Coping From Paper Hearts, By Holocaust Survivor Elie Wiesel

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 3.6% of adults in the U.S. have PTSD. Throughout the Holocaust, prisoners were faced with an immense amount of abuse. Mentally and physically, people were put through so much trauma, making it almost impossible to fight against death and to survive the concentration camps of the Holocaust. Literature regarding the Holocaust often juxtaposes two ideas, despair and optimism, helping the authors to show a shared theme. In “Coping” from Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviett, and “Night” by Holocaust Survivor Elie Wiesel, juxtaposition reveals the theme of in severe trauma, people’s reactions fall into two groups, those who choose to hope and fight to survive, and others who fall into a state of despair

This part of the novel focuses on two groups of girls, both holding hands, walking inside a concentration camp. The first set of girls, reaches towards the sky feeling the wind and talking about spring. “Radiating to the others, a wave of hope, a current of belief, that his would not go on, forever” (Wiviott, 211) They believe that the horrors of the camps will eventually end, that life would get better. This is juxtaposed with the second group. Reaching towards the electric fence, the girls have chosen to end their lives. They no longer hope for freedom. “Death rippled, through her fingers, radiated to the others. A wave. A current. The End.” (Wiviott, 212). Two different choices about life have been made, influenced by the terrible quality of life people lived through during the

He is one of the few survivors of the concentration camps, and “Night” is a memoir about his experiences during the Holocaust. During his time in a camp called Buna, Wiesel witnesses a man named Akiba Drummer change over time from being a very religious and hopeful person to giving up on life and the fight to survive. He has a big impact on other prisoners. ‘“I can’t go on … It’s over …’ We tried to raise his spirits, but he wouldn’t listen to anything we said. He just kept repeating that it was all over for him, that he could no longer fight, he had no more strength, no more faith.” (Wiesel, 76). This causes Wiesel to question his faith more, which creates an internal conflict, making it harder for him to push on. Later in his memoir, after running over 20 kilometers while famished, dehydrated, and in terrible physical condition, Wiesel is still able to find the will to survive. “But deep inside, I knew that to sleep meant to die. And something in me rebelled against that death.” (Wiesel, 89). This is juxtaposed with the amount of people around him who were dead or very close to death. Some of these people had ignored the advice Wiesel offered to them and choose to fall asleep in the snow, dying. He chose to live while others did not. The hope that Wiesel had helped him to survive some of the most terrible moments of his