...historic event like the Holocaust? Elie Wiesel’s book, Night, will answer this question. Throughout history humanity has faced numerous tragic event caused either by nature or human beings, both of God’s creations. The Holocaust, which means “sacrifice by fire”, began in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. During the Holocaust the Jews were the most affected. The Nazis killed eleven million Jews, almost two-thirds of all the Jewish population living in Europe. Jews were not the only ones the Holocaust targeted; Gypsies, homosexuals, and Jehovah’s Witnesses were also victims of Hitler’s plan. In recent years, events like The Twin Towers terrorist attack in 2001 and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami have brought enormous suffering to the world, suffering that can somehow be compared to the one lived during the Holocaust. Continuing is the analysis of Elie Wiesel’s horrific experiences during the Holocaust. Did these experiences affect his faith? Was his perception of humanity ideas impacted? The book Night starts describing Elie’s faith as one indestructible. As young as he was he had deep knowledge of Jewish mysticism studies. Elie believed in God; a God of love and unlimited power. He was told that God is the master creator of all world’s wonders and that these wonders where the emanation of the divine world. Elie concluded that if God was the creator of everything in the physical world and God is a God of love then the world should be a reflection of him, a world of good...
Words: 1226 - Pages: 5
...Indifference and apathy, while often perceived as passive states, can indeed lead to negative consequences. Elie Wiesel's address on the risks of apathy emphasizes how it allows tragedies like the Holocaust to occur, emphasizing the role of dehumanization for both the victim and the perpetrator. Comparably, the essay "The Apathy Syndrome: How We Are Trained Not to Care about Politics" published in the journal Social Problems, explores the ways in which indifference undermines democratic norms and sustains structural inequalities by fostering socioeconomic inequality and political disengagement. In addition, the discourse surrounding indifference to climate change underscores its detrimental effects on ecosystems and communities, by impeding...
Words: 1111 - Pages: 5
...23 September 2015 Risks Worth Taking? A Reflection on the Effects of Memoirs The primary purpose of my research paper is to present a cross-section of the current conversations taking place around the way memoirs affect the writers who publish them. Based on my research, it appears that the effects tend to involve emotional and psychological consequences, as well as legal troubles in some instances. The discovery of this conversation helped me to refine my research topic into the question, “Do the benefits of publishing a memoir outweigh the risks of their effects for writers?” This research explores the positive and negative effects of memoirs on their writers to determine whether or not the risks are worth the rewards. Although writing a memoir can result in lawsuits and family discord, it more often proves to be therapeutic and can be the starting point of a nonfiction writer's career. What if I told you that memoirs are incredibly important to our society, because they document the human experience in such an honest way? Although they are valuable, they can also be risky. One key issue is that a memoir’s admissions risk causing major drama for writers, including legal trouble. In addition, they can be a catalyst for burning bridges with former employees. They can also potentially destroy long-term personal relationships. In this paper, I work to discover if it is worth all the drama to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. As I began my research...
Words: 1434 - Pages: 6
...spend time pursuing God through questions and not trying to comprehend His answers. "I pray to the God within me for the strength to ask Him the real questions." (Wiesel 30). Moishe is among the first prisoners taken by Germans and when he manages to escape and tell people of what Germans were doing to prisoners, he is taken for insane. There then follows a trail of events where he undergoes a series of bizarre encounters including the loss of his sisters and mother. This was a very trying time for Elie in which life drives out the innocence from him completely. In the concentration camps, where they are taken to as Jews, they are subjected to incessant torture and Elie witnesses babies burning in furnaces. The aim of this essay is trying identifying various ideas in the book written by Wiesel, identifying their changes, and at last draft a conclusion from these ideas as well as marking a significant change in his life since it takes a toll on his personal relationship with God. Changes in ideas about God and Humanity by Elie Wiesel From an innocent religious boy, Wiesel was geared up towards studying theology, life deprived him off the faith and he lost the close relationship with God. At some instance, he cursed when his father prayed that Gods name be sanctified and exalted. In Buna, Elie and other prisoners lost their faith and humanity as well in an attempt to struggle through a life where they are made to see their fellow prisoners get hanged...
Words: 1327 - Pages: 6
...The SAT Essay: Building a Repertoire of Examples The SAT essay is intended to measure your writing skills, not your knowledge of any specific subject. Therefore, the essay prompts given on the SAT must be fairly open-ended, so that anyone with a highschool education and life experiences common to all teenagers can respond to them. Most of them deal with basic philosophical, psychological, moral, or social issues. In my experience as a teacher, I’ve seen that the biggest challenge students face in writing the SAT essay is coming up with rich and relevant examples to discuss within the twenty-five minutes you’re given for the essay section. Quite often, students end up using examples that are inappropriate or superficial, or they don’t know enough about the examples they’ve chosen to write about them in detail. The way to combat this problem is to create your own repertoire of examples that you are well prepared to write detailed paragraphs about. Then, when you read the prompt you’re given on the day of the test, you can simply choose the examples from your repertoire that are most relevant to that particular topic. (Of course, this method isn’t fullproof; it may happen that you are unfortunate enough to get a topic that your prepared examples aren’t really appropriate for. If that’s the case, don’t try to force your examples to fit the topic. The process of coming up with these examples and writing several practice essays will also help you learn how to come up with new examples...
Words: 3449 - Pages: 14
...Research papers made me stop liking writing because they had a lot of requirements and I don’t like doing research. I also use to like reading too but I find research boring so that also made me stop liking reading. I did not find any interest in reading or writing about research topics because history is my least favorite class. Every year of high school so far is a different type of writing in every english class. It started out in 6th grade with creative stories, 7th grade with holocaust research essay, 8th grade essays, 9th grade reading stories, 10th grade I had AP english so we did reflection essays over the book we had to read every quarter and that was very hard to me and made english my worst subject. Although, now that I’m in 11th grade english, I am starting to like english a little. I like how we have our own choice of books we want to read and the 10 minutes of reading everyday. I prefer free writing, like we get a topic and go from there, but doing research and having to have a lot of pages and all those requirements, is what i don’t...
Words: 999 - Pages: 4
...“We are all ordinary people but even an ordinary person can within their own small ways turn on a small light in a dark room.” Miep Gies A Brief Summary of the movie Freedom Writers Freedom Writers is a 1990s film which tells the story of Erin Gruwell, a novice teacher and her interaction with a group of students at Wilson High School, located in Long Beach Los Angeles. Through shared experiences and writing she helps the students to become writers themselves. In the beginning of the film, Ms. G, as she was called by her students, had difficulty establishing a connection with her students and turns to her father and husband for support. Her offers guidance, but not the support she seeks. Her husband distances himself from her work and eventually their relationship. Ms. G in turn, dedicates herself to teaching her students, leaving little time for nothing else. She takes on part-time jobs to buy books for the students and spends late nights working in the classroom. The Head of Department and the faculty at large contributes little to helping Erin in the classroom. They offer advice based on institutional standards and past performance of the students, some staff suggesting that the students simply “don’t want to learn.” At the center of the film, lie the stories of the students. The students are skeptical of Ms. G and her interest in their lives. Initially, they resist her attempts and refuse to cross the self-inflicted boundaries they have designated...
Words: 1651 - Pages: 7
...Why Choose to Go On Living? Even in the most terrible conditions imaginable, suffering is not meaningless, and one can choose to endure circumstance through discovering purpose. The idea that anyone could have survived the brutal conditions endured within the concentration camps during the holocaust is somewhat inconceivable, and yet, we have first-hand accounts from survivors of what took place within these prisons. Throughout the writings and memoirs of these individuals we discover the nuances and underpinnings of what camp life was like. In the book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Psychologist Victor Frankl describes his experiences in the Nazi death camps and implies that his wife symbolizes love and purpose. This essay will give four instances...
Words: 1168 - Pages: 5
...MODULE C – History and Memory Sample 1 How has your understanding of events, personalities or situations been shaped by their representations in the texts you have studied. Refer to your prescribed text and at least TWO other related texts of your own choosing. History can be defined as “the methodical record of public events” where memory is defined as “the faculty by which events are recalled or kept in mind”. Thus history and memory interrelate as history can be seen as the contextual justification for memory. “The Fiftieth Gate” is a poignant interweaving of history and memory. The text follows protagonist, Mark Baker an historian, son of Holocaust survivors Genia and Yossl (Joe), on an historical journey through memory, to uncover the origins of his past and act as a catalyst for future generations to also connect with their history. Mark Baker’s journey through history and memory is also executed through his conventional ideas that memory is biased and less valid than history. There are numerous references to the discrepancies between the personal memories of his parents and the documented history Mark as an historian believes. In this way it is apparent that Mark is on a quest for verification, “my facts from the past are different”. This displays the flaw Mark traditionally notes in memory and his need for historical evidence. As responders accompany Mark on his journey, they also encounter the complexity of simultaneously being a son and an historian. This...
Words: 23607 - Pages: 95
...It has been more than seventy years since the Nanking atrocity of 1937-38. This event is better known as the “Rape of Nanking” or “Nanking Massacre” (Wakabayashi). Even today, there is no healthy dialogue between the countries of China and Japan in regards to the atrocity that occurred there so long ago. The last time that there were any concessions made in regards to the atrocities in China were during and after World War II. Much of the historiography has been limited due the amount of silence that has been present throughout the world. Because of this, research about the atrocity had just recently begun to surface. Due to this fact, there are many factors that are brought into question when looking specifically at a historical event, especially one that is tied to such brutal emotion. The authors I have chosen each attempt to explain why there has been such a delay in Nanking’s historiography and at the same time attempt to explain what actually occurred there in 1937-38. I selected three books for this paper. The first is The Nanking Atrocity 1937-38 by Bob Tadashi Wakabayashi. The book was released on the 70th anniversary of the fall of the Chinese city of Nanking to the Japanese army. The perspective offered is by majority non-American with the exception being two contributors. Wakabayashi discusses what lies at the core of bitter disputes over history, wartime victimization, and postwar restitution that hinder healthy Sino-Japanese relations to this day. The Nanking...
Words: 2541 - Pages: 11
...The 20th Century Genius Award Hum/102 October 19, 2011 The 20th Century Genius Award The nominated figure that stands out in my mind as a genius of Western culture would be Albert Einstein. His work and cultural contributions can be classified in both the Age of Modernism and the Age of Pluralism for the 20th Century Genius Award. The following examples will include a synopsis of the life and times of Albert Einstein, A survey of the ideas and works recognizing the reflections of his genius, and an appraisal of his impact on the arts and culture. Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 to Hermann and Pauline Einstein a scientifically minded family, who were non-practicing Jews in Ulm, Wurttemberg Germany. As a child, he was very curious, and lively. Albert attended a Catholic elementary school, and his mother insisted for him to take violin lessons. Although he detested the lessons, and later on decide not to continue with them, he would later on find an appreciation and great comfort in Mozart’s violin sonatas. At the early age of five, Albert was fascinated by complex scientific and mathematical concepts at a very early age. Hermann Einstein shows his son a pocket compass, and Einstein with his sense of wonder, and curiosity realizes that something in “empty” space controlled the needle; he later on describes the experience as a revelation of his life. Albert Einsteins hobbies was to build models and mechanical devices for his amusement although he showed...
Words: 1724 - Pages: 7
...HISTORY 1500 WINTER 2014 RESEARCH ESSAY TOPICS 1. Select a crusade and discuss the extent to which it accomplished its objectives. Why did it succeed or fail? Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Crusades: A Short History; Carole Hillenbrand, The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives; Christopher Tyerman, God’s War: A New History of the Crusades 2. How did anti-Semitism manifest itself in medieval Europe? Kenneth R. Stow, Alienated Minority: The Jews of Medieval Latin Europe; Mark R. Cohen, Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages; Solomon Grayzel, The Church and the Jews in the Thirteenth Century 3. What was the position of prostitutes in medieval society? Ruth Mazo Karras, Common Women; Leah Otis, Prostitution in Medieval Society; Margaret Wade Labarge, A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life 4. Why did the French choose to follow Joan of Arc during the the Hundred Years War? Kelly DeVries, Joan of Arc: A Military Leader; Bonnie Wheeler, ed., Fresh Verdicts on Joan of Arc; Margaret Wade Labarge, A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life 5. Discuss the significance of siege warfare during the crusades. You may narrow this question down to a single crusade if you wish. Jim Bradbury, The Medieval Siege; Randall Rogers, Latin Siege Warfare in the Twelfth Century; John France, Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade 6. Why did the persecution...
Words: 5531 - Pages: 23
...Rights, made on the 10th December 1948, stood the test of time? A short essay focusing on freedom of religion. Introduction “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18, http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml, accessed 14th March 2014) This essay will show that the rights protected in Article 18 - as with many other Articles of the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) are protected to varying degrees – to not at all, depending on where you live, the level of democracy in your society, culture and lastly; external factors that dominate ordinary democratic processes and because of the forces applied by the geopolitical and economic forces of the day. The essay will show this by illustrating often controversial and disputed examples of violation on religious freedom in France, Saudi Arabia and Burma (Maynamar) and testing the principles of UDHR on those cases whilst also considering the socio-economic and political drivers. Simply defining human rights and its elements can be complex. This is shown in the minor disagreement between the drafters of the UDHR as described later below. This essay will also use the European Convention of Human Rights and UN Resolution...
Words: 2172 - Pages: 9
...LECTURER’S COMMENTS ON ASSIGNMENT STUDENT NAME identifying details removed for privacy UNIT CODE 541 ASSIGNMENT TITLE Essay 3: 1. Critical thinking: 2. Adequate Coverage: 3. Relevance: 4. Creativity: 5. Presentation: Name: removed for privacy STUDKEY: STUDNUMBER: Course: Unit Coordinator: Assignment: Number 3 – Make a critical assessment of the contribution of an author other than your lecturer to the development of your understanding of teaching in a Christian community. What are the key ideas of the writer that have proved particularly insightful for you? Reflect on the contribution of this writer to your thinking in the light of the course material you have studied and your reading of other authors. Due Date: Email Sent: I certify that this assignment is my own work. STUDENT’S SIGNATURE: Parker Palmer has made a significant contribution to my understanding of teaching in a Christian community. Through access to his published works “To Know As We Are Known, The Courage To Teach” and “Let Your Life Speak”, I have been enriched by Palmer’s viewpoints and themes on teacher’s, teaching and community. In many instances I found his viewpoints and philosophies insightful, exciting, challenging, daunting and confronting. In some instances I found his position unrealistic to my experience of teaching while also finding myself disagreeing with what I would see as being his liberal approach to theology. Other author’s...
Words: 3927 - Pages: 16
...Evaluating Credibility and Validity of Sources: We learned that it is important to evaluate the credibility of the source and make a judgement on its relevance to our topic/argument. Credibility can be validated based off on the background of the author, impartiality, style and tone of article and currency. For instance for an argument on animal rights as described in…, the argument can be presented in different ways depending on the specialization of the author. A phychologist, philosopher or economist might present the argument in different style. Also, the author’s personal interest to the subject might affect the an author’s opinion or treatment to the subject. For instance, an author who is vegetarian is likely to argue against using animals for food and may present argument in a way that’s less than impartial. The publication Alongwith the author’s background, it is also important to validate the author’s personal interest associated to the subject ; We also learned that a special interest or preference might affect an author’s opinion or treatment to subject. In the simplest terms, a declared vegetarian is likely to argue against using animals for food and may present those arguments in a way that’s less than impartial. The writing style and tone is another way to form credibility and validity of sources of information. You should determine whether the tone is professional or not. If it is indeed professional and the tone is for the targeted audience...
Words: 3442 - Pages: 14
