this and just fall in grief; some just don’t react at all. Either way, the inhumanity that the Holocaust inflicted upon countless souls was not easy to adapt to.
Eleven million humans lost their lives during the holocaust, but there were some individuals that were lucky enough to survive through the living Hell of the reign of Hitler. It was a gruesome transition for many, and it really changed the mindset of any remaining survivors. In the book, “Night”, Elie Wiesel changed into a completely different person throughout the book.
The stench of burning flesh lingers over the piles of skeleton like people who could no longer fight the battle. Along with the millions of bodies that got left behind at Auschwitz so did much of Elie’s existence before he was brought to the camp. In the memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel, Elie faces many challenges and loses much of himself due to his horrific journey in the camp. Elie’s losses contributed dramatically into the person he became after the liberation, he no longer valued religion or a higher power, he lost his family, and his innocence . Elie entered the concentration camp as a faith driven young boy but ultimately transforms into a scarred corpse like version of his old self.
In life we are given obstacles. Some obstacles may be a lot worse than others, but everyone faces them. The only way to overcome them is by keeping faith in God. During these challenging times in life, people start to question why keep faith in someone or something that is causing pain and suffering to themselves and/or the rest of the world. They start to give up hope and start losing their faith in God.