Night
discussion
"too depressing"?
date
newest »
newest »
message 51:
by
Ilene
(new)
-
rated it 5 stars
Oct 01, 2011 06:25PM
I have to mention that my stay at the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC a few years ago, was one of tge saddest and itense times of my life, sort of a Yad Vashem experience, but worse in some ways.
reply
|
flag
Ilene wrote: "I have to mention that my stay at the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC a few years ago, was one of tge saddest and itense times of my life, sort of a Yad Vashem experience, but worse in some ways."After being at the Yad, I don't think I can go to the Holocaust Museum. It is a very emotionally exhausting experience that still brings me to tears.
My family lived it. Glad there are people out there reading about it. I may have mentioned this already on this thread, but I recently read Julie Orringer's book The Invisible Bridge--a work of fiction inspired by her family's story--and thought it beautifully reconstructed life in Hungary before the Holocaust, which made what happened later that much more shocking and devastating.
I hear you Melissa. I went to Yad so long ago and that's how I braved myself up for the Holocaust Museum. The museum can be emotionally devastating and there were a couple of exhibits that I didn't even manage to screw up the courage to check out, just a couple, but nonetheless I left the Museum quite devastated.
Ilene wrote: "I hear you Melissa. I went to Yad so long ago and that's how I braved myself up for the Holocaust Museum. The museum can be emotionally devastating and there were a couple of exhibits that I didn..."Is the museum more emotional than the Yad?
Well, the two were so far apart...but I was more upset about the Museum than I was at Yad Vashem, I am pretty sure. The museum was a real tour de force of the worst in mankind.
I find that the real life stories written by people who went through the horrors of the holocaust to be stranger and more horrible than any finction writer could cook up. The holocaust is one topic, along with, say, the holocaust that was that of Native Americans, that doesn't truly need enhancement by fiction since the truth stories are, in and by themselves so terrible and heartrendering.
OMG I felt depressed just reading this book. It felt like the Eli was in Auschwitz for years instead of 11 months. However it was very well written and definetly worth reading becasue of the historical aspect to it.
Suela wrote: "OMG I felt depressed just reading this book. It felt like the Eli was in Auschwitz for years instead of 11 months. However it was very well written and definetly worth reading becasue of the histor..."He probably felt like it was years and not just 11mths also. A lifetime. Milllions of lifetimes.
How can this book be 'too' depressing?! Someone who's saying it's 'too' depressing just can't stand what has and what's really happening in the world. It's about the Holocaust! It's supposed to be super sad and most of us aren't used to everything that happens. I cried at this book. And I really wish in our generation we won't allow anything like this to irrupt. It's in our hands.
Check out the current 2012 horrors that are going on in Africa -Congo, Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Nigeria - for example. Mutilations, slavery, child abuse, the rape of babies because that is a supposed cure for Aids, etc. Everyone who knows is simply tsk taking as we write. President Obama sent in 100 advisors last year to help with the crazy Lord's Army guy, but he has not been caught. It appears it is all being allowed again.
I do not understand how human beings of this race can be in the act of these actions or watch it; allow it to happen. It's simply and awfully not humane. Something needs to be done about all of these issues and I need to be apart of it. And not just a here-we-cleared-things-up, we need to save this and prevent it from happening. We're such a largely populated race it is extremely difficult to do such actions. It's worth trying to make a change.
I agree, there needs to be real change in how our society does things but at the same time we have to keep in mind there will always be people who dont care enough to make a change.
Pandora wrote: "I actually took the plunge and read through the whole trilogy. Night, The Accident, and Daybreak. It was a tough read but, I was glad to have done it. After reading the trilogy I was in the per..."Absolutely - I loved how Frankl was able to attempt and bring meaning to his suffering. I was fortunate enough to see Elie in person for a lecture, and he is incredible, an inspiration.
Red wrote: "I gave it 5 stars I think. Elie Wiesel's memoirs always stand out both for it's a straightforward style, but also because of the psychological aspects he chose to include. I see two sides to this..."
I completely agree with your review, and it's an important point. I've also interviewed a lot of World War II veterans and survivors, and you're completely right about the clinical way in which they portray their experiences. For me, it was vital to use first-hand documents - letters, cards, diaries - in my research, to truly determine what was the real and raw emotion of the time, as compared to the dispassion of hindsight.
Jesse Cozean
Although it's depressing, I think books like Night are so important. Sadly, unless we make ourselves aware of man's inhumanity toward man we will repeat history. I think the small book is very powerful. I can remember disagreeing with a few of Wiesel's opinions. Still, I'm glad to have read the feelings of an eyewitness whom at the time I read the book still lived. I vaguely remember his close relationship with his father???
I think this book is part of a trilogy. I would like to read the other two books.
I remember Oprah's program with Mr. Wiesel on the scene of a concentration camp. So memorable and so sad this part....
I think this book is part of a trilogy. I would like to read the other two books.
I remember Oprah's program with Mr. Wiesel on the scene of a concentration camp. So memorable and so sad this part....
Georgie wrote: "Remember too that we will be the last generation who have actually met survivors from the holocaust and heard their stories first hand. There are only a handful left now. It's up to us to pass th..."i agree
It is a book written about the Holocaust. You of course can't expect it to be joyous and uplifting. It's a piece of history being narrated by someone who actually lived through it..which is why i liked this book.
I was 6 weeks into greiving the loss of my wife to cancer when I read this book. It helped me - suffering is a universal human condition. I was not alone.
Ken wrote: "I was 6 weeks into greiving the loss of my wife to cancer when I read this book. It helped me - suffering is a universal human condition. I was not alone."Thank you for sharing your interesting perspective on the book.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
It was a great book but it was really sad! Very well written and I love the details he has. Of course, it made me want to throw up because of how gruesome it all was. But I'm a nerd and during some parts I was like 'Wow! What a great metaphor!' It was a good book but it made you realize the horrors of the Holocaust.
Karina wrote: "It was a great book but it was really sad! Very well written and I love the details he has. Of course, it made me want to throw up because of how gruesome it all was. But I'm a nerd and during some...""Like"
Ilene wrote: "Holocaust literature is often very depressing. The more I have read of it, the more I find it difficult to maintain reading about it. Nothing I read truly gives me any insight as to how man's inhu..."Aldous Huxley's Propaganda Under a Dictatorship offers some good insights about why these things happened and why they were allowed to happen.
I want to laugh when I hear that the German public was hoodwinked. All you needed to do was read Mein Kampf and you knew what this monster was all about.But things don't happen in a vacuum. Hitler came to power largely because the winning side in WWI handed down overly harsh sanctions to Germany, so the losing side was willing to embrace anyone that promised a way back to prosperity. And none of the combatants in WWI could really be called "the good guys". WWI came to be because of unchecked arms races (and corresponding nationalistic propaganda) dating back to the time of Napoleon. By 1914, the tinder was piled high and soaked in gasoline, just waiting for the spark.
Sabah wrote: "It was as Debbie said, enlightening. This read came in the time of my obsession with the Holocaust, a few months ago I used to spend a lot of time reading about the topic, watching survivor video's..."Read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. Corrie and her sister hid Jews in Amsterdam and were eventually captured and sent to the concentration camps. It is a remarkable story of hope. They found reason to be thankful in everything that happened. Nothing was easy. The sister died, but the story is amazingly hopeful. I read it at the same time I read Night. The stories were basically the same, but the feel was quite different. Everywhere that Elie Wiesel lost God Corrie and her sister found Him.
I believe that this book is not depressing but enlightening. The man survived through all hell but if you think about it, this all in all is a journey. He does lose his entire family, he does starve, and he almost dies but he didn't. His family did not completely die, they lived on in his heart and through this book. The book is only depressing if you don't see the luck that he recieved
As mentioned by another commentator, too depressing is a comment I have used in connection with a review/description of a novel but never with history, especially Holocast memoirs. I've toured Auschwitz-Birkenau and Dachau and many Holocast-related memorials (Prague, Budapest, Amsterdam, Paris, Krakow and others). All were poignant, thought-provoking, and tragic but never would I describe them as depressing. Thank God we have them to remind us, even though subsequent historical events show they are insufficient to stop man's inhumanity to man. Just look at Rawanda, Somalia, and Croatia. While not on the scale of the Holocast, all show that man has yet to learn the lesson of the Holocast.
I agree with the quote "Too depressing" because its about a guy name Ellie Wiesel and he witness his family died while being sent to Auschwitz. He is forced to do labor and almost died multiple times due to harsh conditions of the concentrations camps. This story is very depressing.
I agree with the quote "Too depressing" because its about a guy name Ellie Wiesel and he witness his family died while being sent to Auschwitz. He is forced to do labor and almost died multiple times due to harsh conditions of the concentrations camps. This story is very depressing.
Just saying "too depressing" isn't a valid way to observe this book. If someone said, "this book is too depressing for myself" then it is applicable.
Netizen wrote: "The most important truths in the world are depressing."This is true, and again: Depressing.
Pandora wrote: "I actually took the plunge and read through the whole trilogy. Night, The Accident, and Daybreak. It was a tough read but, I was glad to have done it. After reading the trilogy I was in the per..."My version of the "Trilogy" is "Dawn" "Night" "Dusk". I'm guessing different editions/different titles.
I'm not sure this book should be avoided because it's "Depressing" as I'm not sure 'depressing' is the accurate word here. This is a Memoir and only one small excerpt from a much larger horrific chapter of humanity.
I think that the book is more of a learning experience and reminder that humans can be inhumane. I can understand how people would say this book (or the subject matter in general) can be 'over-whelming', but I don't know if I'd personally use the word 'depressing'. Les Miserablés is depressing (brilliant - but depressing)
I find it funny (in the darkest sense) that someone would describe "Night" as being "too depressing." Uh...yeah, and no, at the same time. Yes, it is a very depressing book. The Holocaust was a horrible time in history, and he was right there in the midst of it, and very vividly describes his experiences. And that being said, how is it possible for it to be "too" depressing? It is the truth...an ugly truth, and all the more necessary for that.
This is a great book for teaching "History through Literature". That said, I would also like to teach a book that shows what the Palestinians are going through today, as well.I am glad for the Jewish people who see the truth and speak publicly against the Apartheid govt. of Israel, but am saddened by the ones who refuse to see the truth.
Ilene, it is wrong for you to say "No words can truly say what led people in Europe to behave this way". This was ONE charismatic leader in ONE country who convinced a few military leaders to go along with him. Most of the people of that country (Germany, of course) were scared that they would be next so they did as they were told. They have since made regulations on this, i.e. The Geneva Convention. France & England fought the Nazis, as did the Soviet Union. The U.S. came in much later and defeated them with the help of their allies.
Yes, one wonders how this could happen, but one wonders why people who know what is going on go along with it. I believe this is happening in many countries today. Unfortunately, our govt. (or mine, don't know if you are American) is usually on the wrong side these days. World War II was the last truly just war that the U.S. military got involved in.
There are a lot of contributing circumstances that allowed the 1940's Genocide to happen. World economic strains, fear tactics definitely, brute power, paranoia on a charismatic leader's level, and a part of the world that has a history (for good or bad reasons) of leaning towards Xenophobia (fear of outsiders or those who are different). Germany has a world history of being caught in the middle of waring powers, so Xenophobia can be understood to some degree. But put ALL these factors together and JUST the right time, add in a CHARISMATIC leader with ENOUGH brute force behind him and you get WW2 and Genocide. In my opinion, NONE of this - ever - justifies Genocide; these are just some contributing factors that aligned at the right moment that 'led people...to behave this way.'
Very true, Eric. And hopefully, for a 17 yr. old to read a story like "Night," they can become aware of a horrible situation in a much more accessible way. After all, the boy did live and is still alive today!I think a student will be changed forever after reading this story. I don'y know when it came out, but I wish we had read something like this when I was in high school. Is it the kind of book you would pick up to read for pleasure? Not likely. But it is a great book for a class to read to understand that we need to watch out for leaders like Hitler.
Eric wrote: "Yes, NIGHT does force me to ask such questions of myself. And I used to be so angry at the Jews of Sigret for being so apathetic or sanguine about what their fates. But then I have to be candid w..."Apathetic? Sanguinary? Study a little harder. For obvious reasons, the US gov't does not advertise the fact that it turned away FAR more Jews who were in obvious, acknowledged, imminent danger where they were, when they tried to emigrate and wanted to come to the USA. The US gov't didn't want TOO MANY Jews to come here. Heavens, no...so there were lots of Jews all over Europe knocking on every possible door for some diplomatic means to get themselves and their families OUT from behind the barbed wire, the guards, and of course, the absolute unavailability of any form of transit or border-crossing. And if you read Night, you'll see that the occasional Jew got out of line and tried to make a run for it, and was shot like a dog. An organized attempt at escape was in the making shortly before liberation, but meetings were so dangerous that it had to be done painstakingly, and recruitment done very carefully. There's a film about this, but I can't recall the name now; I watched it for a grad level class on the subject.
At first, Jews did there, what people do here: try to change things lawfully. Write letters. Visit friendly people with influence. But when that broke down and they just had to get out, the borders closed, and too many nations that could help, chose to limit the assistance they provided.
As I understand it, the New York Times had a Jewish editor and he and his staff either ignored what was happening or buried it somewhere on page 50 when the articles were written and published.Not that much different than they are doing now with the Palestinian issue.
And you have to ask yourself why they put Israel in an area that was already occupied. Could it be that they wanted to make the Jews the watchdogs of the Arab countries? Maybe that is why they send them so much aid? Lot's of questions that will never be answered in all likelihood.
The event/book/movie you are thinking about is called "Voyage of the Damned" and it's about a boat of Jewish/European refugees that were detained in a harbor because the US didn't allow them to enter. I make no excuses for the FDR government, but no other place in the world wanted to allow refugees in either - except maybe Palestine (pre-Israel days) and British control refused that.Night was first published in France in the early 1960's. Wiesel had a difficult time finding a publisher because most people didn't want to talk about their own experiences and didn't want to hear about those of others during the war. This was one of the first books (memoirs) published on the subject and helped stir the concern/interest of the general masses
This is the wrong question. It implies that we read books to make us happy. A better question is , " What is the value of this book?" Or "What can we learn from this story about human nature, about cruelty, and about survival?"
Too depressing? Are you kidding me? Its a Holocaust book, the fact that he lives to tell the tale is the best ending you could expect.
Eric wrote: "I make no excuses for the FDR government, but no other place in the world wanted to allow refugees in either - except maybe Palestine (pre-Israel days) and British control refused that."Eric, I am glad to know that someone KNOWS this fact and REPEATS it. I have tried to speak for those who are unable to speak AND that includes the Palestinians. I found it very disturbing how many Jews will support Israel NO MATTER WHAT they do, esp. knowing they are doing to the Palestinians what was done to them (sans gas chambers, of course). Even Wiesel refuses to look at Israel for what it is.
sam wrote: "Too depressing? Are you kidding me? Its a Holocaust book, the fact that he lives to tell the tale is the best ending you could expect."I agree, Sam, I taught this book to my 11th graders and they were able to see the joy in a father making sure his son is well enough to make it out alive. If 16 year olds can handle it, the rest of us should be able to. The question then becomes "Do they want to?" I can't speak for other nationalities, but many Americans do NOT want to know what is happening in the world. Then they might have to do something about it.
If you are from a country other than the U.S., I would love to know what your take on this subject is.
I teach this in tenth grade English. The students learn so much through the novel. I have recently added DAWN and DAY to my collection. We need to be aware of our history and understand it in order not to repeat the same horrendous disasters. OAN, Elie Wiesel was at the University of Mississippi a few years ago and several of my students attended the event.
Jamie Lynn wrote: "I think Americans know what's happening in the world they just don't really know what to do about it. we could all walk around with signs protesting the many wars that we don't call wars that we're..."Jamie, my experience is that most Americans have some white-washed TV 10 News version that somehow always seems to make us look like heroes. Not to say that when the U.S. finally did enter the WWII efforts they weren't good; they were. But they could have entered a lot sooner and millions of Jews would have been saved.
There has been no conflict since then when MY country has been on the right side and where many innocent civilians haven't been killed. Add that on top of Guantanamo and the coups that CIA created in Latin America and all I can say is WWII was the last war where Americans came out as heroes.
I deeply apologize to any vets out there, but most of them know that they were duped. We even had them thanking us for protesting the training of Salvadoran soldiers at Fort Benning. One African American soldier told us "We don't want to get our asses blown of in El Salvador." The rest of them clapped and raised their fists in agreement. This was the 80s so am unsure how much the soldiers' sentiment has changed, but very few Americans know, and even fewer, want to know the truth about our involvement in other countries. Or even our involvement in THIS country!
Amphy wrote: "'Too depressing' works only for fiction. IMO, if you describe Night as 'too depressing', you need to change your paradigms a little. Honestly, life isn't going to be all daisies and sunshine, if yo..."THANK YOU. And yes, I agree!
At first, I thought this question was being posed by a troll. I could not believe anyone would be self-absorbed enough to call a Holocaust victim's recounting of his own experience and the death of his father "too depressing." What would work for you here? Maybe a lively musical number? Free candy? Too bad we can't call the author in and explain to him that this is just, I don't know, not fun. Tell us something else! Add a good fairy! And for god's sake, don't tell us about that nasty concentration camp; that's a real party killer.There is one viable reason for setting this incredible memoir aside so casually, and that is if you, or someone in your family, have been through a similar experience (I am thinking of Cambodian refugees here, those who lived through the Pol Pot regime and genocide). If your own life experiences strike too close to the bone and you can't read it without breaking down, let yourself off the hook and give the copy (if you own it) to your local library or school.
Otherwise, it's better to know the truth, lest history repeat itself.
all discussions on this book
|
post a new topic
Dawn (other topics)
Night (other topics)
Books mentioned in this topic
Day (other topics)Dawn (other topics)
Night (other topics)
