Strong Of An Effect A Threatening Force example essay topic

"What idea does the author develop regarding the nature or effect of threatening forces?" As human beings, we are often faced with choices, challenges, and threats as we grow and mature. Although how we act in these situations defines who we are, the underlying importance of these issues is how we come to our final decision and how we face the threats that lie before us. In Elie Wiesels's memoir Night, a huge groups of people have their lives threatened and taken away as Primo Levi said. ".. at a yes, or a no" and this shows just how predominant of an effect this threat had on the Jewish people. Many characters in this memoir chose to address this very real threat in different ways and because of this, the threat was allowed to flourish.

The author, Elie Wiesel wrote this memoir in order to show the great evil that lurks inside of some humans and when that evil is unleashed, action must be taken to prevent it from turning cancerous and taking more casualties. The various threats brought up in this memoir have shown that a threatening force, no matter how small, has the ability to hurt us, turn us against each other and most of all, change the very foundation of which we stand. In taking away what one believes in, the ability to mold them into an object becomes well within grasp. Throughout Night, we are told how under Nazi command, the Jewish people were transformed from normal, hard working people into the "animals" that they became in the camps such as Buna, Birkenau, and Auschwitz.

In threatening these people with their lives and the lives of their loved ones, the Jews were "persuaded" to follow the Nazi demands, and had no will to stand up against them. During the Second World War, the Nazis knew what there were doing and believed that in destroying the rules that the Jews lived by, their will to rebel, their will to escape and most of all, their will to live would be shattered by the Nazi rule. Upon arriving at the camps, the prisoners were humiliated as they were stripped, shaved and deloused in a large public display. Secondly, the Jews were tattooed partly for identification and most of all because it was against the Jewish rule to self inflict any form if bodily harm.

The purpose of this was to take away many things that the Jews stood for and soon, some began to loose their faith in god and what they had known to be right. In doing such things to their prisoners, the Nazi's began to not only control them physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well. With essentially nothing to live for and no reason to go on, many of the prisoners gave up and those who didn't were forced to turn against each other as their only form of survival. Throughout this memoir, the main character Eliezer and his father are very close and do all that is in their power to help one another survive.

At the times of selection, the Nazis had taken the role of god and held each individuals life in their hands. One side men the crematorium and death, while the other was excruciating physical labour and terrible living conditions. In hopes of staying alive and surviving this hell, both father and son lie about their age to avoid the crematorium and are sent to work. In knowing that without a second thought, the Nazis could, and would have killed whoever opposed them, the prisoners followed their orders and worked like animals. When faced with the harsh realization that the Nazis did not care whether they lived or not set in, the prisoners own survival and well being became the number one objective. The Nazis destroyed family bonds, and tore people apart.

This is most evident when the train carrying the cattle cars full of prisoners passed through a German town. As the train passes, some German civilians began to throw scraps of bread into the train and watched as the prisoners fought to the death over the scraps. Eliezer recalls watching an old man get beaten to death by his own son in an attempt to eat, and then he is beaten by the others in the car. Through this, we can see how dramatically the time in the camps changed the Jews and because of all of the threats made by the Germans, the people turned against each other. Although facing such a terrible evil, Eliezer still managed to stay loyal to his sick and dying father, bringing him what food he could and motivating him to move on.

His father knew that his life was reaching its end, and tried his best to save his son. In doing so, this demonstrated how even in that face of adversity and being threatened with ones life, goodness and loyalty can still prevail. Through reading Elie Wiesel's memoir, it is not difficult to see how strong of an effect a threatening force can have on an individual. If threatened to a certain extent, destroying a person from the inside out is not a chore as shown in this text, and manipulating them to do whatever is desired is much the same. Taking away ones natural humility, and shattering all it is that they believe in, their will to live is destroyed as well. In destroying a person in such a way, this allows these threatening forces to grow as the fear of it increases..