As Confucius once said, “The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home”
(Confucius). Confucius’ basic teachings illustrate the family as the base of every social structure in the community. Family is what most everyone has in common and can rely on to get them through tough times. Two examples of family helping their loved ones are Gerda and Elie, two Holocaust survivors. Their family members aid them in their survival, both directly and indirectly. The role family members play in the lives and journeys of Elie in his memoir Night and Gerda in her memoir All But My Life build upon their faith and influence each survivor’s hope and outlook on life before, during, and after the Holocaust. This indicates that three important …show more content…
As Gerda and her friends leave once again for another camp, Gerda praises their near liberation evoking Suse’s response: “’How can you believe so strongly?’ she murmured. ‘But then, you always believed. Remember when we met on the train?’ I nodded. ‘Well, you lost that bet,’ she reminded me. ‘I know,’ I said. “’But you still believe?’ ‘I do!’ ‘Tell me, Gerda,’ Suse whispered urgently, ‘what is it? What makes you so sure?’ ‘I don’t know. It’s something I cannot explain, but I know somehow that we will be liberated’” (Weissmann). Gerda keeps her faith because she knows her friends need optimism. Her friends maintain her positive attitude because they keep her optimistic and hopeful; they rely on each other to escape from the realities of the Holocaust. Quite differently from Gerda’s story, Elie is essentially alone, except for his father, and can only imagine the loneliness of each night: “The last night in Buna. Once more, the last night. The last night at home, the last night in the ghetto, the last night in the cattle car, and, now, the last night in Buna. How much longer would our lives be lived from one ‘last night’ to the next?” (Wiesel). Unlike Gerda, Elie’s friends and surroundings affect him negatively as he must witness multiple executions and other horrors more than Gerda experiences. He has no time for imagination and time with friends, keeping his hope and faith very low. At the time of her liberation, Gerda too experiences a void of emotions, especially after her friends die, explaining, “As I look back now, trying to recall my feelings during those first hours, I actually think that there were none. My mind was so dull, my nerves so worn from waiting, that only an emotionless vacuum remained. Like many of the other girls I just
(Confucius). Confucius’ basic teachings illustrate the family as the base of every social structure in the community. Family is what most everyone has in common and can rely on to get them through tough times. Two examples of family helping their loved ones are Gerda and Elie, two Holocaust survivors. Their family members aid them in their survival, both directly and indirectly. The role family members play in the lives and journeys of Elie in his memoir Night and Gerda in her memoir All But My Life build upon their faith and influence each survivor’s hope and outlook on life before, during, and after the Holocaust. This indicates that three important …show more content…
As Gerda and her friends leave once again for another camp, Gerda praises their near liberation evoking Suse’s response: “’How can you believe so strongly?’ she murmured. ‘But then, you always believed. Remember when we met on the train?’ I nodded. ‘Well, you lost that bet,’ she reminded me. ‘I know,’ I said. “’But you still believe?’ ‘I do!’ ‘Tell me, Gerda,’ Suse whispered urgently, ‘what is it? What makes you so sure?’ ‘I don’t know. It’s something I cannot explain, but I know somehow that we will be liberated’” (Weissmann). Gerda keeps her faith because she knows her friends need optimism. Her friends maintain her positive attitude because they keep her optimistic and hopeful; they rely on each other to escape from the realities of the Holocaust. Quite differently from Gerda’s story, Elie is essentially alone, except for his father, and can only imagine the loneliness of each night: “The last night in Buna. Once more, the last night. The last night at home, the last night in the ghetto, the last night in the cattle car, and, now, the last night in Buna. How much longer would our lives be lived from one ‘last night’ to the next?” (Wiesel). Unlike Gerda, Elie’s friends and surroundings affect him negatively as he must witness multiple executions and other horrors more than Gerda experiences. He has no time for imagination and time with friends, keeping his hope and faith very low. At the time of her liberation, Gerda too experiences a void of emotions, especially after her friends die, explaining, “As I look back now, trying to recall my feelings during those first hours, I actually think that there were none. My mind was so dull, my nerves so worn from waiting, that only an emotionless vacuum remained. Like many of the other girls I just