French Prodigy Blaise Pascal once stated, “All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Pascal essentially suggests that psychological suffering will always be humanity's greatest weakness. Mental anguish can exist as a repercussion or as a cause of a circumstance. This pain derives fundamentally from the vulnerability of the human mind. Humans are susceptible internally, a fact that will eventually lead to their demise as it serves to restrain them from moving forward with life. The assumed failure of success redefines what matters, and consequently, the turmoil of emotions that people experience acts as a barrier, preventing them from reaching their aspirations, goals, dreams and assimilating to the
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Gassner experiences constant nightmares over the Nazi's, for instance. "He had fantastic frightening dreams of the Nazis inflicting tortures on him, sometimes forcing him to look upon the corpses of those they had slain" (Malamud 446) Plagued by nightmares, Gassner is unable to live in the present and is stuck mentally in a Nazi-run world every time he shuts his eyes. Continuing, Gassner blames the circumstances of his past life in Germany for his loss of character. Gassner regards himself as a shell of who he was beforehand and blames the Nazi's for robbing him of his life. Gassner states, "Confidenze I have not. For this, and alzo whatever elze I have lozt, I thank the Nazis." (Malamud 445) The feeling of losing yourself to the world can cause one to feel as if they have nothing left, and that there is no purpose in moving on, especially in a new country where everything is vastly unfamiliar. In addition, Gassner is unable to embrace what America has to offer since he is in a career that he detests. Beforehand, in Germany, Gassner worked as a journalist. This was a profession that Gassner clearly preferred and hoped to covet in America when he escaped Germany. Conversely, he ended up working as a lecturer, which is a job that wore him down, " not in journalism ... as a lecturer...He had never taught before and was afraid to." (Malamud 440) This statement portrays Gassner's feelings about a new job opportunity, and how afraid he was. This fear made Gassner blind to the advantage of living in America. Gassner's reluctance to fully immerse himself in America as derived from his mental torment proved to be a prevalent barrier in his
Gassner experiences constant nightmares over the Nazi's, for instance. "He had fantastic frightening dreams of the Nazis inflicting tortures on him, sometimes forcing him to look upon the corpses of those they had slain" (Malamud 446) Plagued by nightmares, Gassner is unable to live in the present and is stuck mentally in a Nazi-run world every time he shuts his eyes. Continuing, Gassner blames the circumstances of his past life in Germany for his loss of character. Gassner regards himself as a shell of who he was beforehand and blames the Nazi's for robbing him of his life. Gassner states, "Confidenze I have not. For this, and alzo whatever elze I have lozt, I thank the Nazis." (Malamud 445) The feeling of losing yourself to the world can cause one to feel as if they have nothing left, and that there is no purpose in moving on, especially in a new country where everything is vastly unfamiliar. In addition, Gassner is unable to embrace what America has to offer since he is in a career that he detests. Beforehand, in Germany, Gassner worked as a journalist. This was a profession that Gassner clearly preferred and hoped to covet in America when he escaped Germany. Conversely, he ended up working as a lecturer, which is a job that wore him down, " not in journalism ... as a lecturer...He had never taught before and was afraid to." (Malamud 440) This statement portrays Gassner's feelings about a new job opportunity, and how afraid he was. This fear made Gassner blind to the advantage of living in America. Gassner's reluctance to fully immerse himself in America as derived from his mental torment proved to be a prevalent barrier in his