Death: the Enemy or the Savior?

Elie Wiesel's obsession with death is petrifying! It is all he talks about in the second and third chapters, death and his grandmother.  Wiesel's approach to death is baffling.  Usually one is frightened of death and what comes after it.  It is the unknown.  A person normally tries to fight against death with everything they have.  That is the norm.  Wiesel, on the other hand, welcomes it with open arms.  In his noggin, "death is not the enemy". If a person does not realize that, he/she "knows nothing". (16)

Wiesel reflects a lot on death.  He relates it to the cold wind he felt in Paris.  Additionally, he explains to the reader that there is a proper and specific way one should think about death.  "It is only in silence, leaning over a river in winter, that one can really think about death." (24)  He also says that it's impossible to reflect on a dead grandmother "if you aren't alone". (25) Why would he reflect so much on death? Could it be because of his past? Does he welcome it with open arms due to the Holocaust? That could be a valid reason of why he finds it the easy way out instead of the enemy.

Deciding whether death is the enemy or savior is something each person will have to eventually decide.  It's not a conclusion we can come to over night. Death is both the enemy and the savior in my opinion.  It can take away pain and take people to a better place.  However, it can also take away a lot from the person's life.  For example, a boy with cancer would welcome it.  Cancer is so painful and exhausting.  Therefore, the child would welcome it because he/she knows that he/she is loved.  Death can also be the enemy in this situation.  It takes away the child's chance of living a complete life.  The child may miss things we find important like prom, soccer games, parties, their wedding, having children, etc.  This is when a person must look at life and death as  if the glass is half empty or half full.  It's a decision we all have to make in the end.  Is death the enemy or the savior?

Sucks to Suck

How unfortunate it must be to face so many tragic and scary moments in one's life.  This is the case for Elie Wiesel.  He has faced and survived the Holocaust and a deadly accident.  Wiesel's memoir,  Day, begins all loopty do but with some awkwardness.  It's a good day in New York and he is with his girl friend who seems to be a little self centered.  When I say a little I mean a lot.  He does whatever she says and tries to say "I love you" to her as much as he can.  The only problem is that it is as if he only says it to get her to shut up.  They walk past Time Square on their way to a movie when BOOM! The unthinkable happens! A cab hits Wiesel and sends him flying! He says that he doesn't remember whether he heard "the grotesque screeching of brakes or the shrill scream of a woman" (9) first.  Although it's a true story, it seems a bit cliche.  It's a nice day in New York.  The couple is having a semi nice moment, and then out of no where the person gets hit by a car.  If you have seen The Vow or Grey's Anatomy you know what I'm talking about.

It seems as if his life was written by a scriptwriter who specializes in traumatic events.  He stays in a comma for five days, survives two deadly surgeries, and fights off a deadly fever.  On top of that, there is a weird tension between him and his doctor as soon as they meet.  After exchanging a few words, "the doctor continues to look at" him "closely, very closely. A strange gleam- perhaps a strange shadow- was in his eyes.  Suddenly" his "heart jumped. Frightened," he "thought: he knows something." (14-15) It would not surprise me if the doctor ended up being his long lost Holocaust friend.  What could the doc possibly know? Could the numbers on his wrist possibly have given the doctor a clue about something? Only time will tell.  Only one thing is absolutely clear.  His life until this point has been incredibly unfortunate.  It must suck to suck.

He Made A Difference

I found Douglass' ending to his memoir to be very modest and caring.  He definitely used his brain and reflected on his writing.  Instead of writing about his escape detail by detail, he decided to refrain himself since it would "induce greater vigilance on the part of slaveholders than has existed heretofore among them;...". In other words, the slaveholders would make sure to guard "a door whereby some dear brother bondman might escape his galling chains." (99)  In a memoir, the first thing the writer would like to do is write about the most important and exciting thing that has happened in his/her life.  They would love to express it using details that would allow the reader to imagine the monstrosity or amazing event.  Douglass wanted to but he didn't.  I admire him for doing that.  He put his fellow slaves' lives first nstead of putting himself and his memoir first.  Douglass decided to write about what happened after his successful escape.

I realized that Douglass finally did Something useful fornhis fellow slaves.  I discovered this while reading the last chapter of his memoir.  However, at first he only watched out for himself until he met   Mr. David Ruggles.  He took him in and presented him to his future wife, Anna.  Ruggles sent the couple to New Bedford and taught Douglass to trust men.  Due to fear, Douglass had decided to "Trust no man!" (105).   Ruggles helped him turn a new page in the novel that represented his life.  Douglass began to fight for the freedom of his "brothers" on August 11, 1841.  He finally decided to help the other slaves and speak in front of white abolitionists.  His care for slaves and modesty is seen in his tone.  The form in which he expressed his escape proves it.

I admire Douglass for escaping, learning, and taking a step forward to free the people he cares about. It's not easy to do that in one life time due to the gruesome and scary consequences that may follow.  He made sure the world learned and realized the cruel torture the shaves were going through.  Instead of focusing on his escape, he wrote about his life as a slave. He wrote of what he did after his escape instead of writing a memoir on how he did it.  He was intelligent enough to realize that the slaveholders would use his memoir for their advantage.   He made a difference.

A Slave's Position Demands Respect

Animals. That is how the slaves are seen in the eyes of the white men.  I fail to comprehend how one can be so cruel to someone just because of their skin color.  They have the same body parts and organs! They have souls! How can they just see them as animals due to their dark skin? Something I realized while reading this memoir is that a slave was never safe.  They were constantly considered property whether they remained there or not.  In chapter VIII, Douglass expresses his anger towards the fact that they "were ranked with horses, sheep, and swine." (56)

As if their ranking wasn't bad enough, they were treated way worse than animals.  A white man living in that time period would have never whipped their animals to the point of leaving scars.  However, they would definitely do it to their slaves.  In chapter X, Mr. Covey whipped Douglass and left severe scars on his back.  His reasoning? He didn't have any.  Douglass could not control the oxen and was honest about what had happened.  Instead of being rewarded, he received lashing  which caused "ridges" on his back "as large as" his "little finger." (67) Did the oxen get beat up? Of course not.  What type of parallel universe is this?!

All of these situations and Douglass' points of view reminded me of the movie Ever After.  It is based on the story of Cinderella but in a realistic way.  Now I know all of you are thinking the same thing. "How the heck does Cinderella have to do with the cruelty of slavery? This should be interesting." Trust me, it actually does relate to the memoir.  Danielle (the main character) is a slave back in the times of the Renaissance.  There they would receive harsh treatment just like the slaves do in the memoir.  In the movie comments are made by her evil stepsister Marguerite.  She says, "Why don't you sleep with the pigs, cindersoot, if you insist on smelling like one." Although she isn't ranked with a pig, she is considered one.

The two main characters, Douglass and Danielle, also have the same viewpoint on their position.  They find it unfair and upsetting.  The only difference is that Danielle actually does something about it while Douglass just sits back and complains.  Danielle dresses up as a courtier in order to save a man's life.  During this scene, the prince runs into her and helps her save the man.  He begins to ask her why she was so intent on saving the slave's life.  At one point in their conversation she says to him, "They [slaves] are the legs you stand on and that position demands respect...". Douglass should really take note on her behavior and attitude.  All he does is sit down and write a memoir on how depressing and unfair slavery was.  Yes, he is considered great in literature. However, is he considered great in terms of taking action against slavery? No, not really.  This man, like Danielle, could have made a difference.  Yes, slavery is unfair, but there comes a time when one must stand up for what they believe in.  His chance was as soon as he got to the North.  He could have done it in the South, but it would have been a lot easier in the North.  Instead, he decided to hide behind his paper and pen.

Is Arrogance Better Than Knowledge?

Is arrogance better than knowledge? This is one of the most important topics brought up by Douglass in chapter seven.  According to Douglass, his knowledge "relieved" (51) him "of one difficulty" (51) but brought him "even more painful" (51) difficulties.  He envied the other ignorant slave.  They knew not of the possibilities.  Therefore, they accepted their lives as slaves without even pondering how life could be if they were free.  Douglass did not have that luxury.  All he wanted to do was escape as soon as he began to read the newspaper.  He began to discover the possibilities of abolishing slavery and wanted it more than anything.  He says that learning how to read was his "curse" (51).  His master's wife taught him the alphabet.  After that she stopped because her husband scolded her.  He told her that he would become knowledgable and gain his freedom.  From there, everything went downhill.

I don't understand why Douglass finds his knowledge to be his curse.  He escaped. That is what he wanted isn't it? Why is he complaining? Yes, it took time, but what doesn't? I find it ridiculous that he is incapable of being grateful that he discovered how to escape.  Obviously I have never been in his position. However, I can relate in terms of choosing knowledge over ignorance or vise versa. With that said, I can carry on with my argument. I completely disagree with him! A person should welcome knowledge.  You can never be too knowledgable.  Yes, it sucks that he is treated like a barbarian, but at least he knows that it isn't right.  If he didn't, he would live like any other slave.  He wouldn't have escaped and he would have died as one.  I have pity for him for being knowledgable.  He is probably one of the luckiest slaves.  He was the "chosen one" in a way.  He, out of all others, was chosen to go to Baltimore.  He was chosen to learn the alphabet.

There are always two ways to look at a situation.  You can always look at the glass as half full or half empty.  Douglass is looking at it half empty instead of half full.  Of course he is upset! He isn't looking at all of the wonderful possibilities he had.  He could have made a difference by teaching other slaves to read.  He could have taught them that it wasn't right for white men to treat them as vermin.  He could have acknowledged that fact that there were white men rooting for the slaves.  Yet, he didn't.  Instead he only focused on himself.  He waited for the right moment to escape.  The only difference he made was for himself, not the african americans in slavery.  I pity him for having to live most of his life as a slave, but I absolutely do not pity him for having acquired knowledge.