Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Selfishness of Elie
As the memoir progresses, it is clear Elie Wiesel becomes more selfish. Due to the conditions of the camps, Wiesel has to worry more about himself than people like his father. For example, when Elie's father is being beaten and he just tries to avoid being beaten himself. This example illustrates how everyone is on their own, trying to survive the horrid conditions at the camp. Another example is the fact that Elie is very protective of his food, which is no surprise because of the lack of food given to them. Because of the camps' terrible living conditions, Elie's soul was "invaded-and devoured-by a black flame". He's become emotionless, selfish, and unfaithful to God, however Elie cannot be blamed for these changes in his personality. These camps made most, if not every Jew a different person.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This post begs an interesting question: is Wiesel, as you say, "selfish" or is he merely driven by a drive to survive? When his father is beaten, Wiesel does nothing, but this fact does not mean that he is selfish. It just means he is unable to do anything to save his father. Honestly, a child could never stand a chance of fighting the entire Nazi guard, so, in saving his father, he would probably seal both their deaths. An example of true selfishness occurs on page 101 when a boy kills his own father just for bread. Wiesel presents this scene specifically to contrast it with the scenes he shares with his father. Though Wiesel can do nothing to save his father, he does not actively kill or beat him like this child does. In fact, Wiesel repeatedly says that he lives only for his father. We can only imagine with what horror Wiesel watches this scene because his father has just died, and a child is actively killing the very thing Wiesel just lost. Therefore, I feel Wiesel is not selfish but powerless.
ReplyDeleteThe basic human instincts become more prevalent as the brutality of the Holocaust progresses. In times of intense trauma, it is simply human nature to worry about yourself, even if you are considered a "selfless person". Wiesel shows compassion for his father when he frequently states that his father is the only thing making him survive. The main thing that Wiesel cares about is making sure that he is not separated from his father. I agree with Doob, Wiesel is not selfish, he is simply in a situation that calls for the application of basic human nature in order to survive.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me think if the germans were trying to make people more selfish, if this WAS one of the goals of their poor treatment. Because we all know that the Nazis wanted to make the jews not seem like people, and as Will said the selfishness made them seem more primeval. Maybe the Nazis could also have been thinking if they are busy tending to their own needs they won't be able to group together to fight back.
ReplyDeleteThere was also another boy that was mentioned in Elie's story who was very close to his father. However, once his father became too weak, the boy left him behind. Elie said he envied this boy in leaving his father behind. This way, he isn't burdened to feel any obligation to take care of his father. That is why when his father died, he said there was one tiny part of his brain that thought he was finally free.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the the Jews and how they changed because of the Holocaust, I wonder how the Germans and the Nazis changed as a result of the war. Today, little in Germany resembles the Nazi regime. There was a tremendous anti-Nazi demonstration recently on the anniversary of the Dresden bombing. Germany was also the main proponent of the European Union. However, as Ms. Wilsey pointed out in class, the suicide rates in former Holocaust survivors is higher than in former Nazis. In that aspect, it seems that the criminals in World War 2 did not change in response to the brutality of the concentration camps. There are too many aspects of human nature for us to determine a single cause-and-effect relationship in relation to cruelty and brutality.
ReplyDelete