Man S Search For Meaning Essay
Megan Couture-King
October 19, 2014
Dr. Margo Shea
World History Since 1900
Concentration Camps: A Dehumanizing Life
Victor Frankl’s memoir Man’s Search for Meaning outlines the difficult life within a concentration camp. He utilizes the Nazi’s masochistic forms of punishment along with clever survival strategies to show the meaning of life in times of great suffering. He also is able to reveal the startling ways in which the prisoners in these camps were able to adapt and survive when put in situations where their death was most certainly imminent. Frankl plays a prominent role in keeping prisoners alive with his logotherapy, which gives inmates-in their most desperate times-a reason to stay alive. However, not everything Frankl says is motivational. He also talks about the ways in which the Nazi’s were able to turn human beings into emotionless, apathetic shells. Life as a prisoner was never simple and never easy. Men, women and children endured hours of manual labor with just enough sustenance to keep them alive. Therefore, it is no surprise that many people lacked in hope as well as faith. In the eyes of Frankl these two beliefs happen to be the most important when it comes to the fight for survival. He states “a prisoner who had lost faith in the future-his future-was doomed” (Frankl, 74). This ultimately leads to “mental and physical decay” (Frankl, 74). Loss of faith comes in stages. A prisoner will lose interest in the most basic necessities that they need to live, such as food. They refuse to go to work even when threatened and beaten up by capos. Frankl refers to this as the point in time when a prisoner has given up everything and is ready to for death to overcome them. He goes on to speak about how faith is the underlying force that causes man to find hope in places that are hard to reach. It is this that keeps the prisoners alive. They especially find hope in their future, and the idea that suffering will not last forever. Frankl particularly
October 19, 2014
Dr. Margo Shea
World History Since 1900
Concentration Camps: A Dehumanizing Life
Victor Frankl’s memoir Man’s Search for Meaning outlines the difficult life within a concentration camp. He utilizes the Nazi’s masochistic forms of punishment along with clever survival strategies to show the meaning of life in times of great suffering. He also is able to reveal the startling ways in which the prisoners in these camps were able to adapt and survive when put in situations where their death was most certainly imminent. Frankl plays a prominent role in keeping prisoners alive with his logotherapy, which gives inmates-in their most desperate times-a reason to stay alive. However, not everything Frankl says is motivational. He also talks about the ways in which the Nazi’s were able to turn human beings into emotionless, apathetic shells. Life as a prisoner was never simple and never easy. Men, women and children endured hours of manual labor with just enough sustenance to keep them alive. Therefore, it is no surprise that many people lacked in hope as well as faith. In the eyes of Frankl these two beliefs happen to be the most important when it comes to the fight for survival. He states “a prisoner who had lost faith in the future-his future-was doomed” (Frankl, 74). This ultimately leads to “mental and physical decay” (Frankl, 74). Loss of faith comes in stages. A prisoner will lose interest in the most basic necessities that they need to live, such as food. They refuse to go to work even when threatened and beaten up by capos. Frankl refers to this as the point in time when a prisoner has given up everything and is ready to for death to overcome them. He goes on to speak about how faith is the underlying force that causes man to find hope in places that are hard to reach. It is this that keeps the prisoners alive. They especially find hope in their future, and the idea that suffering will not last forever. Frankl particularly