Forgive, not because they deserve forgives, but because you deserve peace. It’s not easy to stop blaming someone’s fault, especially for someone who do wrong to us. In the book The Sunflower written by Simon Wiesenthal, a survivor of the Holocaust during World War II, he described his conflict with Karl, a dying Nazi soldier who killed many innocent Jews and begging for forgiveness for his outrageous crime at the end of his life. At the end of this sad and tragic episode, Simon did not response to Karl’s request directly; instead he left us a tough question: “What should you have done?” Based on what Karl had done during World War II and his repentance, each person might have their own point of view about where should we draw the line of forgiveness. …show more content…
According to Jewish religion, fully repentance was really important for them to determine whether a person deserve forgiveness. As Wiesenthal’s friend Bolek mentioned in the book “In our religion repentance is the most element in seeking forgiveness” (Wiesenthal 83)”. From this quote we could conclude that any person who was deeply repentance was eligible to ask for forgiveness. Therefore, firstly we should decide whether Karl was truly sorry about the mistake he has made. It was important to note that if he was not truly regret about his fault, he would not find someone who might hate him so much according to his identity as a Nazi soldier to confess his sin when he was dying. If he did not feel sorry about what he did, found someone to confess his sin was absolutely unnecessary. According to The sunflower, there were some specific examples to show Karl’s repentance. For example, he said “I cannot die ... Without coming clean” (Wiesenthal 53). It indicates that Karl really sought for redemption before his final breathe. Simon became his last chance to make everything back into right track and requested a peaceful death. Another instance demonstrated Karl’s repentance was that he remembered he shot the family to death when they jumping out from the window of the burning house. That image remained in his mind and tortured him mentally until his very last second of life. Just like he described in book, “The pains in my body are terrible, but worse still is my conscious, It never ceases to remind me of the burning house and the family that jumped from the window” (Wiesenthal 53). This scene engraved in his mind deeply since he felt guilty toward the family which broke him down mentally and making him unable to move, led to his injury. If he did not truly regret to his fault, this scene would not remain in
I believe Karl's primary motivation for confessing to Simon was that for Karl's own sake, and peace of mind, he wanted to see a "Jew", any Jew, so that he could die in peace. Karl is unable to see the suffering of others due to fact he is blinded by his own suffering, he is unable to see the suffering of the Jewish people he participated in murdering and the ones that still haunt him. He confessed because he wanted to be at peace with himself, I see that as his prime motivation for telling Simon what he did. I interpreted Simon's silence as he was having an internal moral struggle with himself, unsure of whether or not his silence was right or wrong since the Nazi whose bedside he was at was dying. I don't think Simon had the authority to
The laws on my side: Divine intervention in Sling Blade The 1996 film directed by Billy Bob Thornton, Sling Blade (1996), is a dramatic story of a simple man who comes face to face with a difficult choice. Billy Bob Thornton not only directed Sling Blade, but also wrote the screenplay as well as playing the films lead role, Karl Childers(Billy Bob Thornton). Thornton was awarded with an Oscar for the screenplay, which he wrote in longhand, as well as being nominated for an Oscar for his acting in Sling Blade. Throughout the film, a variety of hardships Karl has faced are revealed.
As a Prisoner of 5 concentration camps, Simon was placed under many mental and emotional hardships including exposure to death & suicide attempts. At the Brigidki Prison Simon was forced to watch the mass murder of Jewish victims. In the Prison the Jews were ordered to form a row, face the wall and cross their arms behind their necks, and then an SS guard began to shoot at them. Wiesenthal fortunately escaped the shootings and was taken to his cell; he thought of the dead and envied them because he believed that death was a better alternative. During Simon’s time as a prisoner in the camps, he experienced extreme loneliness due to being separated from his family and friends.
“She saw it so clearly, her starving mother, her missing father, her dead brother” (Zusak 111). This thought had occurred to Liesel during the book burning. After witnessing all the Hitler supporters chant and scream Liesel had realized on harsh fact, she was truly alone. Not only, but also Liesel had come to realization she has truly lost her freedom and rights as a human being. “A collection of men walked from a platform and surrounded the heal “Heil Hitler” they chanted “Die Judens”(Zusak 113).
He knew he was dying and he wanted to confess to a crime he had committed to a Jew (Wiesenthal, 1998). Wiesenthal does not call him by his name in the book when he speaks or thinks of him; however, for the purpose of this book review his birth name will be used. He had grown up in a religious household, however, when he joined Hitler’s Youth that was the end of the significance of the church for Karl. His parents never accepted his decision, but dared not to speak against it. Karl spent much of their time
His first night in the concentration camp destroyed him, crumbling down the wall of innocence until there was nothing left. Everything he had once known and loved, taken away in the blink of an eye. As Wiesel put it, “Never
Schindler risks his life and gives up fortune to save hundreds, while Goth sends thousands to their death and even casually snipes Jewish prisoners one morning for sport. These events all display just how easily life can be saved, traded, or taken away, and illustrate the value of remembering how the Holocaust happened. The film encompasses the idea that life only has as much value as those in control deem it to be. Through this focus on the fragility of life, the film acts as a reminder of what happens when good people stand idle in the wake
Who are we to say that someone is truly forgiven for their sins? It is not our right. I do, however, believe that we should remain compassionate and kind to everyone, even the sinful. My response is that Simon Wiesenthal did the right thing by keeping his silence when the Nazi soldier asked for forgiveness. Simon could not have forgiven the Nazi for crimes and brutalities he did to other Jews.
Wiesel’s speech shows how he worked to keep the memory of those people alive because he knows that people will continue to be guilty, to be accomplices if they forget. Furthermore, Wiesel knows that keeping the memory of those poor, innocent will avoid the repetition of the atrocity done in the future. The stories and experiences of Wiesel allowed for people to see the true horrors of what occurs when people who keep silence become “accomplices” of those who inflict pain towards humans. To conclude, Wiesel chose to use parallelism in his speech to emphasize the fault people had for keeping silence and allowing the torture of innocent
To begin with, Wiesel could not believe what was happening. He didn’t believe how cruel the Germans were. Wiesel was living a nightmare and couldn’t escape it. For instance, Wiesel stated, “I pinched myself; was I still alive? Was I awake?
He had asked to speak to a Jew as his last dying wish. Simon did not know why he was there but he could not find himself being able to leave. When Simon first walked into the room he was confused on why he was there. That was when he heard Karl begin to talk, asking him to get closer than talking about wanting to confess to a Jew so he would to be able to “die in peace”(Wiesenthal 27). When Karl began
Type 4 Nora FCAs Summary Character Opinion Forgiveness “Is it possible to forgive and not forget? How can victims come to peace with their past, and hold on to their own humanity and morals in the process?” In The Sunflower, Simon Wiesenthal writes about an incident that occurs when he is imprisoned in a concentration camp. One day, when he is working in a hospital, he gets summoned to the room of a dying SS member.
He felt it was important to relay the lessons he learned, so that others will not have to go through the same hardship, in the future. This reflects Moishe the Beadle’s struggles “Infants were tossed into the air and used as targets for the machine guns” (Wiesel, 6). These monstrous events are the result of not acting because they felt no personal connection. This resulted in not bearing witness, and the massive loss of life during The Holocaust. Making the choice to bear witness needs to be made before it is too late.
He also wanted to tell the reader about his life as a Jew in a concentration camp and the horrors he faced. He wanted us to think about what we would have done in his place and what forgiveness means to us. After he published his book, he asked certain people to respond to the story and what they would have done in his place. Some people are Jews, some are Christians, some are young, some older, some were even part of the war. Everyone who wrote an essay was different from the rest in some way, but they all had one connection, Simon.
After the end of most relationships, there is usually at least one person who regrets the breakup and wishes for reconciliation. Because of this, there are just as many looking for reunion advice as there are looking for relationship breakup advice. And, no matter who is asked, there ends up being roughly 8 simple steps to winning your ex back. It should be go without saying that at no point should you ever harass or stalk your ex. It is illegal.