An Example Of Compassion In Night By Elie Wiesel

Within literature, Compassion has been described in many ways though very few descriptions have agreed on how it is best identified (Volpintesta 2011). Crowther et al (2013) describe compassion as a deep emotion that is felt by the individual practitioner allowing them to understand what the patient may be experiencing. Nussbaum (2003) argues that compassion goes beyond just understanding and identifying that emotion, it requires the practitioner to produce a response to the feeling or emotion in order to improve the situation. Dewar (2011) points out that compassion is not only about the recognition of the patients suffering but includes small

Compassion has little to no boundries. In almost every great story there is a specific character or a group of characters that help the protagonist because they feel bad for them. Compassion is the most important aspect of a functioning society; therefore, Elie Wiesel’s Night, 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose, and the generosity of spirit shown by the average citizen after the recent shooting in Las Vegas are all perfect examples.

When Elie first arrives at Auschwitz, he is completely overwhelmed. He meets another inmate and the three are all very optimistic about their futures. This is not the case for all inmates, though. The very next person Elie meets has adopted an indifferent attitude about his situation, and has become so tauntrimized by the hardships of life in a concentration camp that he does not care if he lives or dies. When he approaches Elie and his father, his only advice is, “You should have hanged yourselves rather than come here” (30). Because of his traumatic experiences, the inmate has become so numb even death seems better than the life he is being forced to live.

Despite facing racism, slaves in America had supporters who understood the brutal conditions they were in. The abolitionists’ empathy compelled them to fight for the slaves’ freedom for the sake of humanity. In Night, Elie Wiesel depicts the profound impact of small gestures that convey empathy as an essential component of humanity. He illustrates this by contrasting these acts with the inhumane conditions of the Jews surrounding him. Elie indicates that empathy is the key to humanity by illustrating his focus on saving his father's life.

If you ask anybody, they will know about the Holocaust, but if you ask how the prisoners felt, some wouldn’t know how to answer. Some felt an undying love for their family, others an undying hate for the Nazi regime, and many had their view of life completely changed. The latter was what had happened to Eliezer Wiesel, also known as Elie. During his memoir known as Night Elie’s tone continuously darkened throughout the book.

Elie Wiesel shows us that kindness can give the human spirit hope to get through hard times. When Elie first goes to Auschwitz the guards torment him and his fellow inmates, the man in charge of his block is kinder. He offers the men a piece of advice,

“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal”. This quote by Steve Maraboli may be hard to understand, but the Holocaust texts: Night by Elie Wiesel, “A Three Year Old Saves His Mother” by Peter Gorog and “Jakob's Story” by Jakob Blankitny are great examples of where compassion is necessary to fight the despair in heartbreaking situations. In each work, compassion shows up from unexpected sources, helps motivate people to survive, and creates greater unification.

In the memoir, Night, author Elie Wiesel portrays the dehumanization of individuals and its lasting result in a loss of faith in God. Throughout the Holocaust, Jews were doggedly treated with disrespect and inhumanity. As more cruelty was bestowed upon them, the lower their flame of hope and faith became as they began turning on each other and focused on self preservation over family and friends. The flame within them never completely died, but rather stayed kindling throughout the journey until finally it stood flickering and idle at the eventual halt of this seemingly never-ending nightmare. Elie depicts the perpetuation of violence that crops up with the Jews by teaching of the loss in belief of a higher power from devout to doubt they

As humans, we require basic necessities, such as food, water, and shelter to survive. But we also need a reason to live. The reason could be the thought of a person, achieving some goal, or a connection with a higher being. Humans need something that drives them to stay alive. This becomes more evident when people are placed in horrific situations. In Elie Wiesel's memoir Night, he reminisces about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust. There the men witness horrific scenes of violence and death. As time goes on they begin to lose hope in the very things that keep them alive: their faith in God, each other, and above all, themselves.

“For the dead and the living we must bear witness”(Elie Wiesel). The book “Night” was published in 1956, by Elie Wiesel. He talks about the Holocaust and how he survived it and what the conservation camp was like and how he was treated. Throughout “night” one of the major themes was the idea of small acts of kindness. These moments in the story are important because they show what a huge difference one person can make.

In Night Elie shows, experiences, and saw many acts of kindness. One act of kindness Elie experienced was when a prisoner told Elie and his father to lie about their ages so that they could stay alive. Elie stated, ““Hey, kid, how old are you?” “Fifteen.” “No, You’re eighteen.” “But I’m not,” I said “I’m fifteen.” “Fool. Listen to what I say.” Then he asked my father, who answered: “I’m fifty.” “No.” The man now sounded angry. “Not fifty. You’re forty. Do you hear? Eighteen and forty.”” This was an act of kindness because the man was nice and kept Elie and his father from dieing and kept them from being separated. Another act of kindness was when the dentist in Buna let Elie keep his gold tooth. Elie stated, ““Seated in the chair, I asked meekly: “What are you going to do, sir?” “I shall remove your gold crown, that’s all,” he said, clearly

In a way being selfish is what got humans where they are today.The evolution of humans required competition,and aggressive selfishness. We were forced to be selfish and watch our own back, to always put ourselves first in bad situations. This reaction to put ourselves first is natural, it’s in our blood. However, is the very thing that made us so successful as a species the one thing that so easily tears us apart? As humans we have an incredible capacity to dehumanize others to protect our own self interest.

Compassion is learned through experience and seeing those less fortunate; it brings out sympathy because one cannot ignore it when unfortunate people are everywhere.

Compassion to me means. Helping people out.Also showing kindness.For example like if someone got stabbed and then someone called 911 for help.A student dropped there books and someone helped them pick up there books.Haylee was not feeling very well and she almost fained.So Edelyn had her sit on the floor and then Edelyn got the nurse.The nurse came and got her in a wheelchair.Being nice and caring.

The definition of compassion in the oxford dictionary is ''sympathetic pity and concern for the suffering or misfortunes of others''. Oxford dictionary (2013) However senior lecturer Penny Harrison says there is no accurate definition for compassion as it is a word that can be understood in different ways. Harrison, P. (2009)