Imagination and the Holocaust Essay example - 2748 Words

Imagination and the Holocaust The great secret of morals is love; or a going out of our own nature, and an identification of ourselves with the beautiful which exists in thought, action, or person, not our own. A man, to be greatly good, must imagine intensely and comprehensively; he must put himself in the place of another and of many others; the pains and pleasures of his species must become his own. -- Percy Bysshe Shelley, A Defense of Poetry I believe that truly humane learning cant help but expand the constricted boundaries of human sympathy, of social tolerance. Maybe the truest thing to be said about racism is that it represents a profound failure of imagination. -- Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Integrating the American†¦show more content†¦I imagine myself in Wiesels place. I imagine myself in his fathers place. I imagine myself taking him to the crematory. I imagine being the next invalid. Would it be any different for me? How much could I take before I was numb to my fathers summons? Second, I am afraid my imagination will put me in the camps with the victims. I will smell the smoke, experience for myself the horror of murdered children; those tiny hands that might fit cautiously into mine. A child may say, Save me, and I will be helpless. I might succeed so well in identifying with those who lived through the selections that I will have to say, Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever (32). A memory: Once after having read Night, I went home and was asked to start a fire in the fireplace. I couldnt do it. The bricks of my hearth had become a crematorium. I was angry, then, at myself, at Nazis, at Wiesel, at my family for wanting a fire . . . at God. Third, I am afraid of identifying with the oppressor. Wiesel writes that after they came to Auschwitz, [w]e continued our march toward the square. In the middle stood the notorious Dr. Mengele (a typical SS officer: a cruel face, but not devoid of intelligence, and wearing a monocle); a conductors baton in his hand, he was standing among the other officers. The baton moved unremittingly, sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left. (29) Mengele, a savage irony: aShow MoreRelatedChildren Of The Holocaust Survivor Essay1384 Words   |  6 PagesAs children of the Holocaust survivor, Jacob in Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michael s novel haunted from his past from his memories of his parents and his beloved sister Bella. Growing up with Athos care, Jacob struggles to adapt to a new environment as a child with his memories of his parents still preserve into his mind and battling to make what might have happened to his sister Bella. As Jacob ponders on his past, his memories become stronger and save him that will eventually free him from pain andRead MoreComparing the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Life Is Beautiful910 Words   |  4 Pageshorror of the real life events discussed in the novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and the film Life is Beautiful.† The Holocaust was a distressing time in history and is not a story everyone can absorb. Both the book, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas written by John Boyne and the film, Life is Beautiful, directed by Robert Benigni, are based upon the real life events of the Holocaust but with a difference. They made clever use of different techniques to dim and censor the reality of the events and interpretRead MoreWorld War II And The Lies We ve Been Told1330 Words   |  6 PagesTold In many schools, students are taught about events that happened worldwide which changed history forever. They are taught about tragedies so that people will never repeat the mistakes. 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This is achieved by Boyne, p rimarily through the exaggeration of innocence throughout the novel, the content presented to the audience, and the use of a child narratorRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie The Night 957 Words   |  4 Pagesnot decide on its mood. The clouds hung grey, but their burden was light with precipitation. Sunshine, a quick shower, sunshine, a quick, and so on was the sky’s schedule until we were allowed into to a small room in the back of the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial. The light sprinkling of rain made the walk to the room significantly surreal, at least to me. The small droplets still hung to the plants, but also hung, like tiers, to the green metal sculptures hidden among them. 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Witten and directed by Italy’s national treasure, Roberto Benigni, it is a film of two distinct halves that battles through the tragic past to remember the happy times during such misery. But does Benigni depict this fabrication in a deceiving light? A moral and fable, the film stretchesRead MoreThe Elements Of Human History In Briar Rose By Jane Yolen1046 Words   |  5 PagesHistory has elements of evil, i t reveals the cruelest capabilities of humanity and reaches the limit of imagination. Jane Yolen’s, Briar Rose, retells a part of the tragedies during the Holocaust and captures the evil history possesses. Jane Yolen recreates the Grimm Brothers’, Briar Rose, through metaphor she describes the impact of the Holocaust on family’s decades past. 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For an example, in Poland, the total Jewish population of over thirty-three hundred thousand suddenly plummeted to three hundred thousand. Ten percent of the population survived the Holocaust in Poland. Almost every country that the Nazis have conquered has the same percent of survival as Poland