LC Reader Response #3

Theme: In the book "Night", we learn that desperation can cause a person to do very inhumane things.

Character: The Holocaust is a tragic story about the mass murder of millions of Jews. Ellie Weisel, a survivor of the Holocaust, shows us how faith and perseverance can really drive a person to success.

Dialectical Journal #2

1.      Dehumanization means to deprive of personality or interest. Or to remove a persons individuality.

A.    In the beginning of the story, Eleizer had a very strong faith in his God. He would constantly pray to him and praise him. But towards the middle of the book, Eleizer, and some other prisoners, begins to lose faith. He no longer believes or praises his God. Also, in the beginning, the prisoners were more scared. They would sob and wonder why they were at the camps. But in the middle, they got more familiar with the things they were seeing. They got used to all the killing that they didn't respond much to it compared to how they did before.

B.     Like I said earlier, Eleizer stops believing in his God. He see's all these people being murdered, and abused. When he sees that people are still praying for God, he thinks that they're stupid for praying. 

2.      "Why should I bless him? In every fiber I rebelled. Because he had thousands of children burned in pits? Yes, man is very strong, greater than God. When you were deceived by Adam and Eve, You drove them out of Paradise. When Noah's Generation displeased You, You brought down the flood. But these men here, whom  You have betrayed, whom You have allowed to be tortured, butchered, gassed, burned, what do they do? They pray before You! They praise Your name! (page 64)", Eliezer says angrily. He is upset that throughout all that they've been through, God still hasn't gone to save any of them. He's still allowing them to be tortured. He no longer believes in this "God". "Its the end. God is no longer with us. Where is the divine mercy? Where is God? How can I believe, how    anyone believe, in this merciful God? (page 73)," one man said. He too was losing faith in God.

Dialectical Journal #1

In the book 'Night', the author uses a character, named Weisel, as the narrator. Wiesel explains his experience throughout the Holocaust. Of course the Holocaust was a tragic story, but by reading through the narrators actual experiences it makes the story a lot more touching. As we read more into the book, we can see that things get worse and worse for the Jews. However, throughout the entire mess, Weisel and the rest of the Jews cling onto hope- their Lord.
In the beginning of the book, Weisel talks about his strong belief in his God. He prays to his God. On page 17, the Hungarian police were ordering the Jews to run, screaming at them to go faster. "Oh God, Lord of the Universe, take pity upon us in Thy great mercy...," Weisel says. He was exhausted and worn out, he prayed to his God to take pity on him and the rest of the Jews. When they finally got to have a break, the narrator explains, "There were no longer any questions of wealth, of social distinction, and importance, only people all condemned to the same fate- still unknown. (page 19)" I think that when he says "fate" he's talking about his fate in the Lord. Again, the story talks about faith on page 29. "You must never lose faith, even when the sword hangs over your head. That's the teaching our sages." A man is reminding everyone to have eternal faith in the Lord. "May His Name be blessed and magnified... (page 31)," prays Weisel's father. He thinks he is going to be executed so he prays this to the Lord. In the concentration camp, one of the German leaders also talks about staying in faith. He says, "Have faith in life. Above all else, have faith. We are all brothers, and we are all suffering from the same fate. (page 38)". He, too, is reminding the Jews that no matter what happens, they must have faith in making it through all the obstacles they're going to face in the concentration camps.

Allusion Graphic: Final

Allusion Poem: Final

I'm adventurous and courageous.

I enjoy going to new places,

experiencing new  things,

and having fun.

I was adored by many.

I was everyone's best friend.

In fact,

I was Andy's favorite.

But,

I wanted more than that.

I wanted to  feel like a hero.

I wanted to make a difference.

However,

I wasn't like the others.
I was too skinny-
a twig, perhaps.

I never came with cool gadgets.
I was never going to be

talented enough,

smart enough,
cool enough. 

I just wasn't enough.

I was underestimated by many.

The others thought I was incredible.

For a moment,
I thought I was too.

But who was I to think.

I could never be as marvelous

 as Andy made me feel.

I wanted more than this.

I wanted to  feel like a hero.

I wanted to make a difference.

Holocaust: Tasha and Christine

The Holocaust was a very heartbreaking and tragic story about the mass murder of Jews. This murder was brought about by the Nazis during World War II. The Holocaust was a process that occurred in carefully organized stages. It first began with laws that required the Jewish to be removed from the rest of society. These laws forced Jews into filthy areas in the city, used as concentration camps. Because of their race, they were stripped from their homes, their friends, and their families. These people were not even given a choice if they wanted to leave or not. The Nazis also forced the Jews into slave labor. They had to do work at these concentration camps. Some of these people weren’t even physically capable of doing labor. They later died of disease, starvation, and exhaustion. The Nazis continued to take over different areas in Europe and set up more concentration camps. Death squads began executing Jews in mass shootings and burying them in mass graves throughout the continent. In the end, approximately six million Jews were murdered. 

There are many perspectives to the reason for the Holocaust. One being that the Holocaust started because Germans didn't like the Jews' religious beliefs. The Jews shouldn't of had been murdered just for their own beliefs, but in this tragic story that is what happened. Another reason would be that many people just wanted someone to blame for all the corruption in their government, so they chose to blame the Jews. I don't think this was right. The Holocaust was very inhumane because The Nazi's killed many innocent lives for no real apparent reason. 

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143

http://www.hitlerschildren.com/article/1646-a-brief-holocaust-summary

http://www.hitlerschildren.com/article/1408-why-did-the-holocaust-start
World History Textbook

Allusion Graphic