Post #4 Mary Adams

One of the major themes in our study of the Holocaust was the idea of faith. It is referenced many times in the memoir Night. I felt that I was impacted by this particular theme because the Catholic faith is a big part of my family’s culture. In my mind, the idea of a person losing faith in the midst of a traumatic experience is one of the most important ideas in this memoir. I think that that is a fascinating topic, and I wonder if the psychology behind it has ever been studied, or if it should be studied. Before reading Night, I had always thought that a person would keep their faith close to them during a time of crisis. This was not the case with Elie Wiesel, who not only abandoned his faith, but questioned why others hadn’t. But then, 40 years later, as part of his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, he tells the public how he had regained his faith. He tells us that there would be no action without God (speaking of Judaism). I think it is impressive that Elie was able to regain his faith after the epiphany he had while in concentration camps as a teenager. But faith doesn’t always have to mean religion. In the movie Life is Beautiful, we are shown that a person can have faith in life still being valuable and fun, while in a time of crisis. The main character, Guido Orefice shows us that people can have that kind of faith, and even pass it along to other people. I think this is how the theme of faith from our study of the Holocaust can connect to taday’s world. We live in a time of major changes, not all of them good ones. It is vital for the people of this society to have faith in themselves, others, the future and in life, beautiful life.

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 1, 2019 at 5:12 AM

    Mary, nice job on your post. I really liked your theme and idea of faith in the memoir, and in Elie's later life. When you speak of his prize acceptance speech, I felt sympathy towards him. As for the psychology part, I don't know if faith can really be put down to psychology. It seems very abstract and more heartfelt than psychology. But overall, nice job!

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  2. AnonymousNovember 1, 2019 at 11:23 AM

    Mary,

    I also thought that someone would have keep their faith very close to them, but reading Night made me think and I realized that an event as horrible as the Holocaust would make someone relay question their faith.

    ReplyDelete
  3. jane.zNovember 2, 2019 at 5:35 AM

    From Jared:

    Mary, I really liked how you talked about faith. I also liked how you said that if someone lost faith it is from a traumatic experience. I agree with you and I think you did a good job.

    ReplyDelete

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