'Night'
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After reading the novel Night, I have realized an important theme about life that not only applies to me, but also applies to society as a whole. People react differently in different situations. This theme seems to be very prevalent in the world today. I believe that no matter what the situation is, people will always either react courageously and heroically, or break down under pressure. The book Night shows two good examples of this idea: when the prisoners on the cattle car mauled each other over a piece of bread, and when some of the prisoners began to stop running so that they could be killed in order to stop suffering. The idea that people react differently in certain situations is also extremely relevant to the real world, as observed in the 2011 Japan earthquake and 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The events of 9/11 are a prime example of this theme. After the planes hit, the insides of the tower were thrown into complete chaos. There were fires raging, bodies everywhere, and debris falling on top of people. Almost everyone in the buildings had to make a choice about whether to jump from the building or burn to death in the flames that were consuming the building. Though these people suffered an unfortunate fate, there were a brave few people that reacted in ways that nobody could have expected. There were many ordinary office workers that took charge of a large group of survivors and led them down flights of stairs and out of the building, though unfortunately only six people survived (history.com). The same type of things occurred during the Japan earthquake in 2011, when the country was annihilated by a massive earthquake that wounded and killed many people. As buildings collapsed and the nuclear reactors threatened to reach a meltdown, many courageous citizens stood up and helped save fellow survivors as an impending tidal wave and nuclear meltdown threatened to inflict even more damage. There were other people that simply cracked under the pressure and were unable to do much of anything except sit back and watch helplessly as other citizens died because of nature’s wrath. Some people go immediately into action mode and start saving lives, while other people just sort of shut down and become the ones that need saving. During a house fire, I went into “action mode” and began acting out of character.
On Christmas night 2005, my house caught fire in the middle of the night. I was awaken by the smoke alarm and I knew it was really a fire. I had to belly-crawl out of the house to avoid the smoke and I made sure that my little sister was out of the house while my brother was kind of vacant and scared. Another example from my life is from very recently. Last month my grandfather passed away and my family and I went to his funeral in Sturgis. Thinking back on it, I can see that there was a huge difference in how my family members reacted. For instance, my mother and grandmother got very teary eyed, but my father and I tried to stay strong. Many of the visitors had the same reactions, each reacting differently in the given situation. This example reminds me of an example from Night.
In Night, the prisoners are forced to react to extreme situations, some of them breaking down under intense situations, and some of them simply becoming emotionally distant. One example would be when the prisoners were forced to run more than 42 miles to the Gleiwitz camp. On the run, the prisoners were subjected to extreme exhaustion and brutal cold. Many of the prisoners gave up during the trek, simply giving up in order to face the unfeeling wrath of the Nazi’s guns. There were also quite a few who also held on for better or for worse, clinging to the hope that they could someday go home and be free of the evils of the Nazis. Another example is when the prisoners were on the cattle car and the German civilians were throwing bread into the cars. Some of the prisoners stayed back in silence because they were too afraid to get hurt, while a majority of the prisoners went berserk and starting mauling each other.
The idea that everyone reacts to different situations in different ways is very relevant in our world today. Almost daily there seems to be some kind of impending natural disaster or terrorist attack, as well as simple things like funerals that force people to change the way they would normally act in order to deal with the situation at hand. In the book Night, Elie is forced to react to the horrors of the Holocaust in ways he never would have normally acted. Everyone is different and reacts to situations in different ways.
Works Cited
¨9/11 Attacks¨. History.com. N.p. N.d. Web. 11/15/13. www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks
¨Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011¨. britannica.com N.p. N.d. Web. 11/15/13
http://www.britannica.com
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Toronto: Bantam, 1960. Print.
The events of 9/11 are a prime example of this theme. After the planes hit, the insides of the tower were thrown into complete chaos. There were fires raging, bodies everywhere, and debris falling on top of people. Almost everyone in the buildings had to make a choice about whether to jump from the building or burn to death in the flames that were consuming the building. Though these people suffered an unfortunate fate, there were a brave few people that reacted in ways that nobody could have expected. There were many ordinary office workers that took charge of a large group of survivors and led them down flights of stairs and out of the building, though unfortunately only six people survived (history.com). The same type of things occurred during the Japan earthquake in 2011, when the country was annihilated by a massive earthquake that wounded and killed many people. As buildings collapsed and the nuclear reactors threatened to reach a meltdown, many courageous citizens stood up and helped save fellow survivors as an impending tidal wave and nuclear meltdown threatened to inflict even more damage. There were other people that simply cracked under the pressure and were unable to do much of anything except sit back and watch helplessly as other citizens died because of nature’s wrath. Some people go immediately into action mode and start saving lives, while other people just sort of shut down and become the ones that need saving. During a house fire, I went into “action mode” and began acting out of character.
On Christmas night 2005, my house caught fire in the middle of the night. I was awaken by the smoke alarm and I knew it was really a fire. I had to belly-crawl out of the house to avoid the smoke and I made sure that my little sister was out of the house while my brother was kind of vacant and scared. Another example from my life is from very recently. Last month my grandfather passed away and my family and I went to his funeral in Sturgis. Thinking back on it, I can see that there was a huge difference in how my family members reacted. For instance, my mother and grandmother got very teary eyed, but my father and I tried to stay strong. Many of the visitors had the same reactions, each reacting differently in the given situation. This example reminds me of an example from Night.
In Night, the prisoners are forced to react to extreme situations, some of them breaking down under intense situations, and some of them simply becoming emotionally distant. One example would be when the prisoners were forced to run more than 42 miles to the Gleiwitz camp. On the run, the prisoners were subjected to extreme exhaustion and brutal cold. Many of the prisoners gave up during the trek, simply giving up in order to face the unfeeling wrath of the Nazi’s guns. There were also quite a few who also held on for better or for worse, clinging to the hope that they could someday go home and be free of the evils of the Nazis. Another example is when the prisoners were on the cattle car and the German civilians were throwing bread into the cars. Some of the prisoners stayed back in silence because they were too afraid to get hurt, while a majority of the prisoners went berserk and starting mauling each other.
The idea that everyone reacts to different situations in different ways is very relevant in our world today. Almost daily there seems to be some kind of impending natural disaster or terrorist attack, as well as simple things like funerals that force people to change the way they would normally act in order to deal with the situation at hand. In the book Night, Elie is forced to react to the horrors of the Holocaust in ways he never would have normally acted. Everyone is different and reacts to situations in different ways.
Works Cited
¨9/11 Attacks¨. History.com. N.p. N.d. Web. 11/15/13. www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks
¨Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011¨. britannica.com N.p. N.d. Web. 11/15/13
http://www.britannica.com
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Toronto: Bantam, 1960. Print.