The book Night presents a spectacular account of horrible human experience under the captivity based on the pretext of the Jew holocaust that ensued in NAZI Germany in the period of Second World War. Based on the nature of their captivity and the deplorable conditions they were exposed to, their resilience and will to survive was greatly put to the test. Throughout the story “Night” the captives are presented with little to survive by and due to the nature of their controlled misery they find themselves at crossroads to either give in and perish with the situation or find mechanisms to cope so as to survive. One of life’s crucial virtues is the ability to maintain hope in the face of despair. From what is recorded of the containment camps and the NAZI torture mechanisms, the Jews especially those that survived had to clutch on every positive thought, spirituality and belief system with an undying hope that their situation would change anytime.
In the period of war, many aspects of humanity were put to perspective. How the NAZI Germans used aggression against other races particularly the Jews made everyone question the moral and spiritual fiber in which the human beings were based on. Such insecurities and uncertainties are presented in the Novel “Night” where he Jews experienced firsthand the world and God turn their backs on them. From this there is a wide range of life lessons that can be derived and applied in the modern day. Following the actual eventuality of war there were the outstanding political differences and social cues that steadily progressed creating a mass need for aggression in Germany and the rest of the world. In modern times the nature of politics has greatly diversified to cover the entire international system. The nature of conflict has also diversified and racial profiling is more rampant as society continues to integrate. The modern society has something to learn from past accounts and in so try to put up a spirited fight against aggravated evils within society units.
The notion that evil thrives when the action of good men fail is a true account. Forces of goodwill have to outdo the bad for society to thrive. As such every one of us have a responsibility towards sustaining the stability and should be resilient in pursuing this in political social and economic scopes of life. Such a course is worth fighting for because it serves the greater good and propagates peace as opposed to baseless bloodshed. From the illustrations of the holocaust as depicted in the Novel Night and Maus, the Jews developed coping mechanisms that proved useful to sustain them through the holocaust. “Don’t be afraid,’ he said. ‘Everything will be alright.’… Every one of his words was healing and every glance of his carried a message of hope.” (Elie, 79) . Despite their frustration belief system the captives never lost their identity as Jews which is largely derived from their spiritual culture. Extreme pain and suffering ultimately makes one loose a certain sense of identity especially when their will to live ends. Maintaining a fighting spirit when you cannot articulate self-worth in moment of despair demoralizes oneself hence killing the spirit the decimating the responsiveness of the body.
The Jews had the capability to maintain such a resilient survival effort having been accustomed to a history of timely oppression. The lessons gather from such experiences only seem to bring them on more unified ground the level of interdependence and self-reliance increasing among them as a people tracing same backgrounds. “No, darling! To die, it’s easy…but you have to struggle for life! Until the last moment we must struggle together! I need you! And you’ll see that together we’ll survive.” (Spiegelman, 124) . This has set them on a progressive course of gaining legitimacy as well as stability. This is a clear illustration on the practical implications of having hope and resilience that goes beyond any hardship that is bound to come in one’s life in one time or another. If one is able to survive such moments they will ultimately progress stronger and experienced. When it comes to individual tenacity the holocaust and the accounts of the Jew community in NAZI Germany as depicted in the Night and Maus should be a guiding force on establishing a course that serves greater good in society and holding on steady despite opposition.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold, ed. Night-Elie Wiesel. Infobase Publishing, 2009.
Spiegelman, Art. The complete maus. London: Penguin, 2003.
