The Pursuit Of Hope In The Movie Life Is Beautiful

Having faith in something other than one’s self is necessary to survival in trying situations, resigning to a life without a greater purpose results in the loss of hope.

For some, faith in a better future is essential motivation for survival. For instance, ten-year-old Ruth Cechova, the author of “Birdsong,” a poem written in the “garrison town,” Terezin (“Theresienstadt: Establishment,” n.d.), conveys her feeling of optimism that a future of freedom will inevitably exist for her fellow prisoners:

Hey, try to open up your heart

To beauty; go to the woods someday

And weave a wreath of memory there.

Then if the tears obscure your way

You'll know how wonderful it is

To be alive. (11-16)

The future Cechova portrays is comparable to“greeting the

In the Italian movie Life is Beautiful, the main character Guido, played by Roberto Benigni, prioritizes his son and wife’s well being over his own. A prime example of a time when Guido’s unconditional love was instrumental to his survival occurs when he resigned himself to an inevitable end while working in the anvil factory, until he recognizes that his survival is vital to his son’s (Benigni). Although his sense of self-sacrifice seems to contradict the notion of self-preservation, Guido’s motive to endure the atrocities of the concentration camp was so he could continue to care for his son, otherwise he would have given into the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and embraced death as an end to his

In the Italian movie Life is Beautiful, the main character Guido, played by Roberto Benigni, prioritizes his son and wife’s well being over his own. A prime example of a time when Guido’s unconditional love was instrumental to his survival occurs when he resigned himself to an inevitable end while working in the anvil factory, until he recognizes that his survival is vital to his son’s (Benigni). Although his sense of self-sacrifice seems to contradict the notion of self-preservation, Guido’s motive to endure the atrocities of the concentration camp was so he could continue to care for his son, otherwise he would have given into the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and embraced death as an end to his