Throughout history, humanity has found a guide. It can be seen as many things, a light at the end of the tunnel, a force pushing one forward, or even a lifeline. There are many ways to describe such a concept but, it can be simplified down to one word, hope. Hope can be defined in many different ways but, most widely can be defined as a feeling of expectation or desire for a certain thing to happen. In life and literature, hope can be the most powerful force in a person's life. It can help the achievement of extraordinary things and push people to new heights never before seen. Hope is an idea, something inside the minds and hearts of those pursuing it. It is a concept, yet it wields limitless power. It can be seen in every essence …show more content…
Vladek lives through and experiences one of the most traumatic and horrific events in recorded history. Maus by Art Spiegelman tells the story of Vladek, a Holocaust survivor who found a way to survive death camps as well as the demons that followed it. Experiencing the trauma and events of the Holocaust would be good reason for one to give up. It would be easy to accept one’s fate and let death in with open arms. For many, this was the reality of the time but, not for Vladek. He was beaten and starved for months at a time and never let the Nazi’s break him. His faith and hope for a better life were constantly in his mind. He would not let his dreams be crumbled no matter how far into the ground he was pushed. He instilled hope into himself and those around him every chance he had. He understood the challenges he and his fellow prisoners faced, but he would not let it defeat him or anyone else. When his friends begin to give in to the situation, he won’t let them. He exclaims, “To die, it’s easy. But you have to struggle for life! Until the last moment we must struggle together... and you’ll see that together we’ll survive” (Spiegelman 122). Vladek sees a chance to survive, …show more content…
Few would jump at the chance to uproot their whole life and move to such a place in order to revisit their history, but this man did just that. In House of Stone by Anthony Shadid, he tells the story of moving his life and career to Lebanon in order to rebuild his grandfather’s house and report on the war and trauma the city has faced. When he arrives, he finds the house in ruins. It has become a place only known by squatters who have occupied the house for years. It is barely a functioning building, yet he intends to restore it to its former glory. It is hard to find hope in completing such a tall task, but he finds inspiration from those around him. In a place of little hope, the people living and surviving through poverty and war can be the greatest form of motivation. As Anthony explores the city, he sees the strangest things. He thinks, “The sight of militiamen sipping coffee at Starbucks, their rocket-propelled grenades resting in chairs in a distinctly Lebanese vision of globalization” (Shadid 55). Anthony is confused and shocked by how normal everything seems. Those tasked with protecting and risking their lives are living as if they have no worries in the world. The fact that they can continue on with their lives through these circumstances make his challenges seem much smaller. When talking to those around him, his challenges only further diminish. In a conversation with a
What is the director ultimately saying about the ways in which hope affects the individual?
"Hope - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster. Web. 24 July 2011. .
Hope is the expectation and the desire for an event to happen. For many people, having hope is to see a reality with a positive feeling. From hope, faith comes in. Having faith in something unrealistic motivates people to keep moving forward and try the best of their abilities to make something happen. Most of today’s religions, especially Christianity, based most of their doctrine on the faith of salvation from Jesus Christ‘s sacrifice and the hope of living for eternity, if we obey the laws of God in accordance with the Bible.
Hope. The very belief that things will improve, or change will come. Hope is that feeling that washes over you when the beauty of the world is more clear than ever. Standing across from Hope stands the emotion that clouds the mind and leads us to seclusion. Depression.
Whether the tHope is a feeling of trust, while to others its an expectation or a desire. Hope is an optimistic state of mind that either encouraged you to move or to distrust your own opinion. Hope is found in different novels by the authors vision or aspect of their own opinion. The novels have that aspect of hope that represent duality throughout each novel. In The Lord of the Flies by William Golding and The Road by Cormac McCarthy, hope has similarities that are explained in different ideas.
All of humanity is built on the concept of hope. Its stories, its architecture, its travel and its ardent exploration of things larger and more powerful than itself, such as religion, are all based on wanting something more than what is present. Even a person's funeral can be brought back to a certain hopefulness. When someone dies, especially someone who is known to the community, that community will choose to believe that that person is better off and is exploring new opportunities they did not have in their lifetime. Conceptually, hope is integral to humanity.
By means of comic illustration and parody, Art Spiegelman wrote a graphic novel about the lives of his parents, Vladek and Anja, before and during the Holocaust. Spiegelman’s Maus Volumes I and II delves into the emotional struggle he faced as a result of his father’s failure to recover from the trauma he suffered during the Holocaust. In the novel, Vladek’s inability to cope with the horrors he faced while imprisoned, along with his wife’s tragic death, causes him to become emotionally detached from his son, Art. Consequently, Vladek hinders Art’s emotional growth. However, Art overcomes the emotional trauma his father instilled in him through his writing.
It is evident that self-preservation is considered as individuals had to think of ways to survive day to day due to the circumstances. Spigelman use of the phrase ”surviors tale” allows the audience to have their own perspective in which is going to take place in forms of survival that become a re occurring theme. However anja and valdek survived the holocaust physically but evidentially mentally they didn’t survive emotionally resulting in the taking of her own life for Anja and vladek behavior which affects him negatively. It is evident that vladek had challenges and confronting issues that arise. An example of survial in maus comes into place when vladek quotes “ and we came ‘til the orison
...nd Vladek’s suffering, he still somewhat tries. He writes a book attempting to recognize what his father has been through. Although a piece of literature may never truly be able to grasp the ideas and mentality of the holocaust, Maus comes very close.
Hope in this context means still believing something that seems unobtainable is still obtainable . The poem “Dream Variations” by Langston Hughes represents hope as a motivation to change tremendously. Langston said in the first verse, “To fling my arms wide in some place of the sun, to whirl and to dance until the white day is done. Then rest at cool evening beneath a tall tree, while night comes on gently—dark like me, that is my dream.” This verse is included because Langston was speaking from his heart.
In the sources used, the situations that are experienced seems like there is no hope to be found, only fear. Fear will protect us, we hope. Nevertheless, hope is everywhere no matter what. For World War II in The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne Frank is the secret annex’s hope. Anne Frank is a 13-year old girl that has the most hope of surviving the Nazi Invasion. All you can think is, “Ah, the Nazi’s are coming! Run for your lives!” That is what went through many minds during this time period, fear. Fear is a strong ally to have. You can worry all the time and no one will stop you. But, hope can be an even stronger ally, if you believe.
Emily Dickinson once wrote, “Hope is a thing with feathers / That perches in the soul, / And sings the tune without words / And never stops at all.” She was right; when all the world is filled with despair, sadness, and longing, all we have left is hope. Hope is the promise of sun on a cold winter’s night.
Hope is the desire for things to happen and to constantly look forward to the better. There can be a negative connotation with “always looking to make things better” as if the present isn’t “good enough”. There is a balance between acknowledging what brought us to the present and encouraging to continuously do better so that we grow. By continuously seeking challenges and challenging those who work for me, I will stress the importance of
Hope is trusting something will work in your favor even though the situation may seem inconceivable. The dictionary’s definition is similar to mine, but with a little different connotation. “To want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true.” I believe more goes into hope then wanting something to happen. For me there is a sense of opposition.
The “Hope” is optimism. Freedom from hope is freedom to your soul. You can no longer hurt yourself by living. It is hard to believe that being hopeless leads to living, but living is an imprisonment. We try to be the best we can be but does life limit us?