Horrors of Uniform Societies In society, there are many writings which teach people that there are groups of people who have different beliefs because of their past experiences. These experiences shape people's identities, making up who they are and how they live. Because communities have people with different beliefs living in them, everyday life is lively and full of diversity. During the Holocaust and in dystopian societies, many of the people lack diversity because of their living conditions. As shown in the novel Night, by Elie Wiesel, and the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, by Kurt Vonnegut, when a group of people is taken over by a stronger group,the prisoner’s lives often become repetitious and they are taught to act a certain way, …show more content…
In Elie Wiesel's book, he talks about how he often witnessed people being beaten and tortured. He even said that one time “father had … been struck, before [his own] eyes, and [he] had not flickered an eyelid. [He] had looked on and said nothing” (Weissel 37). Due to how often Elie had observed people being beaten, he was not affected others being physically harmed as if he was too innocent to understand what was happening. Another recurring mindset that Elie noticed was that many people only fought for life because of their family. When Stein, an old family friend, was told that his family was still alive, he responded by saying that “the only thing that keeps [him] alive … is that [his wife] and … children are still alive. If it wasn’t for them, I couldn’t keep going” even though he later heard real news and was never heard from again (Weissel 42). Many of the imprisoned people would push through the pain and torture they experienced daily only for their family and would give up resisting against the Nazis when they were told about the demise of their family. When people are captured and forced to live around fellow prisoners dying, they become emotionless but struggle to stay alive because they believe that their loved ones may be alive, as shown by the Jewish prisoners in Elie Wiesel's …show more content…
In the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, George and Hazel Bergeron are talking about reducing their handicaps but think that “if you … just take [it off] when you came home from work … pretty soon [they would] be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else” (Vonnegut 872). These people, normal citizens in their society, have been so brainwashed by their leaders that they believe competition is a negative and they are happier living with handicaps. They also think it is normal that “[nobody is] smarter than anybody else. Nobody [is] better looking than anyone else. Nobody [is] stronger or quicker than anyone else” (Vonnegut 872). In this dystopia, restraints are given instead of the less gifted being raised up, which lowers the civilization to barely functioning instead of flourishing. Since none of the citizens can think about what is happening, they think that their society should be the way that it is. These restraints bring people to such a low level that they all become similar because they can not change their personalities and become diverse. Whether a community is a dystopia or a utopia, if the people are truly equal with no differences between them they will all act the same way with no
Throughout Elie’s journey in the Holocaust in the book Night by Elie Wiesel. he encountered many situations that no human being should ever have to experience. Destruction of human morals and souls was taken place, but it didn’t just affect these people, instead, it affected everyone around the world. For the people that took this tragedy on first hand, it has affected the rest of their life. These memories were drilled into their heads and never left.
Kaylah Hampton At the beginning of this semester, our class came to a consensus that for a film adaptation of a story to be successful, the filmmaker must remain true to certain aspects of the original text while taking some necessary liberties to enhance the story to create a well-rounded, compelling film. We also noted that some effects are more easily conveyed in the short story version, while others are more easily conveyed in film. In the short story, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut and its film adaptation 2081 written and directed by Chandler Tuttle, there are both subtle and dramatic changes within each, as compared to each other, that influence their respective effectiveness. Though there is an abundance of similarities and differences
Moral problems like lying, manipulation, and exploitation fill every nook and cranny of the society shown in Nightcrawler; no one tries to rectify them. Simultaneously, the overcorrection of that immorality ails the citizens in “Harrison Bergeron.” Lou Bloom’s actions led to at least three deaths and no formal punishment was given, while a ballerina was shot dead simply for dancing free of weights tied to her body. Though the two societies treat moral discrepancies in very different ways physically, as seen in their differing approach to praise and punishment, the societal consequences of both are similar, shown through the correlating morals of both societies. Punishment for immoral behavior in “Harrison Bergeron” comes swift and harsh, while in Nightcrawler it is nearly nonexistent for the guilty parties.
The Holocaust took the lives of over 6 million Jews. Elie Wiesel wrote the horrific story called Night. It recalls the brutal tale of the Holocaust, that stole the lives of the innocent. However, death wasn’t the only thing it claimed. The Holocaust took so much more from it’s victims; their faith, their humanity, and their chance at life.
It is just as unfair if not more unfair to put a handicap on someone who has greater strengths than another. When Harrison Bergeron stood up for individuality, society shut him down. In the real world, society shuts down those who speak out for individuality by shaming them or making them outcasts. Kurt Vonnegut created a universe that put the rules of society before the life of an individual. People were willing to stand and watch another human being be killed for accepting their individuality.
It's all controlled. And this example can be seen all throughout the entire story. One ginormous reason why this society is a dystopia is because nobody has free will or free thoughts everyone's the same person essentially. Because nobody is different, everyone is the same, this means no one can do anything different from one another, yes there may be different jobs for everyone to do but there must be ‘handicaps’ to prevent them from doing their job better than anyone else. A good example of this being seen is when the ballerinas was dancing were some had ankle weights and bags over their heads to hide their beauty so they are not better than anyone else.
No way to scream or cry for help (Weisel, 94).” Both Elie and his father were treated inhumanely and worked until their bodies ran
The power of human resilience is reflected by how Elie Wiesel remains humane throughout the tragedy of the Holocaust, as expressed in Night. Over the course of the book, Elie shows how he survives the tyrannical reign of Hitler and the Nazis in the camps, with his growth as a person, his resilience against inhuman actions and his survival. These are just a few examples, each being a significant factor to his life, and important to the story. Elie Wiesel shows his growth as a person during the holocaust, one thing that he does is maintain his morals and does not let how he was treated effect that. Elie had death on his mind more times than one, but never did he act upon them or cave in, “If I was going to kill myself, this was the time…
In a life full of atrocities and cruel treatment is it possible for decent people to turn into heartless brutes? In the novel “Night” answer to this question is exposed to the young eyes of Eliezer Wiesel. In this novel Elie describes his experience in the Jewish concentration camps of Auschwitz. In these camps, the prisoners were faced with extreme brutality facing inhumane torture. “The Kapos were beating us again, but I no longer felt the pain..
Elie Wiesel and many others were put through torture and horror. But Elie had survived, he had survived the Holocaust. He was treated with such cruelty and savage treatment. He was treated Inhumanely He was not only treated with inhumanity, but he starts to see fellow prisoners as nonhuman.
Humanity is the sole quality that gives people individuality and morals and without it, there would be no hope for the human race because we would take what we want and not care about who gets hurt in the process. In the novel, Night, Elie Wiesel and his family are taken captive by SS officers and are then placed in concentration camps where they have to survive the unforgiving torment from the Nazis. Elie and his father become separated from Elie’s mother and sisters when they first arrive at Auschwitz and fight through bitter winter nights with little to no warmth, food, or water. Living in these conditions will undoubtedly change a person, and these experiences will not change them for the better. When placed in that position, people will
No mercy In the book, Night, Elie wiesel tells the story of his many months in the concentration camps. At the young age of fifteen were he saw, his fellow jews get burned alive, shot, beaten, Starved and even hung. There was so much physical pain that was caused and some of it could be fixed over time. But the one thing that can 't be fixed is the emotional damage him and every other person that was in those camps experienced.
Suffering not only forces people to make inhumane decisions but it also causes people to lose hope and give up on themselves. In this section of the book, Elie describes a time where he was devastated to see his father beaten and hurt in the camps. Throughout his time in the camps, Elie saw and heard the abuse that was given to people in the camp killing his hope. The biggest turning point in the story was when he saw his father getting beat. When Idek “began beating [Elie’s father] with an iron bar … [Elie’s] father simply doubled over under the blows, but then [Elie's father] seemed to break in two like an old tree struck by lightning”
Books and movies have been around for many years and lately movie directors have been making more and more movies based off of books. Most people do not know that around 50% of movies are based off of books. Although, it really depends on what people mean when a movie is “based” off a book. Some directors say a movie is based off a book, but has a different plot and seems totally different. So, in order to keep true to the book, directors keep the plot relatively the same, but there are a few times they decide to change the message entirely by changing just a few key events.
No matter how many handicaps you put on someone they aren’t going to change. It’s kind of like trying to cover up beauty with a mask or make-up. Handicaps have no value in making anyone equal. Although equality is needed, no one in “Harrison Bergeron” is solely based on appearance and how smart you are. Equality is treating everyone one with the same amount of respect so therefore, no one in this short story is