Different Views of the Holocaust Portrayed Through Various Literary Elements “Life is a matter of perspective. It can be amazing or wonderful, or it can be depressing and worthless” (Gray, n.d.). This quote from Stephen Gray exemplifies both aspects of life in according to how one perceives it. As a result, some people choose to see life negatively instead of focusing on the positive aspects that make life great. When juxtaposed, Elie Wiesel’s (2006) book Night and the movie “Life is Beautiful” (2000), are two different aspects of how life is viewed while enduring struggling circumstances. Both of the circumstances feature a father and a son who experience life in a Holocaust concentration camp. Even though both situations are similar, the
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Both Joshua and Elie have encounters with the prisoners which result in both positive and negative experiences. For example, Joshua had positive encounters with the prisoners because he viewed them as competitors in a game that his father made up (“Life is Beautiful”, 2000). In order to keep Joshua oblivious, the prisoners played along with the game that Guido made up to keep Joshua safe from the harsh reality of the concentration camp. As a result, this camaraderie between Guido, Joshua, and the prisoners left Joshua with positive interactions thuat resembled a friendship rather than a battle for survival and this led him to trust them. On the contrary, Elie viewed the prisoners as evil and their relationship was centered around means of survival: “Franek, the foreman, one day noticed the gold crown in my mouth:”Let me have your crown kid”... That evening in the latrines, the dentist from Warsaw pulled my tooth with the help of a rusty spoon” (Wiesel, 2006, p.54, 56). Elie’s experience in Auschwitz made him think of survival and competition more than anything else. He possessed a gold crown, which was a hot commodity in the camp in terms of survival. Because of the nihilism that was displayed by the prisoners of the camp, this made Elie more susceptible to harsh treatment and torture by others in hopes of obtaining his gold crown. This would let them buy more rations of bread or be more dominant than other inmates. This constant struggle for power and survival created an extremely negative perception of the prisoners to Elie. Although both have perceptions of the surrounding prisoners at Auschwitz, Elie and Joshua differ in their experiences with the prisoners and their memories with
Both Joshua and Elie have encounters with the prisoners which result in both positive and negative experiences. For example, Joshua had positive encounters with the prisoners because he viewed them as competitors in a game that his father made up (“Life is Beautiful”, 2000). In order to keep Joshua oblivious, the prisoners played along with the game that Guido made up to keep Joshua safe from the harsh reality of the concentration camp. As a result, this camaraderie between Guido, Joshua, and the prisoners left Joshua with positive interactions thuat resembled a friendship rather than a battle for survival and this led him to trust them. On the contrary, Elie viewed the prisoners as evil and their relationship was centered around means of survival: “Franek, the foreman, one day noticed the gold crown in my mouth:”Let me have your crown kid”... That evening in the latrines, the dentist from Warsaw pulled my tooth with the help of a rusty spoon” (Wiesel, 2006, p.54, 56). Elie’s experience in Auschwitz made him think of survival and competition more than anything else. He possessed a gold crown, which was a hot commodity in the camp in terms of survival. Because of the nihilism that was displayed by the prisoners of the camp, this made Elie more susceptible to harsh treatment and torture by others in hopes of obtaining his gold crown. This would let them buy more rations of bread or be more dominant than other inmates. This constant struggle for power and survival created an extremely negative perception of the prisoners to Elie. Although both have perceptions of the surrounding prisoners at Auschwitz, Elie and Joshua differ in their experiences with the prisoners and their memories with