“Terrible Things” is a powerful allegory that tells a tale to warn the readers about the Holocaust. Eve Bunting writes this story using forest animals to not only convey the horrors of the Holocaust but also to depict the consequences of inaction in the face of oppression. Throughout the story, the events that occur and the animals’ reactions reflect and symbolize what happened during the Holocaust. Firstly, the birds were taken, and “now there were no birds to sing in the clearing. But life went on almost as before. Until the day the Terrible Things came back” (Bunting 16) After some time had passed since the birds were forcibly taken, the Terrible Things returned. However, the remaining animals did not look at one another, and rather glanced …show more content…
This allegory uses the story of the animals being targeted and grouped by the Terrible Things to symbolize what happened during the Holocaust. The animals symbolize the minorities and the Jewish people that were targeted by the Nazis. The Terrible Things are the persecutors and symbolize how the Nazis tormented and tyrannized over the groups they selected. The idea that “life went on almost as before" reflects the number of people during World War II that were able to ignore or deny the severity of what the persecuted experienced. People could not fathom such brutality, so they rationalized the cruel actions of the Nazis, instead of speaking out when necessary. Soon after, more animals disappeared from the clearing in the woods. The Little Rabbit, curious, finally asks the Big Rabbit, ‘“What did the frogs and fish do to them?’ ‘Probably nothing,’ Big Rabbit said. ‘But the Terrible Things don’t need a reason. Many creatures dislike frogs. Lumpy slimy things. And fish are so cold and unfriendly. They never talk to any of us”’(Bunting 17). Life goes on as usual, however now, there are no birds to sing, no squirrels to chatter, no frogs to croak, or any fish to
“The Night” is a 1960 memoir by Elie Wiesel based on his Holocaust experiences with his father in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945, toward the end of the Second World War in Europe. In chapter 3 of The Night written by Elie Weisel, he encounters the horrors that occurred during the Holocaust. During that time, the Jews were subjected to terrible, inhuman treatment. Hitler’s goal was to exterminate the entire Jewish race by creating death camps that killed millions of Jews by the end of 1945 when the war ended. In the first 3 chapters of this story, Weasel tells about the way his life was changed and he was left with nothing of his old life.
Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night, is a powerful testimony to the horrors of the Holocaust. Throughout the book, Wiesel employs various literary devices to convey his experiences and emotions. In this literary analysis essay, we will explore the literary devices used in Night and their impact on the reader. One of the most prominent literary devices used in Night is imagery.
Night, a memoir by Elie Wiesel, is a moving and powerful account of the Holocaust. The book provides a first-hand account of the horrors of the concentration camps and the impact they had on the author’s life. In order to convey the emotional impact of his experiences, Wiesel uses imagery to evoke pathos, the appeal to emotion, causing the readers to feel sad but also hopeful. A way that Wiesel uses pathos in Night in order to create a sense of dread and sadness for his audience is by using vivid imagery of the horrible crimes he witnessed. “A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children.
Bauman uses the analogy of a gardener’s beautiful and ugly plants to describe the mistreatment of the victims during the Holocaust. The gardener’s role in exterminating the weeds from the garden is extremely similar to the annihilation of the victims from the camps. Bauman describes how modernity has not made advancements in moral principles, as modern genocide was the root cause of the deaths. Because of the Nazis’ hatred for the Jewish race, they used all means necessary to prevent the growth and expansion of the Jews (the weeds) and their beliefs. The Nazis saw themselves as flowers and beautiful plants that must be cared for.
Dehumanization in the Memoir Night The human race is classified as an animal, although under normal circumstances, humans do not operate in the way that an animal does. The people in Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night are an exception. During the Holocaust the Nazis associated the Jewish race as inferior to wild beasts and treated them as such in widely spread concentration camps throughout Eastern Europe that gassed, burned, beat, or in cold blood, shot thousands of Jews every new day. Wiesel explains his experience with restraint one would not expect as he recounts what he has seen and how appallingly evil the Germans treat his kind. Sadistic Nazi treatment of the prisoners in Night tears the mentality of the Jews apart leaving animalistic instincts
Humans are often quick to harm Mother Nature even though it has done nothing wrong. This sense of unnecessary cruelty towards the innocent is also seen in the not so subtle references to the Holocaust. In the poem the woodchucks symbolize Jews that were part of the Holocaust in World War two. The Nazis put the guiltless through torture, executing and brutally murdering countless people. The Nazi’s attitude is similar to the attitude of the narrator’s.
One repeated word was “nor we.” This shows that if the animals did not have what the Terrible Things wanted they were fine and they decided to just continue their life until they came back. This relates to the people because they just stood on the sidelines waiting for someone else to do something about it. They let people get killed when they could and should have done something. The author’s point of view is that she is against what the Nazis and Hitler and what they did.
At times, it appears unviable for one’s life to transform overnight in just a few hours. However, this is something various individuals experienced in soul and flesh as they were impinged by those atrocious memoirs of the Holocaust. In addition, the symbolism portrayed throughout the novel Night, written by Elie Wiesel, presents an effective fathoming of the feelings and thoughts of what it’s like to undergo such an unethical circumstance. For instance, nighttime plays a symbolic figure throughout the progression of the story as its used to symbolize death, darkness of the soul,
In this memoir, Elie Wiesel uses imagery in order to develop the presence of animal-like behavior on people when they are being dehumanized. At this point of the story, Elie and the other prisoners are in a wagon traveling to a different concentration camp, and they are trying to survive in inhuman conditions. To begin, Wiesel describes, “We were given bread… We threw ourselves on it… Someone had the idea of quenching his thirst by eating snow.”
“Honey, you are changing that boy’s life.” A friend of Leigh Anne’s exclaimed. Leigh Anne grinned and said, “No, he’s changing mine.” This exchange of words comes from the film trailer of an award-winning film, The Blind Side, directed by John Lee Hancock, released on November 20th, 2009. This film puts emphasis on a homeless, black teen, Michael Oher, who has had no stability or support in his life thus far.
“Always storing away things for themselves. Never sharing.” “But why did the Terrible Things take them away?” Little rabbit asked. “Do the Terrible Things want the clearing for themselves?”
In the autobiographical Holocaust novel, Night by Elie Wiesel, the motif of Jewish people being animals illustrates how genocide makes people resort to animalistic senses. When Soviet forces were approaching the concentration camp where Elie Wiesel was enslaved, Buna, the Nazis forced the Jews to walk for hours to another camp in Germany. While on the march Wiesel describes how “if one of us [Jews] stopped for just a second, a quick shot would eliminate the filthy dog”(Wiesel, 85). Wiesel is referring to his own community as a “filthy dog”, the connotations of this phrase imply submission and inferiority. The non-human connotations of this phrase demonstrate how torture and harrassment from the Nazis is making him see himself as less than
Past leaders such as Andrew Jackson, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Marc Antony are evidence that society does not reward morality and good character in leadership. Society is drawn to leaders that have good rhetoric, propaganda, and charismatic personalities, and society supports them despite their immorality. Society is concerned about stability more than the morality of their leaders and will support immoral leaders in times of crisis to provide stability. In history there have been multiple leaders that have used rhetoric, propaganda and charismatic personalities to gain power, despite their morals.
The ability to divide our attention during cognitively demanding tasks and the allure of technology creates a delicate balancing act that can at times have grave consequences. On September 22, 2006 in Utah, Reggie Shaw placed the fates of James Furfaro and Keith O’Dell, as well as his own upon this deadly scale. Tragically, the lives of James and Keith were lost, and Reggie Shaw’s future would be forever altered by the events and decisions of that day (Richtel 16). In this modern age of technological marvels our attention is vied for in a constant conflict. Frequently in our lives or particularly in our jobs we are called upon to execute mentally demanding and at times dangerous tasks.
The Terrible Things and Child of the Holocaust share ideas about the Holocaust and share morals revolving around this event in history. Eve Bunting’s, The Terrible Things, is an allegory that shares the story of a group of forest animals that are picked off species-by-species from their clearing in the woods. The Terrible Things come and take away all of the forest animals until there were no more animals left in the clearing. The animals do not try to fight for their fellow species when they are taken away until Little