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Night By Elie Wiesel And Maus By Art Spiegelman

Decent Essays

Surviving Life from Compassion from Others For most people, survival is just putting food on the table. In contrast, prisoners in the Holocaust had to worry about even getting food or even having shelter, like the Holocaust texts Night by Elie Wiesel and Maus by Art Spiegelman show vivid examples of how advice from others helped them survive. In life and death situations, others compassion will increase one’s chances of survival.
In the novel Night, compassion from the Kapo and the French Woman gives Elie a greater chance of survival. In the beginning of the novel, people gave compassion to others even while they were in life and death situations, and this continued throughout the novel. When the French Woman is gives advice to Elie, the woman says, “Bite your lips, little brother . . . Don’t cry. Keep your anger, your hate, for another day, for later. The day will come but not now . . . Wait. Clench your teeth and wait . . .”(53). The French woman is showing Elie compassion by consoling Elie that all of this pain will bring you to a day that Elie will be thankful for. The woman is risking her own safety, by giving advice to Elie to help him survive. When they are beginning the first selection, the Kapo is giving ways to Elie to pass the selection. During the first selection, the Kapo states, “Before you go into the next room, try to move your limbs, give yourself color. Don’t walk slowly, run! Run as if you had the devil at your heels!” (71). The Kapo is risking his

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