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Themes for holocaust essays
Themes in literature on the topic of the Holocaust
Themes in literature on the topic of the Holocaust
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Recommended: Themes for holocaust essays
Jane Yolsen produces a powerful and moving novel that deftly blends the legend of Sleeping Beauty with the historical tragedy of the Holocaust. To Rebecca, Sylvia and Shana, "Briar Rose" was simply a bed time story but in all reality the story they grew up with was an actual event in Gemma's life. Although Gemma always identified strongly with Briar Rose, the sleeping princess, no one had thought it anything but a bedtime story. But when a mysterious box of clippings and photos turns up after Gemma's death, hinting that the accepted version of Gemma's origins is untrue, Becca begins tracing the real story, which bears striking resemblance's to Gemma's fairy tale.
Becca then sets off on a journey to Europe to discover her grandmother's true identity. I felt this book was more for adults than for young adults. It was complicated and probably difficult for a young teen to follow. It had language that may not suitable for a young adult. Such as a line like, "Stan expertly braked and simultaneously turned the wheel slightly to the right.
"Asshole!" he muttered." (Jane Yolen, 67). It was a remarkable book. I usually don't enjoy reading what I "have" to, but I truly adored this book. When I first started the book I wasn't very enthused but once I read the first four chapters (for the second time) I started falling into the novel. I became so emotionally involved with the characters and the story that I had to finish it. It made me recall everything I had learned in history class about the Holocaust.
At that time it did not seem to "click". Now that I read this story and all of its frightful horrors it all comes rushing back. Now that I think about it, this is actually a great book for young adults to read. It teaches them a little about the holocaust and the terrible tragedies that had occurred. It even teaches them a bit about homosexuality.
Though the gays were not treated very well in Yolen's novel. I loved the detail that Yolen put into "Briar Rose". It felt like I was actually there, staring down at the mountain of bodies below. Smelling the putrid smell of week old rotting corpses. Sleeping in a trench covered with branches and leaves, with nine to thirteen other escapees, aching for a shower and food in my stomach.
It is interesting to read the connections of Night, by Elie Wiesel because they include the experiences of the Holocaust from other people's’ points of views. In A Spring Morning, by Ida Fink, it is shocking that the innocence has been stripped away from the child as the speaker reveals, “Fire years old! The age for teddy bears and blocks” (Wiesel 129). This child is born innocent, she has not harmed anyone, yet she has to suffer. Reading about the Holocaust is difficult, I wonder how others had the motivation to live during it. The description of a little girl getting shot is heartbreaking as the speaker explains, “At the edge of the sidewalk lay a small, bloody rag…. He [Aron] had to keep on walking, carrying his dead child” (Wiesel 133).
Six million Jews died during World War II by the Nazi army under Hitler who wanted to exterminate all Jews. In Night, Elie Wiesel, the author, recalls his horrifying journey through Auschwitz in the concentration camp. This memoir is based off of Elie’s first-hand experience in the camp as a fifteen year old boy from Sighet survives and lives to tell his story. The theme of this memoir is man's inhumanity to man. The cruel events that occurred to Elie and others during the Holocaust turned families and others against each other as they struggled to survive Hitler's and the Nazi Army’s inhumane treatment.
and humanity. Wiesel shows how the Jews mistreated and were mistreated with word choice and situational irony. Elie, the main the character in the book, gives the reader a personal perspective of being a Jew during the Holocaust. Being a Jew was difficult since the Nazis not only mistreated them, but also gave them false hope which contributed to their dehumanization.
Elie Wiesel has gone through more in life than any of us could ever imagine. One of my favorite quotes from him says, “To forget a holocaust is to kill twice.” In his novel “Night” we are given an in-depth look at the pure evil that was experienced during the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. We see Wiesel go from a faithful, kind Jewish boy to a survivor. As he experiences these events, they change him drastically.
Can you imagine people hating you so much that they would develop a plan to kill you, and everyone like you, just because of your religion? That is exactly what happened when the Nazis decided that they were the “Master Race,” and all others were to be eliminated. This Final Solution is not just documented in the history books, but also in the novel Night by Elie Wiesel. The Final Solution was one of the most horrific events in our world’s history, and Elie Wiesel survived to tell his story. Elie Wiesel writes about surviving the Holocaust as a young teenager. Through his writing, he not only includes all the horrible details that happened, but also the emotion that lets the reader begin to feel more than just facts. Reading the novel is able
Alice Walker’s “Roselily”, when first read considered why she decided to use third person. Especially when the story is in such a private line of thought, but then after my second time reading the story I decided that Roselily would not be a strong enough woman to speak about the social injustices that have happened to her. One key part of the story is her new life she will be facing after she is married in Chicago, while comparing it with her old life she is leaving in Mississippi. In Chicago she will no longer have a job, but instead be a homemaker where she will be responsible for the children and home. Also, in Chicago she will become a Muslim because it is what her new husband will want her to be, but back in Mississippi she was of the Christian faith. One of the more positive outcomes of her marriage is that she will go from extreme poverty, to not having to worry about money on a day to day basis.
The Holocaust survivor Abel Herzberg has said, “ There were not six million Jews murdered; there was one murder, six million times.” The Holocaust is one of the most horrific events in the history of mankind, consisting of the genocide of Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, mentally handicapped and many others during World War II. Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany, and his army of Nazis and SS troops carried out the terrible proceedings of the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel is a Jewish survivor of the Nazi death camps, and suffers a relentless “night” of terror and torture in which humans were treated as animals. Wiesel discovers the “Kingdom of Night” (118), in which the history of the Jewish people is altered. This is Wiesel’s “dark time of life” and through his journey into night he can’t see the “light” at the end of the tunnel, only continuous dread and darkness. Night is a memoir that is written in the style of a bildungsroman, a loss of innocence and a sad coming of age. This memoir reveals how Eliezer (Elie Wiesel) gradually loses his faith and his relationships with both his father (dad), and his Father (God). Sickened by the torment he must endure, Wiesel questions if God really exists, “Why, but why should I bless him? Because he in his great might, had created Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna, and so many other factories of death? (67). Throughout the Holocaust, Wiesel’s faith is not permanently shattered. Although after his father dies, his faith in god and religion is shaken to the core, and arguably gone. Wiesel, along with most prisoners, lose their faith in God. Wiesel’s loss of religion becomes the loss of identity, humanity, selfishness, and decency.
In Art Spiegelman’s Maus, the audience is led through a very emotional story of a Holocaust survivor’s life and the present day consequences that the event has placed on his relationship with the author, who is his son, and his wife. Throughout this novel, the audience constantly is reminded of how horrific the Holocaust was to the Jewish people. Nevertheless, the novel finds very effective ways to insert forms of humor in the inner story and outer story of Maus. Although the Holocaust has a heart wrenching effect on the novel as a whole, the effective use of humor allows for the story to become slightly less severe and a more tolerable read.
Throughout the memoir, Wiesel demonstrates how oppression and dehumanization can affect one’s identity by describing the actions of the Nazis and how it changed the Jewish people’s outlook on life. Wiesel’s identity transformed dramatically throughout the narrative. “How old he had grown the night before! His body was completely twisted, shriveled up into itself. His eyes were petrified, his lips withered, decayed.
...y educational, and made me feel so much sadness over the holocaust. It made me pull away with not just a sad story, but also true horror on what has happened so long ago. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is by far the best historical fiction novel I have ever read. In the end, it just makes me happy that times have changed, for the better.
...urvivors crawling towards me, clawing at my soul. The guilt of the world had been literally placed on my shoulders as I closed the book and reflected on the morbid events I had just read. As the sun set that night, I found no joy in its vastness and splendor, for I was still blinded by the sins of those before me. The sound of my tears crashing to the icy floor sang me to sleep. Just kidding. But seriously, here’s the rest. Upon reading of the narrators’ brief excerpt of his experience, I was overcome with empathy for both the victims and persecutors. The everlasting effect of the holocaust is not only among those who lost families÷, friends,
Altogether, this is a book to be read thoughtfully and more than once. It is about an unusually sensitive and intelligent boy; but, then, are not all boys unusual and worthy of understanding? If they are bewildered at the complexity of modern life, unsure of themselves, shocked by the spectacle of perversity and evil around them - are not adults equally shocked by the knowledge that even children cannot escape this contact and awareness? & nbsp;
Bram Stoker and Sheridan Le Fanu’s texts, Dracula (1898) and “Carmilla” (1872), use gothic tropes in similar ways to captivate readers with horror and terror. This essay will illustrate how, in comparison, both texts include gothic tropes: the New Woman, sexuality and setting, in order to provoke emotions and reactions from the readers. To achieve this, this essay will focus on the women that challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes, and deconstruct each text in regards to the very strong undertones of homosexuality; specifically between Carmilla and Laura, and Dracula and Harker. By discussing the harshness and darkness of the environments described, including ruined castles and isolated landscapes; this essay will also explore the
The novel Briar Rose by Jane Yolen is a heart wrenching story of Sleeping Beauty intertwined with the horrors of the Jewish Holocaust. Yolen portrays the difference between the fairytale and the ugly reality through this novel. The character, Gemma, tells a fairytale called Briar Rose to her three granddaughters every time she is with them. Gemma’s identity at the start of the novel is hidden, and Becca, Gemma's granddaughter, is on a journey to unveil and discover the truth about her identity and Briar Rose. The truth ends up being that Gemma is the Briar Rose she speaks about in her stories. During this journe, Becca discovers not only her grandmother’s identity but also her own. Becca grows up and realizes that her grandmother chose her to find the truth because she and Becca are so much alike. Through structure, techniques, and themes, Briar Rose has proven to be a good book.
He made every character come to life, including Death. This book brought me to tears many times and evoked other emotions as well. It was well written and did not leave me confused about anything. If I would rate this book on a scale of one to 10, it would be a 10. Everything about it comes together in a complete masterpiece. I think everyone should read it. It gives insight to how life was for Germans and not just Jews during the Holocaust. I loved everything about this book and I am very glad that I decided to read