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Extremist Views In The Dovekeepers By Alice Hoffman

1714 Words7 Pages

People with extremist views are seen by society as intense or even crazy, this is most likely because those with passionate, radical opinions will do anything to send the message of their opinions, even if that means they must sacrifice their own life. In the novel The Dovekeepers, the author, Alice Hoffman, portrays the Jewish rebels in Masada in this manner. Her book is set around 70 C.E. follows four women,Yael, Revka, Aziza, and Shirah who are among the nine hundred Jewish men, women, and children who rebelled against the Roman army by holding a fortress on a mountain in the Judean desert. The Jewish rebels lived in this fortress, Masada, for months, and and most of the people were associated with the Sicarii, a group of Zealot assassins. …show more content…

They spread their message which was that Romans should not be in power through violent attacks and intimidation; therefore, living in 70 C.E., the time when the Sicarii inflicted terror on may, must have been treacherous. Alice Hoffman writes about her characters experiencing fear induced by the battles between the Sicarii assassins and Jewish supporters of Roman rule. In fact, the character Yael has Sicarii assassins in her own family. Hoffman writes about what Yael sees her father and brother doing as member of the Sicarii: “He was part of a secret group, men who carried the curled dagger of the Sicarii, Zealots who hid sharp knives in their cloaks which they used to punish those who refused to fight Rome, especially the priests who accepted the legion’s sacrifices and their favor at the Temple” (Hoffman 13-14). The Sicarii directed their violence to the priests because they were in a high position in society, and the assassination of a powerful member of society brought more attention to the message to fight against the Romans. The Sicarii used tactics based on violence; however, they shared the same radical opinions as the other Zealots, and would do anything to make people rebel against the Romans, even kill their own

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