Hope
To me, Hope is a necessity to survive. When you hope for something, you need to really want it. Hope is one of the most powerful emotions, and should not be used lightly. Hope can be a good thing, but also bad. If you hope for what cannot possibly happen, that's just stupid, But hoping for things that can happen is smart (good), assuming we are motivated by our optimism to act in ways that make the hoped-for thing more likely. "Through love, through hope, and faith's transcendent dower, we feel that we are greater than we know."- William Wordsworth. As stated in this quote, when we have something to hope for, and someone showing us love, we are capable of many things. In the movie Life is Beautiful and the book Night love and hope are the only things that keep the characters alive. This is shown through Elie and his father's relationship when his father reminds him of his fundamental feelings of love, compassion, and devotion to his family. Then Elie and his father look out for each other in hope to make it out the concentration camp alive. Love and hope are also shown in the movie Life is Beautiful when Guido and his son were taken to the concentration camp. Here, Guido's love for his son Josh, kept him alive. Dora, Guido's wife, shows persistent hope which ultimately leads to being reunited with Joshua. In both stories the hope that of rescue and the love that for each other gets the main characters through terrible times.
In the book Night Elie and his father's relationship is crucial because his father reminds him of his fundamental feelings of love, compassion, and devotion to his family. Everywhere Elie looks, he sees miserable humans, lying, cheating and backstabbing for survival. This example is magnified when Rabbi Eliahou's son abandons the Rabbi just to increase his own chance of survival. When Elie sees this happen he prays to God that he will not do the same thing. This is significant, because his father's presence was keeping Elie's humanity and compassion intact. Another example of Elie keeping his values is seen when Elie and his father were forced into the cattle cart along with 100 other prisoners and were shipped off to camp Gleiwitz. Many suffocated. The S.S officers ordered the prisoners to throw the dead bodies out. Elie's dad was unconscious, when the prisoners came to throw him off the cart. Elie pleaded with them to stop. Finally, his father woke up and the men backed off. As Elie begged the men to leave his father alone, he showed not only concern with his own survival, but also his father's. Elie's humanity was further shown when Elie gave up his soup to his father. Despite the S.S officers telling Elie to save the food for him, because he needed the strength more than his father, Elie continued to give up his meals. This showed that, even thought Elie knew his father was going to die, he still cared for him. We see that in the book, Elie having his father with him kept him from turning into a lonely, faithless person.
Elie and his father were always hopeful, because they had each other to rely on. Elie does everything he can to protect his father, and vice versa. At camp Buna Elie noticed that his father could not keep in sync when all the prisoners marched. Franek, and S.S officer, noticed it to and began to beat Elie's father every time he got out of place. The beatings began to make Elie's father very weak. Elie, not wanting his father to be killed decided to take time and teach his father how to march. That shows that Elie cared enough about his father, that he taught him the tricks to surviving. Another S.S officer named Idek, also took interest in Elie and his father. Idek saw that Elie still had a gold tooth in his mouth. Idek demanded that Elie surrender the gold tooth. But, Elie refused. Idek then began to beat Elie's father until Elie finally gave him the tooth. The gold tooth was Elie's only financial resource. The fact that he gave it up just to save his father is very significant, because it showed that Elie thought of him and his father as a team. Finally, when Elie and his father looked out for one another while they slept, showed that Elie and his father had the will to survive, and wanted to make it out together. Throughout the book Elie and his father watch each others back, because they not only want to survive through the camp, but survive together.
When Guido and his son were taken to the concentration camp, Guido's love for his son kept Josh alive. When the soldiers took Guido and Josh away, Guido convinced Josh to believe that the concentration camp was actually a game of who could get the most points. When Guido went off to work in the labor factories, he told Josh to hide and if he wasn't caught then he would win points. Guido lightened the situation, any fear or doubt that Josh had, his father made a joke of, to keep josh laughing. Guido especial felt the need to hide Josh after all the children in the camp were killed. Because Guido was hiding Josh, he sacrificed many of his meals to feed Josh. Keeping josh around not only risked Josh's life but Guido's as well. Because Guido put Josh's life before his, Josh survived the camp.
Dora's persistent hope is what ultimately leads to her being reunited with Joshua once again. Since Dora was not Jewish, she willingly went to the concentration camp. She thought that if she followed her husband, Guido, and son Josh, she might see them again. Dora had high hopes for reuniting with her family. But, the longer she stayed at the camp, the more her hope was dented. She slowly began to realize that Josh and Guido might not make it out alive. One day, while Dora was folding clothes, she saw all the clothes of the little children. She searched threw the pile, looking for Josh's clothes, and did not find them. This reinstated Dora's hope. From that point she remain hopeful for Josh's survival. In the end all her hope paid off.
The Holocaust was with out a doubt one of the worst crimes mankind has committed. But, the prisoners who had something to love, and something to hope for, were much more motivated to survive. In the book Night and the movie Life is Beautiful the hope of surviving and being reunited with family played a huge role in their survival. Also, the love the characters showed made life worth living. The presence of good morals, a little faith helped the people in both stories survive through the tragedy
In the book Night Elie and his father's relationship is crucial because his father reminds him of his fundamental feelings of love, compassion, and devotion to his family. Everywhere Elie looks, he sees miserable humans, lying, cheating and backstabbing for survival. This example is magnified when Rabbi Eliahou's son abandons the Rabbi just to increase his own chance of survival. When Elie sees this happen he prays to God that he will not do the same thing. This is significant, because his father's presence was keeping Elie's humanity and compassion intact. Another example of Elie keeping his values is seen when Elie and his father were forced into the cattle cart along with 100 other prisoners and were shipped off to camp Gleiwitz. Many suffocated. The S.S officers ordered the prisoners to throw the dead bodies out. Elie's dad was unconscious, when the prisoners came to throw him off the cart. Elie pleaded with them to stop. Finally, his father woke up and the men backed off. As Elie begged the men to leave his father alone, he showed not only concern with his own survival, but also his father's. Elie's humanity was further shown when Elie gave up his soup to his father. Despite the S.S officers telling Elie to save the food for him, because he needed the strength more than his father, Elie continued to give up his meals. This showed that, even thought Elie knew his father was going to die, he still cared for him. We see that in the book, Elie having his father with him kept him from turning into a lonely, faithless person.
Elie and his father were always hopeful, because they had each other to rely on. Elie does everything he can to protect his father, and vice versa. At camp Buna Elie noticed that his father could not keep in sync when all the prisoners marched. Franek, and S.S officer, noticed it to and began to beat Elie's father every time he got out of place. The beatings began to make Elie's father very weak. Elie, not wanting his father to be killed decided to take time and teach his father how to march. That shows that Elie cared enough about his father, that he taught him the tricks to surviving. Another S.S officer named Idek, also took interest in Elie and his father. Idek saw that Elie still had a gold tooth in his mouth. Idek demanded that Elie surrender the gold tooth. But, Elie refused. Idek then began to beat Elie's father until Elie finally gave him the tooth. The gold tooth was Elie's only financial resource. The fact that he gave it up just to save his father is very significant, because it showed that Elie thought of him and his father as a team. Finally, when Elie and his father looked out for one another while they slept, showed that Elie and his father had the will to survive, and wanted to make it out together. Throughout the book Elie and his father watch each others back, because they not only want to survive through the camp, but survive together.
When Guido and his son were taken to the concentration camp, Guido's love for his son kept Josh alive. When the soldiers took Guido and Josh away, Guido convinced Josh to believe that the concentration camp was actually a game of who could get the most points. When Guido went off to work in the labor factories, he told Josh to hide and if he wasn't caught then he would win points. Guido lightened the situation, any fear or doubt that Josh had, his father made a joke of, to keep josh laughing. Guido especial felt the need to hide Josh after all the children in the camp were killed. Because Guido was hiding Josh, he sacrificed many of his meals to feed Josh. Keeping josh around not only risked Josh's life but Guido's as well. Because Guido put Josh's life before his, Josh survived the camp.
Dora's persistent hope is what ultimately leads to her being reunited with Joshua once again. Since Dora was not Jewish, she willingly went to the concentration camp. She thought that if she followed her husband, Guido, and son Josh, she might see them again. Dora had high hopes for reuniting with her family. But, the longer she stayed at the camp, the more her hope was dented. She slowly began to realize that Josh and Guido might not make it out alive. One day, while Dora was folding clothes, she saw all the clothes of the little children. She searched threw the pile, looking for Josh's clothes, and did not find them. This reinstated Dora's hope. From that point she remain hopeful for Josh's survival. In the end all her hope paid off.
The Holocaust was with out a doubt one of the worst crimes mankind has committed. But, the prisoners who had something to love, and something to hope for, were much more motivated to survive. In the book Night and the movie Life is Beautiful the hope of surviving and being reunited with family played a huge role in their survival. Also, the love the characters showed made life worth living. The presence of good morals, a little faith helped the people in both stories survive through the tragedy
"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness"- Desmond Tutu
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"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."- Martin Luther King Jr.
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"There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow."-Orison Swett Marden
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"To live without Hope is to Cease to live." -Fyodor Dostoyevsky
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"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don't give up" -Anne Lamott
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"It is hope that gives life meaning. And hope is based on the prospect of being able one day to turn the actual world into a possible one that looks better." -Francois Jacob
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"Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out." -Vaclav Havel
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