Reading Responses
Reading Response #3
While reading the book Night by Elie Wiesel, I came across a quote that made me think about my own life and the lives of the many people taken to concentration camps. Elie Wiesel states in the book Night, “Here, you must work. If you don’t you will go straight to the chimney. To the crematorium. Work or crematorium-the choice is yours.” (39) This quote caught my eye because I could not imagine being in all of these people’s positions. They had to be strong and so incredibly brave for dealing with the orders and conditions they were living in. I also could not envision those innocent people who were put in a crematory for trying to stick up for themselves and the others. While thinking about my life, after reading this quote, I thought about how many things I take for granted every day, such as being able to drink water whenever I am thirsty and eat food to fill me up. This quote connects to A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare because in Act 1 Scene 1, Hermia is told that she has to choose to either go to a nunnery, marry the man whom her father wants her to marry and whom she does not love, or die. These choices are similar, either ending in death or forced consequences, but also very different. The two texts are unsimilar because, although they are both obligatory, Hermia’s ending is happy because she ends up marrying the man she loves, while the millions of people who suffered through concentration camps might not have had a favorable ending. This quote relates to my own life because sometimes I am faced with a hard decision, nothing as comparable as the choice stated in the quote above, but still difficult to answer. When a hard decision does come my way, I like to get advice from my friends, family, and teachers, to help me make the best decision for myself and others round me that might be affected. This relates to the world because lots of people everyday have to make decisions that are almost undecidable, but when the time comes, I think most people make the right decision for themselves as well as their friends and family if it concerns them. Parents and adults have to make tough choices every day and consider what is best for them and their family. This also connects to the world because many people and children still today are forced to toil without a choice, or they will be penalized. I do not think there is a lot of figurative language in this quote. This quote is very literal and straightforward. If you do not do what you are told by the authorities, you will be killed. This quote is meant to be very literal because there were no good choices in concentration camps. The only option you are given is punishment either way. You can either choose to suffer with hope that you will be let out of the concentration camp, or you are put out of your misery in a vile manner. If you are sent to the chimney, you will never be able to have those last, and wanted words to family members. The quote above connects to history because many people were murdered and punished just because of their religion, race, and ethnicity. For example, African Americans were enslaved just because of their race. Jews in other concentration camps during the Holocaust were told the same thing and endured the same torture because of their religion. Works Cited: Wiesel, Elie. Night. Translated by Marion Wiesel, Hill and Wang, 2006. Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream (Folger Shakespeare Library). Edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine, Amazon ed., Simon & Schuster, 2004. Folger Shakespeare Library.
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