Good Vs. Evil In Anthony Doerr's 'All The Light We Cannot See'

Elie Wiesel’s somber speech, “The Perils of Indifference”, demonstrated the harsh reality of the numerous evils harvesting in the world. The main evil though was simply indifference, or a lack of concern. As a young Jewish boy, he faced the wickedness of the Holocaust, imprisoned at Buchenwald and Auschwitz and also losing both his parents and younger sister. The speaker saw atrocious horrors and suffered for a prolonged amount of time. Why was this permitted? Wiesel pinpoints the indifference of humans as the real enemy, causing further suffering and lost to those already in peril.

Susan Campbell Bartoletti’s historical fiction novel, The Boy Who Dared, takes place in Germany, World War II, during Hitler's rule. Helmuth, the main character, believes in an idea that no one else dares to think. As a German believing that the Nazis are wrong can get Helmuth punished or even worse... And yet Helmuth chooses to share the truth. The lesson the story teaches is that sometimes the truth is dangerous.

Let this essay be a reminder to the world that totalitarian ideologies will bring forth catastrophe just as National Socialism did in Nazi Germany. The memoirs of Rudolf Hoss, Death Dealer, is one of the most detailed accounts of a man who was the Commandant of Auschwitz, and is known as one of the greatest mass murderers in history. In the forward Primo Levi wrote to Death Dealer, he stated that even though this autobiography is filled with evil and has no literary quality, it’s one of the most instructive books ever published because it describes a human life exemplary in its way (Hoss, 3).

In “The Conscience of Huckleberry Finn,” Jonathan Bennett presents the difficulty between sympathy and morality. Although the fictional story "Huckleberry Finn" is in the title, Bennett uses also uses Heinrich Himmler, Jonathan Edwards, Wilfred Owen. Bennett described their morality as "bad" assuming the readers would agree with him. Most of the time the person does not realize their morality is bad because of social norms. While morality and sympathy can be in a constant battle, ultimately the one that wins is what the person is more obligated to.

My goal in this paper is to show that Swinburne’s solution to the Problem of Evil is persuasive. I begin with a formulation of Swinburne’s thoughts about the similarity and difference between moral evil and natural evil. I then formulate the connection between evil and free will. Next, I consider the potentiality objection to this argument, and Swinburne’s response to this objection. Finally, I argue Swinburne’s solution to the Problem of Evil is persuasive.

Throughout the history of the world, people have displayed hatred towards each other by fighting many wars. Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, gave a speech at Buchenwald to the President, Chancellor, and people of Germany. Throughout the speech, he establishes that people should learn from past experiences that war, hatred, and racism are meaningless. He accomplishes this belief by using pathos to connect to people’s feelings and emotions. By using pathos, Wiesel develops the central idea of the speech that everyone should change for the better future by accepting wars, hatred, and racism as “not an option.”

Elie Wiesel went through a lot as a holocaust survivor. Because he had to suffer in concentration camps, I think he should be one to know a lot about the perils of indifference. Elie Wiesel’s book Night, released in 1958 and his magnificent speech, The Perils of Indifference from 1999 both share and try to convince the audience about his main message, which is that indifference is dangerous. In his speech, he explains how indifference about others is much easier than caring about them, and so much easier to look away from victims. His book Night is a haunting tale about the horrors Jewish people experienced during World War II. This book explains the perils of indifference by telling us about how much the Jews suffered and the fact that no one felt the need to act upon these abhorrent actions by the Nazis immediately.

In life, people tend to classify ideas into good and evil based on their views and beliefs. The novel, Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, portrays the life a six-year old boy named Antonio living around the time of World War II. Antonio faces many challenges in life as he grows into adulthood. In order to see what is good and evil, Antonio sees things as good if it agrees with his beliefs and sees things as evil if something threatens his beliefs. Many people in life think like Antonio, if people’s beliefs are agreed upon, they see it as good and if people beliefs are contradicted, it is seen as evil. The reality is that good and evil cannot be divided due to a difference of beliefs. This means that a person may see something as evil that another person see as good.

In the world today, there are good kind hearted people, and there are also individuals who have immoral ulterior motives. But, to truly gain an insightful view of the person is to regard their actions under extreme conditions and pressure. While Elie Wiesel suffers during the Holocaust in his memoir Night, he witnesses the actions—whether good or bad, of the people he meets, and their motives that were never forgotten, as displayed in the novel. Since the Holocaust was an extreme event that caused pressure to make the right decisions, and suffer by the hands of the Nazis, or to act with neglect to the victims and be ridden with guilt, it can be said many Holocaust victims suffered, and some of the bystanders noticed and took action. One such

In the poem, “On the Divine” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the author states, “Noble be Man,/ Generous and good”. This quote is meant to show that mankind is to be noble and good from a very optimistic perspective. However, put in such an event as the Holocaust, for example, this quote is proven wrong, for mankind has just as much potential to be noble and kind as they do to be selfish and cruel. In the Holocaust memoir, Night, by Elie Wiesel, the author proves just this. The author, being a survivor of the Holocaust, writes of his first hand experience struggling through the awful events that happened to him and many other innocent people. The despicable and tragic events that Elie suffered through, however, is just one example of the wicked

“I shall never forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams into ashes.” (Wiesel 34). Wiesel’s experience during the Holocaust shows the shocking side of the world through which no one had seen before. Wiesel’s book has impacted the world’s humanity to become better citizens with kindness. Within the historical nonfiction memoir, Night, by Ellie Wiesel, he shows his experience and suffering during the Holocaust, and the impacts of the Holocaust are still known to this day with continuous questioning of kindness and the existence of God on humanity

The Holocaust. A short, unimaginable period, of just over twelve years, where almost 6 million Jews were murdered by the German nazis. Overall, 17 million victims were killed and thousands were forced to work in inhumane conditions and live in concentration camps. Elie Wiesel, a victim of the Holocaust, having been deported at the age of 12, is one of the few survivors who lived to tell their story. He has written many books and given many speeches about his experience, but they all convey a similar message, that we as a population, cannot remain silent but to stand up for the indifferences and the horrendous events of this world. He is very well known for his memoir “Night” and his speech “Perils of Indifference.” The message is much more prominent in his book “Night” rather than his speech. Real life examples are provided, it is more understandable, and it leaves you with something to think about. The length, connections, and abundant amount of description helps promote the message as well as the book tells us why we can never let such indifference as the Holocaust happen again.

William Rowe addresses the problem of evil through an examination of the relationship between the existence of evil with an omnibenevolent, omniscient creator. His argument stems from the notion that because human and animal suffering is so intense, an atheist is rational in their belief and that the co-existence of evil and God is unlikely.

The Holocaust was a terrible time in the world’s history. Not many Jewish people made it out of the Holocaust alive, but Elie Wiesel not only made it through the dark years, but he also wrote a book and delivered a speech. Both of these things were meant to tell the world about the horrors that happened in the concentration camps and raise awareness about the Holocaust. The book Night tells us what Elie’s journey throughout 1943-1945 (the time of the Holocaust) was like with Nazis controlling the Jews. In the speech Perils of Indifference, Elie explains why it is dangerous to not have an opinion on certain topics. He says that indifference is how the Holocaust got so bad, with other countries not taking a stance and fighting the

Anthony Doerr in the shelf-rattling novel All the Light we Cannot See tells the story of World War 2 through the eyes of two characters. Each chapter alternates between a girl named Marie-Laure, a scared and clueless blind girl who is French, and a boy named Werner, who is enlisted in the Nazi forces at the age of 12. By doing this, the author shows two sides of the same war, one of the French and one of the Germans. The way the author writes and portrays the book is unique, and just the idea of telling it from two perspectives is my favorite part of the novel. This writing style leads to unique perspectives of the war, but it also confuses the reader at times.