Symbolism Of Kurtz In Elie Wiesel's 'Night'

Essay Mid-Term Exam

Part 1- Question #2 and #3

2. Kurtz exclaims “the horror, the horror” on the brink of his death. These last words are interpreted by Marlow, who says that these words express the evil nature of human intentions. Marlow says that Kurtz was a remarkable man because he was able to identify the wrongdoings of his life. He said that Kurtz’s stare at the moment of his death “could not see the flame of the candle, but was wide enough to embrace the whole universe, piercing enough to penetrate all the hearts that beat in the darkness” (Conrad 116). Kurtz’s lack of words resulted from the overwhelming emotions and visions he experienced during his death. People typically do not understand the wickedness of human actions until

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. In contrast, the Jews were seen as weeds waiting to be exterminated. A gardener usually removes the weeds carelessly, as one weed, “like all other weeds, must be segregated, contained, prevented from spreading, removed, and kept outside of the society boundaries; if all these means prove insufficient, they must be killed” (Bauman 92). Dating back to the Holocaust, the segregation of Jews was not a plausible solution for the Nazis because Europe already contained millions of Jews in many different countries. Therefore, the Nazis saw the torturing and killing of the Jews as a reasonable solution. This othering and representation of the Jews as the ugly weeds led to the Holocaust and the mass genocide of millions around

This sequence is perfectly represented in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, where unrestricted knowledge leads to the creation of a monster and the obliteration of human lives. Shelley’s Frankenstein supports the theme in the Dialectic of Enlightenment because both show that the power held in curiosity poses danger, as it can cause corruption, misery, and destruction. Enlightenment led to much of the knowledge scientists have about the world today. While the age of reason made philosophers question morality and the human condition, the results of this thinking led to oppression and faulty governing in the modern era. History has shown that advancements in reason, science, or technology often result in tyrannical and unjust occurrences. In some sense, the Enlightenment was problematic because it increased people’s desire to acquire godly powers over nature and