It is undisputable that the holocaust was one of the most infamous tragedies, or perhaps even the most infamous tragedy, in human history. However, we cannot dismiss it from our minds due to its great magnitude of evil, because we can also learn a great magnitude about the human spirit through the stories of those who survived and overcame it. In such stories, the resiliency of the human spirit is often displayed through symbols to which the author gives traits by associating events and in his or her choice of words. One well-known and powerfully written book is Night by Elie Wiesel, in which he tells the story of his own survival of the holocaust. This story is ripe with deeply meaningful symbols, particularly ones that show that resiliency
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The first trait we see given to the snow is defiance, in how it is utilized. In eating the snow and surviving, the Jews show defiance, first in that it’s simply improbable to survive on only snow for so long, but also in the traditional meaning of snow being thrown aside. Snow is usually a symbol of death, and even here could be construed to be, but as the Jews survive off of it, they turn death into a sustentation of their lives; it becomes a quiet, constant show of defiance of the death the Nazis wish upon them, and in its constancy it surely shows the resiliency of the human spirit. Wiesel also shows adaption, a large and crucial part of resiliency, in the simple fact that the snow is eaten for survival. The Jews first ate snow just before the train, when they ate snow off of each others’ backs with spoons because they were forbidden to bend over, but they needed water to go with their bread crusts (p. 96). Then in the cattle cars, they begin to eat it somewhat automatically, as if it is completely normal, and most survive off of it. Because they know so well what they have to do to survive, we can say that they have adapted in a large way to life in the camps, not shunning the truth, only doing what is necessary to survive- their spirits survive in order to ensure their own survival; they don’t give up. The refusal to give up by their spirit (as many of their bodies had) …show more content…
The violin represents culture, courage, and perseverance, and the snow in the cattle cars represents defiance, adaption, and patience. Putting all of these together, a full picture of resiliency is formed- with the bravery to go on, but also the integrity of structure that keeps Wiesel going through all the hardships. With all the symbols in the story, a huge number of messages can be found and lessons can be learned. This shows once again how important it is to study the stories of those to survived the Holocaust, not only to make sure it never happens again, but to preserve the magnanimous ideas, messages, and symbols that we extract from the survivors’ stories. We can then take those concepts and use them to better our own lives; take away from this analysis of the resiliency of the human spirit, and remember and find inspiration from these symbols when you face challenges and hardships of your
The first trait we see given to the snow is defiance, in how it is utilized. In eating the snow and surviving, the Jews show defiance, first in that it’s simply improbable to survive on only snow for so long, but also in the traditional meaning of snow being thrown aside. Snow is usually a symbol of death, and even here could be construed to be, but as the Jews survive off of it, they turn death into a sustentation of their lives; it becomes a quiet, constant show of defiance of the death the Nazis wish upon them, and in its constancy it surely shows the resiliency of the human spirit. Wiesel also shows adaption, a large and crucial part of resiliency, in the simple fact that the snow is eaten for survival. The Jews first ate snow just before the train, when they ate snow off of each others’ backs with spoons because they were forbidden to bend over, but they needed water to go with their bread crusts (p. 96). Then in the cattle cars, they begin to eat it somewhat automatically, as if it is completely normal, and most survive off of it. Because they know so well what they have to do to survive, we can say that they have adapted in a large way to life in the camps, not shunning the truth, only doing what is necessary to survive- their spirits survive in order to ensure their own survival; they don’t give up. The refusal to give up by their spirit (as many of their bodies had) …show more content…
The violin represents culture, courage, and perseverance, and the snow in the cattle cars represents defiance, adaption, and patience. Putting all of these together, a full picture of resiliency is formed- with the bravery to go on, but also the integrity of structure that keeps Wiesel going through all the hardships. With all the symbols in the story, a huge number of messages can be found and lessons can be learned. This shows once again how important it is to study the stories of those to survived the Holocaust, not only to make sure it never happens again, but to preserve the magnanimous ideas, messages, and symbols that we extract from the survivors’ stories. We can then take those concepts and use them to better our own lives; take away from this analysis of the resiliency of the human spirit, and remember and find inspiration from these symbols when you face challenges and hardships of your