“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” – Elie Wiesel.
In a simplified manner, this quote by Elie Wiesel stresses the importance of not remaining silent in the face of injustice. It urges individuals to speak up and report wrongdoing, as silence only enables the oppressor and perpetuates suffering.
Both “Night” by Elie Wiesel and “Twelve Angry Men” by Reginald Rose demonstrate the validity of the statement that speaking up during wrongdoings can bring about significant change. “Night” is a memoir by Elie Wiesel that recounts his experiences during the Holocaust, while “Twelve Angry Men” is a play by Reginald Rose. In “Night,” Wiesel utilizes personification as a literary technique to portray the extreme horrors of this period.
In the book, the author describes a scene where everything around him appeared to be dancing a dance of death. This personification portrays death as if it were a human, emphasizing the overwhelming presence of mortality. The author observed that everyone in his surroundings was either dead or dying, but he couldn’t comprehend why outsiders remained silent about the grim situation. This experience further solidified his commitment to speaking out against human suffering and humiliation.
Furthermore, the quote “Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust” also demonstrates personification. By attributing human actions, such as murder, to moments which are inanimate, Elie effectively conveys his emotional pain and his determination to prevent others from experiencing the same suffering. Elie asserts that he will speak up if he witnesses anyone being mistreated in a similar manner, as remaining silent would only perpetuate the oppression. These instances mentioned in Night provide compelling evidence that support Elie’s belief in speaking out against human suffering and humiliation.
Reginald Rose’s play Twelve Angry Men supports Elie Wiesel’s quotation by showcasing different perspectives. In the play, Rose utilizes the point of view to illustrate varying ways of thinking. Initially, all jurors except Juror Eight believed in the defendant’s guilt. However, Juror Eight differed, raising his hand in favor of “not guilty” during the vote. When Juror Ten questioned his belief in the defendant’s story, Juror Eight responded, “I don’t know whether I believe it or not. Maybe I don’t.” Despite facing strong opposition from the other jurors, Juror Eight continued to assert his opinion and attempted to present things from his own perspective. “All right. I had a peculiar feeling about this trial. Somehow I felt that the defense counsel never really conducted a thorough cross-examination. I mean, he was appointed by the court to defend the boy. He hardly seemed interested. Too many questions were left unasked.” Juror Eight’s statement emphasizes his unwavering commitment to his viewpoint.
He strongly believed that the boy was innocent and wanted to convince everyone to see it. He dedicated a significant amount of time to persuading the other jurors of the boy’s innocence. By providing examples and explanations, he was able to make his reasoning clear to the rest of the jurors. These two quotes from his actions support Elie Wiesel’s stance, as they demonstrate his refusal to back down in the face of opposition. He firmly believed that the boy would suffer unjustly and he could not tolerate such an injustice, just as Wiesel cannot stay silent when witnessing the humiliation of another human being.
Each quote from Twelve Angry Men demonstrates Elie Wiesel’s belief on the importance of addressing suffering and humiliation in the human experience. Wiesel’s statement, “I vowed to never remain silent in the face of suffering and humiliation endured by fellow human beings. We must always choose a side. Neutrality benefits oppressors, not victims. Silence empowers tormentors, not the tormented,” can be supported as valid. It is indeed true that remaining silent only aids the oppressor, not the victim. This assertion is evident in literary works like the novel Night and the play Twelve Angry Men.
Both Night and Twelve Angry Men offer distinct instances of why one should not remain silent when witnessing others endure suffering and humiliation. In Night, Elie Wiesel personally endures these tragedies, which compels him to promise to never stay silent when fellow humans experience such mistreatment. On the other hand, in Twelve Angry Men, Juror 8 realizes that some pieces of the puzzle do not align, leading him to prevent the death of a child based on unjustifiable reasons. These literary works exemplify Elie’s quote and effectively demonstrate its truthfulness.
The Dangers Of Online Dating
Did you know over forty million people have an online dating profile? Many people in the world at some point made an online profile on a dating website. Did you tell the whole truth on your profile? Or did you create a fake image of who you’re really not. Dating and meeting someone new is hard for many people. There are some people who feel the pressure of being single and turn to online dating as a reliable source of social interaction.
Even though online dating makes it easier to meet new people, it is killing the quality of relationships. People aren’t looking for love anymore; they are playing the game of love. Online dating users rarely show any commitment in the new people they date because they know a new date is right around the corner. Those users solely rely on a profile and a picture to try to learn about that potential partner. Men and women are finding it difficult to socially interact face-to-face and rather interact online behind the curtain. If there are any, what are the benefits of online dating?
Dan Stalter the author of the magazine periodical “A million first dates, how online dating is threatening monogamy” explains that the internet makes it easier for single people to meet other single people whom they might be compatible with (Slater 42). Slater then explains how many psychologists determine the strength of commitment in these online relationships. The first thing is if that person is satisfied with the relationship they are in, the amount of time and effort put into that relationship, and finally the quality of perceived alternatives (43).
With online dating becoming so popular technology is making it easier to meet a person on the fly. Slater explains that there is a phone application that can let you advertise your location and your desired activity. This allows you to meet anyone within a close distance of you. Will this become the future for interaction between people? We know that online dating gives you many potential partners, but what if some of those potential partners have you sign divorce papers in the end. Dan Winchester, founder of a free dating site in the UK states “The future will see better relationships but more divorce. He also says that when it comes to dating a lot people the thought of marriage becomes less likely. Mark Brooks an editor of onlinepersonwatch. com explains that fifty percent of singletons in the United States now use online dating. That is over forty million people (Jamieson 1).
With those forty million people, around twenty percent find long term romance. Online dating can be a great benefit if you use it the right way. “Pretending you look like Brad Pitt and lying about your income may get you lots of dates, but that is as far as it will get (Jamieson 2).
It is always better to be real and honest when creating your online profile. In other words don’t stretch the truth when it comes to creating a profile. “She was a completely different woman (Epstein 1). ” While online dating has its benefits it can also be a living lie. “Internet dating has made people more disposable. ” An Internet survey was taken to see what people really think of online dating. That was one of the thousands of responses from many internet users around the country (Slater 43) “Above all online dating has helped people of all ages realize that there is no need to settle for a mediocre relationship (43).
One of the biggest gambles you can make as a person looking for love on an online dating website is deception. Jeana Frost is a researcher from Boston University and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and she concludes that twenty percent of online daters admit to deception. Those same people were then asked if they knew anybody that was lying about their online profile and that number jumped to ninety percent (Epstein 2). While many people lie about their height and weight, this is only one lie that can lead to more serious lies.
Studies show that the shorter and heavier a person is, the bigger the lies (2). Lying about your profile will only make the first face-to-face interaction a challenging one. Does the camera really add ten pounds or did you lie to me? About twenty years ago almost no couples met online; today it is the second most common way of finding a partner (Finkel 2). While you sit down and relax in your bed you can be browsing potential dates while others are trying to dress nice for company there about to have. “Online dating services have fundamentally altered the dating landscape (Finkel 2).
Finding your one true love online is now over a billion dollar industry and growing. An extensive survey was conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Projects. This survey concludes that sixty-six percent of internet users think that online dating is a “dangerous activity (Epstein 5). ” Going back to what Slater said earlier about people now having more commitment problems, about half of first marriages and two thirds of second marriages end in divorce. Online dating is making that statistic grow (Epstein 6). Overall the dangers of online dating are causing a drastic change in social interactions between people.
Men and women in today’s society are finding it more difficult to socially interact face-to-face. We will keep relying on the internet for many of our daily life tasks. Dating and meeting new people is a very big thing we do in our lives and having the internet take the hard work out is what everyone wants. We will start to see a lot more lazy people in this world and there won’t be anyone seeking a true relationship. What about online dating makes us get drawn in? What will be the relationship quality of the future? As time goes by the internet will be the ultimate decider of what’s the next step for relationships.
Work Cited
- Epstein, Robert. “The Truth About Online Dating. ” Scientific American Mind 18. 1 (2007): 8-35. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Mar. 2013.
- Jamieson, Valerie. “The Dating Game. ” New Scientist 201. 2695 (2009): 40. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Mar. 2013.
- SLATER, DAN. “A Million First Dates How Online Dating Is Threatening Monogamy. ” Atlantic Monthly (10727825) 311. 1 (2013): 40-46.
- Susan Sprecher, et al. “Dating In A Digital World. ” Scientific American Mind (2012): 26-33.
The Legendary Author Maya Angelou
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage. ” – Dr. Maya Angelou. This inspiring poet, novelist, historian, educator, actress, filmmaker, producer, memoirist, dramatist, and civil rights activist has had a superior impact on today’s American society. (A&M TV) Maya Angelou is an African American woman who went from poverty to international success. Born Marguerite Ann Johnson in Saint Louis, Arkansas to Vivian and Bailey Johnson.
Her parents divorced when she was three years of age. Her and her brother, Bailey Jr. , were sent to live with their grandmother in a small town called Stamps, Arkansas. Like many of the African American children that grew up in Maya’s time, she faced racial discrimination. She was always positive about it, because of the tradition old-fashion African American household she was raised in. She gives her grandmother and extended family in Stamps credit for all of the lessons and values she was taught that helped her significantly later in her adult life and while pursuing her career.
Bailey and Maya were extremely close. He suffered from a bad stutter, so he could never correctly pronounce her name. He decided to call her “My” for my sister. After watching a video on the Mayan Indians, he then began to call her Maya. The name stuck. When Maya was seven years old, her and Bailey were sent to visit their mother in Chicago. Her mother’s boyfriend sexually molested her. She was too ashamed and embarrassed to inform any adults on what had happened to her, so she confided in her brother. America Academy of Achievement) Maya’s uncle found out about what his sister’s boyfriend had done to his niece and killed her attacker. She felt that her words had killed the man, so she fell into a long phase of silence that lasted for five years. She often expressed her feelings through poetry, because of the tragedy she’d experienced at such a young age. No one else seemed to understand, but her paper and pen always knew how she felt. Maya did not begin to speak again until she was thirteen years old. By that time she had moved back with her mother in San Francisco with Bailey.
There he attended Mission High School. Because of her love for the arts, she received a scholarship to study drama and dance at San Francisco’s Labor School. At fourteen, she dropped out of school to become San Francisco’s first African American female cable car conductor. (American Academy of Achievement) At a later date, she returned to Mission High. Her senior year, she became pregnant, and gave birth to a baby boy whom she named Guy a few weeks before her graduation. When she turned 16, she left home and lived the not so easy life of a single mom.
Working as a waitress and cook to support herself and Guy, she never gave up on her career in the arts. Maya married her husband, Anastasois Angelopulos, in 1952. When she began to dance at a nightclub for a living, she took combined her childhood nickname with a part of her husband’s last name as a stage name. Although her marriage did not last, her career never came to a halt. It was a new beginning for her. She went on tour in Europe with a production of the Porgy and Bess produced by George Gershwin. After that, she toured 22 countries in both Europe and Africa. Encyclopedia Britannica) During the same time, she studied dance with Martha Graham and Pearl Primus. In the late 1950s she settled down in New York and became a member of the Harlem Writer’s Guide. As a part of their group, more and more of her poetry was published to the eyes of American reviewers. In 1961, she performed in Jean Genet’s The Blacks and moved to Cairo, Egypt to work for the Arab Observer. Later, she moved to Ghana as an employer of the African Review. In 1966, she returned to America, where she wrote her first 10-part television series about the role of African culture in American life, called Black, Blues, Black.