Differences And Similarities Between Marji And Elie Wiesel

Michael Choi
Ms.Scauso
English 10 2A
5/1/23
Marji and Elie compare and contrast essay
Marjane Satrapi and Elie Wiesel are two authors who have experienced some of the most traumatic events in human history. In Persepolis, the audience is introduced to Marji who we follow during a religious crisis called the Iranian revolution. During the Revolution Marji experiences many close relatives and friends dying; this ends up changing Marji making her more rebellious and cynical. Similarly, in Night, the audience is introduced to Elie Weisel who we also were introduced to during a religious crisis called the Holocaust. During the Holocaust Elie Weisel experiences starvation, physical torture, and inhuman deaths, all of this due to her religion. Trauma

Marji witnessing the misuse of religion for political gain and the suffering inflicted caused Marji to question her to slowlydistance herself from the religion. She began to question the role of faith in society and ultimately started to rebel against her religion. Marji’s trauma led her to have a more secular worldview, and emphasised personal freedom.
Similarly, Elie Wiesel's experience during the Holocaust challenged his religious beliefs. Elie is sent to a concentration camp due to him being Jewish; during the concentration camp Elie experiences many traumatic events such as, starvation, physical abuse, babies being thrown into a furnace, and seeing his own dad having no will, then dying. Elie questions the existence and benevolence of God because he struggled to understand why God would allow for him and others to endure such suffering. Weisel's trauma shaped him into a stronger person, who advocated for remembering and learning from the Holocaust, and also created an organisation to fight indifference, intolerance, and

Marji often felt like an outsiderwithin her own culture, struggling to reconcile her Iranian heritage with her Western influences. Since Marji felt better about Western heritage, Marji rebelled against the religious schools she was taught in.This led her to stand on her own beliefs, and become more outspoken about her beliefs. In Elie’s case, the trauma of the Holocaust left an everlasting mark on his identity. The dehumanisation and suffering he experienced in the concentration camps stripped him of his sense of self, he felt insignificant. Elie’s traumatic past challenged his understanding of who he was and what it means to be human. Despite this, he emerged from the darkness with a profound commitment to make sure everyone remembers these atrocities and to learn from these mistakes. His identity as a survivor and advocate for human rights become his life’s purpose.
Lastly, Trauma can disrupt and shape one’s childhood, robbing them of their innocence and normal development experiences. Both Elie and Marji endured traumatic events at such a young age, altering their perception of the