Dr. Oren Baruch Stier in his article “Holocaust Symbols: The Icons of Memory,” defines symbols this way “…are things that all human beings need. We need them as a way to relate to the events of the past.” Dr. Stier believes that symbols, both concrete, such as artifacts and abstract, swastikas and the like have important relevance to our generation. He maintains that whether symbols are exhibited in their original settings such as the Auschwitz death camp or in staged settings in museums, both should cause us to reminisce, and bring this enigmatic milestone to life. They are testimony to a horrific time and place in history where intolerance, hatred and prejudice met. That we employ these symbols in our awareness of our past indicates what they have come to communicate to us
Mrs. Davis AP Language and Composition-1 28 September 2007 John Hersey’s Hiroshima Despite the emotional plot of Hiroshima, written by John Hersey, the story itself holds more than meets the eye. There are those who would say that Hiroshima was simply just a story to educate young people on the bombings that occurred in Japan, 1945. On the other hand, there is a stronger argument that the story had more meaning than just a plot. Woven into Hiroshima were rhetorical devices such as irony and alliteration which enhanced the story by giving readers a sense of pathos. Irony was best expressed in Hiroshima which instilled a sense question within the reader’s mind.
the changes in the mechanisms of ‘volkisch’ anti-semitism and how it developed throughout the preceding decades, with particular scholarly movements including the inception of scientific racism, the volkisch movement in correspondence with new imperialism and militant nationalism. The approach suggests that the holocaust was exclusively akin to Germany’s rising ‘volkisch’ culture and that the aggressive notions of supremacy produced in the late nineteenth century influenced their attitudes towards the other races within Germany at the time and subsequent to the century’s turn. This particular approach is therefore beneficial for understanding how the very concept of a civilised genocide was manifested and how anti-semitism transformed according to the circumstances of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and is therefore the synthesis of the intentionalist and functionalist schools as the German anti-semitism was developed in the long-term through cumulative radicalisation. It adds to our understanding of how ‘völkisch-antisemitisch’ developed from mere prejudice into genocide and how it was influential in the development of advancement of National Socialism, being spawned through nineteenth century scholarly ideologies and social movements including Social Darwinism as a product of emerging ‘scientific racism’, with this and the association with romantic nationalism being
A metaphor connects one subject with another that may not be obviously related. When used correctly, it allows the writer to do this in a way that is both stylistically pleasing and concise. The following quotation has been edited and altered so that it includes a misused metaphor. It is from Pope John Paul II, discussing the Nazi Holocaust and the long-lasting impact it has had on Europe: Here, as at Auschwitz and many other places in Europe, we are overcome by the echo of the tears of so many. Men, women, and children cry out to us from the depths of the horror that they knew.
Regardless of its context every text is reflective of the ways of thinking that shape an understanding of the values of the times. Jane Yolen’s novel, Briar Rose (1992) is an extended metaphorical representation of the horror of the holocaust through the allegory of the fairy-tale, Sleeping Beauty. Written in the 1990’s when the historical and cultural understanding of the holocaust was finally achieved, Briar Rose uses the allegory of the fairy-tale not only to blur the line between reality and the illusion, but as a portrayal of humanity’s resilience through didacticism. The horror of the Nazi genocide of World War 2 was only realised and brought to the world through the moral teachings expounded in a variety of texts. Similarly Terry George’s, Hotel Rwanda, (2004) re-enacts the events of the Rwandan genocide of 1994 that tore through the nation and shocked the world.
Zusak uses these two passages to introduce and develop the main characters of his novel as well as introducing Germany as a country on the brink of a world war. And again there is a dramatic irony here because we
Yolen’s decision to write Briar Rose in a fairy tale forum helps provide another viewpoint that can help you comprehend such a gruesome period of history like the Holocaust. “Briar Rose reinscribes memory, and shows us what an important role storytelling can play in the acts of surviving and transcending horror.” (Wells 1) The very last article that I was able to find on the Briar Rose was a short one, but clearly had a positive reaction towards Yolen’s book. It states that Briar Rose regardless of the fact that it is a work of fiction speaks the truth and is brutally honesty. “Despite whatever connections we may or may not have to this dark period in history, there is a part of us that is only able to comprehend the true enormity of such stories when they are hidden in depts of older tales, for these old tales exist in
Imagery in Fiction Writing Authors often use imagery as a powerful tool for describing and delivering their main point in fiction writing. Imagery can hint at an underlying meaning, let the reader know character traits, describe the setting, and has a host of other uses. As such it is one of the most important literary devices. Two excellent examples of how to use imagery properly are Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby” and Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral”. In both of these stories the authors use imagery to help drive home their main points, although in a somewhat different manner.
BRIAR ROSE-JANE YOLEN Yolen has created an ingenious story of great significance in Briar Rose. Aside from the novel itself being a fictional text, the book stresses the intrinsic importance of fairy tales to the responder. The resilience and power of these tales are emphasised as is the significance of true stories form the past. It is through the examination of the allegorical story told by Gemma and the characterisation used by Yolen that the concept of the hero and heroine is explored. Yolen has enabled her readers to understand the value of the past for the present and to witness both the true horrors as well as the acts of courage in her novel Briar Rose.
The other interpretation was structuralism. Structuralists believe that Hitler was just as much to blame for the Holocaust as a whole string of other factors which will come out in this essay. Then again, historiography isn’t the only factor that must be taken into account when pinning blame for the Holocaust. It must be remembered that there are different types of responsibility too, and how these are analysed may