Madmen and prophets have been, for quite long, the source of contention in literary circles. The relationship between madness and prophecy in literature is somewhat difficult to tackle as both concepts are connected to a more mystical world that can give shape and meaning to human existence and truth about life. During the twentieth century, immediately after the Holocaust, people began more readily questioning the existence of a supreme Deity and His lack of divine intervention in such a devastating, world-altering war. Thus, madness and prophecy have intertwined in many Holocaust stories. Such complexities make one wonder how to differentiate the two concepts; a question that is still perplexing even to specialists.
Statement of the Focus …show more content…
Some of the works include, but are not limited to authors such as Rosette Lamont, David Patterson, John Roth, Devorah Schoenfeld, Ephraim Shoham-Steiner, Harry James Cargas, and Robert McAfee Brown. My discussion will include brief comments on each of these works and whether they have reached similar and or different conclusions. These authors give insightful exploration of the two concepts from literary and religious perspectives.
The proposed paper will also investigate the author’s view of madness and prophecy. In a seminal paper, Wiesel states that he likes madmen and he writes so that he does not go mad (Why I Write). He sees that madmen have a clear vision and a deeper understanding in life. He himself experienced meeting a madman when he was a child. Moshe, a homeless drunkard of Sighet, was the first madman he met when Moshe joined the Wiesel’s family during the Sabbath meals. Wiesel later met several madmen, whereby he assumed that they speak of wisdom and possess a clear vision and knowledge of …show more content…
The four biblical names of the madmen in the story where once real prophets who were respected and revered by their own people. They appear as Abraham, Adam, Cain, and the Messiah. The discourse of the madmen in the story has some resemblance to the discourse of the biblical prophets. What makes the story more interesting is the fifth madman who calls himself God. In such case, one wonders if this God has reached a higher level of madness or whether the author intended to give some parallel to God’s
Statement of the Focus …show more content…
Some of the works include, but are not limited to authors such as Rosette Lamont, David Patterson, John Roth, Devorah Schoenfeld, Ephraim Shoham-Steiner, Harry James Cargas, and Robert McAfee Brown. My discussion will include brief comments on each of these works and whether they have reached similar and or different conclusions. These authors give insightful exploration of the two concepts from literary and religious perspectives.
The proposed paper will also investigate the author’s view of madness and prophecy. In a seminal paper, Wiesel states that he likes madmen and he writes so that he does not go mad (Why I Write). He sees that madmen have a clear vision and a deeper understanding in life. He himself experienced meeting a madman when he was a child. Moshe, a homeless drunkard of Sighet, was the first madman he met when Moshe joined the Wiesel’s family during the Sabbath meals. Wiesel later met several madmen, whereby he assumed that they speak of wisdom and possess a clear vision and knowledge of …show more content…
The four biblical names of the madmen in the story where once real prophets who were respected and revered by their own people. They appear as Abraham, Adam, Cain, and the Messiah. The discourse of the madmen in the story has some resemblance to the discourse of the biblical prophets. What makes the story more interesting is the fifth madman who calls himself God. In such case, one wonders if this God has reached a higher level of madness or whether the author intended to give some parallel to God’s