Traumatic situations can often transform the dynamics of a family. The memoir, Night, takes place in 1941 and tells the story of 15 year old Elie Wiesel who grows up in the small village of Sighet in Hungary. As his story progresses, he conveys how quickly the Nazis “dehumanized” the Jewish people. He retells his story of his life in Auschwitz, the largest of the concentration camps the Nazis used in an attempt to kill all of Europe’s Jews. Throughout his memoir, Wiesel describes how his own family dynamics changed as a result of their trauma in the Concentration Camp, as well as that of other families. Elie shines a light on how when placed in traumatic situations, families are sometimes torn apart, and family roles are reversed.
Sometimes, certain experiences cause people to alter their ideas about what is valuable or important in life. In the memoir, Night, by Elie Wiesel, Elie exemplifies how the cruel experiences in the camps change his ideas about what he values and what he believes is unimportant. Walking with Elie, we observe how he slowly starts to question his religion and his religious beliefs that he once considered a core value in his life. Elie not only lets go of his religious beliefs, but he also starts to question his family’s importance in his life and how he slowly grows more distant from them.
Kindness and generosity can exist in times of cruelty and suffering. The book Night, by Elie Wiesel, illustrates the author’s experiences in the concentration camps during World War 2. Throughout the entire memoir, there are many examples of horrific acts and crimes committed against millions of Jews. The author also shines a light upon the kindness that he offers as well as the kindness that he received in the camps.
“Respect is one of life’s greatest treasures. I mean, what does it all add up to if you don’t have that?”
~Marilyn Monroe
When I first started to learn about responsibilities and respect, I thought it was annoying and worthless, but when I started to use the themes in my life, I started to enjoy it and realized it’s an important way to show self improvement. Those themes mean a lot to me because they are themes that will always be a key factor to a good community and lifestyle. That’s why respect and reasonability as the two pillars to write about.
Every good citizen adds to the strength of an nation
~Gordon B. Hinckley
When my morning starts I subconsciously think, “what will I be today?” I have an answer to that question, and though I may not think it directly, I know that I will be the best version of myself. I will be the person who cares, who puts in an effort. I will be the person who doesn’t just do the work, I will be the person who does it well. However, while that is what is most important to me, it’s only a fraction of what it takes to be a good citizen. I think today I will be a good citizen, the kind of person that people look up to. The kind of person that tries their best to do the right thing, in school and outside of school; and while I may not know that I want this in the moment, I know I will try my best to be the best version of myself.
“Growing apart doesn’t change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled. I’m glad for that.”
~Ally Condie
It’s always the English class that really gets the gears of my head turning. Struggling to write this assignment got me going through the times when I was kind, and how it affected someone else. It was a challenge, thinking of a specific story to tell about my experiences. Especially since I had to dive into the inner relapses of my mind back to when I was a student at Claypit hill Elementary school. From the moment I walked through the door at 8:45, till the moment I left at 3:00 on the dot, those years were filled with memories of Respect—respect for my teachers, respect for my classmates, and respect for my friends—filled with a sense of caring,
