Dannica Dilks
1st
Indifference
Indifference is lack of interest, concern, or sympathy or unimportance. Indifference has affected society and people in many different ways. In “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”, the theme of indifference is very prevalent. In “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”, the characters have shown a lot of indifference in their words and actions. Mother shows indifference in knowing about the holocaust and knowing what Commandant is doing to the Jews but doesn’t do anything about it. Gretel also shows indifference in many of the same ways as Mother. Because she is young there is nothing she can do to stop it or help the fact that her father has to do it. She knows all the “good” things that are happening but assumes
In The Boy in The Striped Pajamas, a young boy named Bruno is friends with a child in a concentration camp, even though he knows he is not supposed to. In The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss, some of the Sneetches have stars and some do not. This leads to a lot of bullying, but in the end allows the Sneetches to realize that the way that someone looks does not matter. In The Harmonica, the young boy that is given a harmonica uses it to help many people feel better throughout the time of hate and intolerance. The boy plays for many people that live in a concentration camp. In The Whispering Town, many of the people overcome hate and intolerance by helping the Jewish people escape. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and the many children’s books written about the Holocaust help overcome hate and intolerance in today’s world, so that something as awful as the Holocaust will never happen
William Golding, the author of the novel The Lord of the Flies, lived through the global conflicts of both world wars. World War II shifted his point of view on humanity, making him realize its inclination toward evilness. His response to the ongoing struggle between faith and denial became Lord of the Flies, in which English schoolboys are left to survive on their own on an uninhabited island after a plane crash. Just like Golding, these boys underwent the trauma of war on a psychological level. Ralph, one of the older boys, stands out as the “chief,” leading the other victims of war in a new world. Without the constraints of government and society, the boys created a culture of their own influenced by their previous background of England.
In the eyes of Elie Wiesel, author of Night, indifference whether it be in relationship abuse or another problem, is mentally damaging and needs to be eliminated. In his memoir, Night, Elie Wiesel illustrates how indifference can harm the mind of the victim when he says, “Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live,” (Night 34). In this, Wiesel is speaking of his first night in Auschwitz. When he mentions silence he is referring to the indifference that the Jews in concentration camps faced from the rest of the world. Wiesel refers to that night as the time he lost his desire to live because he saw so much indifference toward the suffering of the inmates and the horrific things that were happening to them. After this, his desire to stay alive was destroyed because he watched as the world stood by, indifferent to the senseless murder of millions. Throught this, Wiesel illustrates that indifference will impact people for the rest of their lives. Because indifference
To the people in the concentration camps, apathy is a “harsher punishment” (Wiesel) than anger or rage, because anger has feelings in it, while indifference just makes a suffering person feel even smaller and more insignificant. Indifference in humans potentially goes against religion, because it blurs the lines between “light and darkness” (Wiesel). Throughout his speech at the Millennium Lectures, Elie Wiesel both enlightens on the consequences of apathy towards those who need help, and inspires hope for a better future.
In Schindler’s List, as the Jews in Kraków are forced into the ghetto, a little girl on the street cries out, “Good-bye, Jews,” over and over again. She represents the open hostility often shown the Jews by their countrymen. After all, the little girl did not contain this hatred naturally—she learned it. Through her, Spielberg sends the message that the evil of the “final solution” infected entire communities.
These actions can benefit and enlighten the youth, to understand the pain these people have gone through. They can have a better understanding of these situations and will know if history will repeat itself again. The Resistance Effort was able to save thousands or millions of Jews; but, they must had understood that indifference is much worse than the hatred the citizens had against the Jews, Gypsies ,etc… “Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor -- never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten.” To think about him or herself by bystanding a situation without actually helping the receiver. Gives more pain to the receiver with a simple inhuman action. To be able to participate can highlight the importance of being a human being and give justice to the outcasted. To be able know the outcome of both consequences of action and inaction, is important. Since, these consequences will give people a better understanding on what’s right and what’s
Denial is another theme in this film which helped to save the Jewish race. Even as they are forced into the ghetto and later into labor camps they are in denial of their real situation. When they are in the ghetto they are optimistic and believe that the bad times will pass, and even when killing surrounds them they won’t let themselves believe the worst.
Children have often been viewed as innocent and innocent may be a nicer way to call children naive. Since children’s lives are so worry free they lack the knowledge of how to transition from being a child to becoming an adolescent. Their lack of knowledge may be a large part of their difficulties growing up, which could be a few rough years for many. In books like the boy in the striped pajamas the story is told from the point of view of a little boy, this way we get a full view of how innocent he is. In this book the writer shows the reader first hand how a child viewed the holocaust and how his innocence cost him his life. Then in books like the perks of being a wallflower Charlie is a teen whom is struggling with the transition from being a child to becoming an adolescent. In this book the writer gives a first hand look at how difficult it can be to transition into an adolescent. Charlie has many difficulties in this book; he is in search of his identity and how to fit in.
Because of the sheer amount of people affected by the Holocaust, it continued having an (Figure 1: Artie in the car with his wife) effect on generations to come. This is clearly displayed in MAUS, when Artie is discussing his views on the Holocaust with his wife (See Fig. 1-2). Artie is evidently guilty about (Figure 2: Artie in the car with his wife) what his parents faced in the Holocaust, saying that he feels “...so inadequate trying to reconstruct a reality that was worse than my darkest dreams” (Spiegelman, 176). This is because he personally lived a relatively easy life, in contrast to his parents. Familial guilt is essential to an educational Holocaust story, because it shows how devastating the horrors that occurred really were, and how they impacted family members of survivors for years to come. Additionally, having familial guilt teaches that events as terrorizing as the Holocaust are things that are carried along with families long after the actual actions are completed. The idea of familial guilt is an important lesson for students to learn, as it serves as a warning against the repetition of these actions. Because the novella Night occurs during the war itself, it doesn’t show the repercussions that anyone faced after the
Many critics consider the novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck, as one of the greatest short works of fiction. I think this was a great novel with amazing detail. It has certain qualities and themes such as these: the importance of relationships, responsibility to others, the nature of home, respect for old age, the difference between right and wrong, and the evil of oppression and abuse. We can learn from these themes and see how we use it in our lives. By using examples from the book as well we can see how this happens more clearly.
“To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all.” This famous quote was expressed by an even more popular man, Elie Wiesel. Elie Wiesel was a well-known survivor of the Holocaust and was the author of the book Night. He also gave an exceptionally moving speech, The Perils of Indifference, that showed how greatly indifference will impact and already has impacted the world. The definition of indifference is lacking an interest or concern in something. In the speech “Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel indifference is clearly stated that it is not the best for the world and that people should stray from the normalities of life.
Bruno, an eight year old boy at the time of the war, is completely oblivious to the atrocities of the war around him - even with a father who is a Nazi commandant. The title of the book is evidence to this - Bruno perceives the concentration camp uniforms as "striped pajamas." Further evidence is the misnomers "the Fury," (the Furher) and "Out-With" (Auschwitz). Bruno and Shmuel, the boy he meets from Auschwitz, share a great deal in common but perhaps what is most striking is the childhood innocence which characterizes both boys. Bruno is unaware that his father is a Nazi commandant and that his home is on ther periphery of Auschwitz. Shmuel, imprisoned in the camp, seems not to understand the severity of his situation. When his father goes missing, Shmuel does not understand that he has gone to the gas chamber.
They deny everything that was taught to them by their families and faith and instead they focus on their attempt to survive the horrid conditions. Throughout the months they were forced to watch the death of their peers, and they were going as far as to murder their community members and fellow jews who they used to support. They only cared about maintaining their own life and survival and because of the concentration camps, This once civilized community instead developed into viscous animals because they were being treated as such, showing that the the idea that we as humans will lose touch with everything that makes us who we are when looking in the face of death disaster and abuse. A quote in the book that shows this is when Elizel said that "I was a body. Perhaps less than that even, a starved stomach. The stomach alone wasn't aware of the passage of time(50).” This quote shows the dehumanization that the characters are facing each day and that time in the end kind just blurred together like a broken clock and that no matter what they are put up to they will try to live for as long as they can even if it affects them mentally. I believe that Elie Wiesel wrote the book night as a living record of what happened and as a survivor, Wiesel has no choice but to tell anyone who is willing to listen. He wants to tell his story for the silenced victims who couldn't. Having lost his entire family to the aftermath of the Holocaust, he can only pray that the world we live in can learn from the Jewish people's suffering and prevents history from repeating
Throughout the world, there are many artifacts ranging from Literature, Music, Social Media, Fashion, Toys, Technology, and many other ones. Every single one of these artifacts has a special meaning to them such as, the Statue of Liberty which represents freedom. The National Museum and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum both contain many different types of artifacts that represent our history, as well as sharing a special meaning that can affect a person individually or even shape our society. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" was a book written by John Boyne, which should be considered an artifact in the Holocaust Memorial Museum or the National Museum, because it represents the history of the Holocaust, as well as by symbolizing
There are many examples of interpersonal relationships throughout our daily lives. They can be seen when you take a walk down the street, on social media, and even in a movie. Specifically, in the movie “Boy in the Striped Pajamas”, there are many examples of interpersonal relationships. There are two relationships in particular that are great examples. The first is the one between Bruno and Shmuel. Bruno, an eight-year-old boy who is the son of a high ranking SS commander, befriends Shmuel, a Jewish boy who resides in concentration camp next to Bruno’s new house. Second is the relationship between Bruno’s mother and father is another example of an interpersonal relationship. Throughout the movie, their relationship demonstrates different factors of relationships.