Opinion vs. Experience
People display judgment through the concept of racism. In America, African-Americans and Native Americans had been the races colonials decided to exploit. During World War II Jewish people were the targets for Nazi Germany. Using pathos, ethos, and logos Woody Allen's Random Reflections of A Second Rate Mind and Bruno Bettelheim's A Victim reflects how society requires a group to belittle in order to make them stronger.
Using pathos Bruno Bettelheim's A Victim captures the reader and shows them the conditions of the camps. Bettelheim explains “Nearly all prisoners suffered from frostbite which often led to gangrene and then amputation.” (Bettelheim, 30) This quote provides the reader with an uneasy picture making them
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When comparing Bettelheim's in depth experience with the Holocaust to Allen's surface understanding it becomes more clear Allen is not as credible. Allen relies on other opinions and sources of work in order to justify his knowledge on the topic. A Victim gives a better understanding from Bettelheim’s factual experience of how the German soldiers treated the Jewish people. He states,”... in the winter of 1938 a Polish Jew murdered the German attache in Paris, vom Rath. The Gestapo used this event to step up anti-Semitic actions, and in the camp new hardships were inflicted on the Jewish prisoners.” (Bettelheim 29-30) Allen, in turn, talks about the betrayal the Jewish people experienced when the war first broke out. He says, “After all, I had read about all those supposedly wonderful neighbors throughout Europe who lived beside Jews lovingly and amiably. They shared laughter and fun and the same experiences I shared with my community and friends. And I read, also, how they turned their backs on the Jews instantly when it became the fashion and even looted their homes when they were left empty by sudden departure to the camps.” (Allen 3) As a result, it is safe to say that Allen does not posses the level of personal experience Bettelheim does and can not personally claim he is a credible source of opinions on the Jewish