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what is the main idea of hope despair and memory

by Mr. Jesus Hane Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

Wiesel tells us in " Hope, Despair and Memory " that memory is the only way we'll ever change. Memory is a way of both reliving and sharing events, of letting even people personally unaffected by atrocity feel the deep horror of having lived through it. And hey: science backs up Wiesel's claim.

Elie Wiesel, the author of “Hope Despair and Memory,” tells about his personal experiences during the Holocaust.. Wiesel and Jackson focus on the central idea that we have to remember the past to make a better future by using irony, similes, and metaphors.

Full Answer

What is the main idea of Lincoln’s Hope Hope Despair and memory?

TEXT FOCUS: Similar to “Hope, Despair and Memory,” Lincoln’s speech reflects on the importance of remembrance and memory for honoring those who have suffered. The short length of this speech makes it suitable for reading and rereading to analyze the structure, devices, and meaning.

What does Elie Wiesel mean by Hope Despair and memory?

Elie Wiesel the author of the Noble lecture “Hope, Despair, and Memory” implores us to respond to the human suffering and injustice that happened in the concentration camps by remembering the past, so that the past cannot taint the future through his point of view, cultural experiences, as well as his use of rhetorical appeals.

How does reciting the alphabet help the two regain memory?

Reciting the alphabet helped the two regain their memory and the spell to get them home. Summary: Memory is important to our future because we need it to build the future and not make the mistakes that were made in the past. Summary: Memory is scarred into the victims of the holocaust.

Why is memory important to our future essay?

Summary: Memory is important to our future because we need it to build the future and not make the mistakes that were made in the past. Summary: Memory is scarred into the victims of the holocaust. Author's Purpose: This paragraph is here to show how even remembering the simplest things can help in the future.

What is the main idea of hope?

In the poem, "Hope" is metaphorically transformed into a strong-willed bird that lives within the human soul—and sings its song no matter what. Essentially, the poem seeks to remind readers of the power of hope and how little it requires of people.

What is Wiesel arguing in hope despair and Memory?

Throughout the speech, Wiesel argues against forgetting the Holocaust, even though it's easy to understand why everyone wants to stop thinking about it. So many terrible and horrific things happened, millions of people suffered and died—but that's exactly why history has to remember it.

What supports does Wiesel make in hope despair and Memory?

Wiesel is claiming that humanity must use the power of memory to stand up against injustice and war. “[M]ankind needs to remember more than ever. Mankind needs peace more than ever, for our entire planet, threatened by nuclear war, is in danger of total destruction” (par.

What is the main idea of Elie Wiesel acceptance speech?

His acceptance speech of the award was intended to ensure that the events of the Holocaust were not echoed in the future; that no human being would be subjected to the same humiliation and torment that he was.

Why was hope despair and memory written?

Elie Wiesel, like many other survivors, made it his mission to speak out against the horrors of the Holocaust, hoping that its memory would stun people into never making that same mistake.

What are some metaphors in hope despair and Memory?

In the text one of Elie Wiesels metaphors was "without memory, our existence would be barren and opaque, like a prison cell into which no light penetrates" this shows that the use of a metaphor is without using like or as.

How does Wiesel use imagery in hope despair and Memory?

Through his use of imagery and allusion Wiesel creates a passionate tone to drive home his belief that through memory and hope the human race can avoid despair and share our “greatest gift to each other,” peace. Imagery is one of the most compelling devices Wiesel uses throughout the essay.

What does hope without Memory is like Memory without hope mean?

Memory saved the Besht, and if anything can, it is memory that will save humanity. For me, hope without memory is like memory without hope. Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope. If dreams reflect the past, hope summons the future.

What is the meaning of the memory blessing or curse?

Memory Blessing or Curse Religious wars fought over beliefs were always fought between two sides and one is thought to have a winner and a loser victor and victim. In Elie Wiesel’s Noble speech “Hope, Despair, and Memory” he describes his experiences during a religious war that were more of an overpowering of people than a war no clash of metal, no hard fought fight, just the rounding up and killing of people with different beliefs that barely put up a fight. Elie Wiesel the author of the Noble lecture “Hope, Despair, and Memory” implores us to respond to the human suffering and injustice that happened in the concentration camps by remembering the past, so that the past cannot taint the future through his point of view, cultural experiences, as well as his use of rhetorical appeals. Wiesel uses his cultural experiences and point of view sot that he could prove he spent time and survived the concentration camps in order to communicate that the past must be remembered that way it cannot destroy the future, he spent time in a concentration camps and he…show more content…

What is the closing argument of Darrow?

In Darrow’s closing argument he gives his famed “A Plea for Mercy” to the judge. This plea not only acted as a conclusion to his defense, but it also acted as an introduction the eradication of the death penalty. Darrow uses a mix of ethos, pathos, logos, and other rhetorical devices to impose a merciful effect on his audience in hopes to reduce his clients punishment and the use of capital punishment. Darrow gracefully uses all three appeals when referring to the rise of crime after war “I know that it has followed every war; and I know it has influenced these boys so that life was not the same to them as it would have been if the world had not been made red with blood. I protest against the crimes and mistakes of society being visited upon them.

What was the meaning of Elie Wiesel's speech?

Elie Wiesel’s somber speech, “The Perils of Indifference ”, demonstrated the harsh reality of the numerous evils harvesting in the world. The main evil though was simply indifference, or a lack of concern. As a young Jewish boy, he faced the wickedness of the Holocaust, imprisoned at Buchenwald and Auschwitz and also losing both his parents and younger sister. The speaker saw atrocious horrors and suffered for a prolonged amount of time. Why was this permitted?

Paragraph Cinco (5)

Summary: Man has turned his back on God and has made an anti-heaven with their own gods and rulers.

Paragraph Tres (3)

Author's purpose: The author put this in to tell a story relating to his topic and to tell how memory is important.

Paragraph Dos (2)

Summary: The master and servant who were stuck on the island managed to remember and recite the alphabet. Reciting the alphabet helped the two regain their memory and the spell to get them home.

In Memoriam

Guys, it's Real Talk time. We're more than happy to poke fun at some seminal speeches—remember when JFK told everybody in Germany "I am a Jelly Donut?" ( "Ich Bin Ein Berliner") or when Patrick Henry said "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!" and the rest of the thirteen colonies swooned and said, "Ooh, that Henry is so metal "?

Chew on This

Elie Wiesel, by pondering whether the Holocaust was an outlier or a consequence of Western Civilization, alludes to a school of thought that really came into its own during the later years of the Cold War: Postmodernism.

The Set-Up

World War I was called "The War to End All Wars." Yeah; it wasn't. And neither was its sequel.

The Text

The Holocaust was an unthinkable atrocity, and those few who survived had the experience burned into their minds. They spoke out constantly, trying to keep the memory of all who had passed away alive.

Questions

Is it solely on the shoulders of the survivors of tragedies to speak about their experiences, or is it the responsibility of those who weren't persecuted to speak out on their behalf?

What does the memory of evil serve as?

The memory of evil will serve as a shield against evil ... the memory of death will serve as a shield against death. In this metaphor, Wiesel presents memory as a "shield" which, he says, people must use to protect themselves from "evil" and "death.".

What was the main idea of Wiesel's speech?

Perhaps the main idea in Wiesel's speech is the idea that we must remember the atrocities of World War Two, and specifically of the Holocaust, to avoid ever committing the same atrocities again.

What does Wiesel mean by "remembering"?

His meaning here is that we must remember the atrocities of the Holocaust so that we can prevent them from happening again, and thereby protect ourselves from the "evil" and mass "death" that characterized the holocaust. Later in his speech, Wiesel uses another metaphor to convey a similar idea about the importance of remembering.

What does Wiesel mean when he says "we could not bury our dead"?

When he says that "we could not bury our dead," he means this literally and metaphorically. Those who died in the gas chambers of Nazi concentration camps, for example, could not be buried respectfully by their loved ones, and neither could, ...

Chew on This

Elie Wiesel's theory about memory being able to stop future tragedy is really banking on empathy in order to work. Simply knowing about injustice in the world isn't going to cut it—people have to actually care about other people's suffering to do something about it.

Memory and the Past

Memory's really at the heart of this one—shocker in a text called "Hope, Despair and Memory," we know.

Chew on This

Misremembering the past is incredibly influential on how we shape policy as a nation today, because historical memory helps us shape what we flag as actual problems.

Passivity

It's important if you remember…but it's only going to help if you actually do something about it.

Chew on This

For Elie Wiesel, forgetting and passivity are tied inherently with each other—to be passive is to ignore a problem, or to willfully choose to push it out of your mind.

The Three-Ring Speech

Elie Wiesel, in this speech, follows a pretty simple format that you all should try at home. It works great in both speeches and essays, and it goes a little something like this:

Besht in Show

Wiesel opens with a story from Hasidic tradition, doing some great work at setting up his core talking points (i.e., hope, despair, and memory) within a Jewish cultural context.

Remembering the Holocaust

Wiesel takes us on a tour of his and others' experience with the Nazi death camps to set up both his peoples' desperate need to remember and their desperate need to forget what happened to them. He does a great job weaving between his anecdotes and his concepts.

On Deaf Ears

This is Wiesel's big call to action, the grand finale of the piece, where he moves from the past to the present day. In a post-Holocaust world, one would think the kinds of global crises that ran rampant during the '80s would be impossible.

What's Up With the Opening Lines?

A Hasidic legend tells us that the great Rabbi Baal-Shem-Tov, Master of the Good Name, also known as the Besht, undertook an urgent and perilous mission: to hasten the coming of the Messiah. (1, 1)

What's Up With the Closing Lines?

Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures, it is our gift to each other. (29, 9)

Trivia

Night wasn't the original name for Wiesel's most famous book. The original 800-page manuscript was titled Un di Velt Hot Geshvign— Yiddish for And the World Remained Silent. We think this original title ties in pretty exactly with the message of his speech. ( Source)

Websites

Elie Wiesel Foundation Twitter The organization for human rights he founded still operates strong in his memory, and you can keep track of it online here.

Movie or TV Productions

Auschwitz: The Nazis and the "Final Solution" This documentary from the BBC goes deep into the history of the Holocaust, complete with interviews from its survivors. You might want to watch this one with tissues on hand.

Articles and Interviews

1996 Academy of Achievement Interview Elie Wiesel answers a lot of questions about his life, particularly about what he did after the concentration camps were behind him.

Video

Oprah Interviews Elie Wiesel And you get an interview! And you get an interview! Oprah and Elie Wiesel jam about his memoir, Night.

Images

Elie Wiesel in Buchenwald Elie Wiesel's in this group shot of concentration camp prisoners in Buchenwald, in the second row, seventh from the left.

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