Malcolm X And Elie Wiesel Analysis
Perspectives of the Individual
How were the experiences of/reactions of Malcolm X and Elie Wiesel similar and different? Do you think you would have reacted the same way in their place? Explain.
The experiences that Malcolm X and Elie Wiesel lived through were somewhat similar in that it involved racism, and how an individual responded when basic human rights were denied of them during their youth.
Malcolm’s perspective on white people and even America in general was influenced early on in his childhood when his father was killed in a suspicious accident, and the perpetrators never brought to justice. This lead to a decline in his mother’s health, having to be solely responsible for maintaining a household with eight children, and …show more content…
Malcolm turned to a life of crime and violence and ended up in prison. It was during this time that he turned to religion and the Muslim faith. Even after Malcolm’s conversion, his hatred was still quite evident in many of his speeches. He often referred to the white man as “the devil.” (pg 162) Elie was the polar opposite. His entire family was taken away. After being separated from his mother and three sisters in Auschwitz, he never saw them again. He watched his father, whom he idolized, suffer and die a horrible death. Elie, a once devout Jew, lost his faith in God while in the camps. “The student of Talmud, the child I was, had been consumed by the flames. All that was left was a shape that resembled me. My soul had been invaded-and devoured-by a black flame.” (pg37) Despite all Elie went through, he emerged after the war becoming a journalist and writing about his experiences. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 as a result of his speaking out against violence, racism and other injustices since World War II. Elie and his wife Marion founded the Elie Wiesel Foundation for humanity in 1986. The foundations mission is "rooted in the memory of the Holocaust, to combat indifference, intolerance and injustice through international dialogue and youth-focused programs that promote acceptance, understanding and equality."
How were the experiences of/reactions of Malcolm X and Elie Wiesel similar and different? Do you think you would have reacted the same way in their place? Explain.
The experiences that Malcolm X and Elie Wiesel lived through were somewhat similar in that it involved racism, and how an individual responded when basic human rights were denied of them during their youth.
Malcolm’s perspective on white people and even America in general was influenced early on in his childhood when his father was killed in a suspicious accident, and the perpetrators never brought to justice. This lead to a decline in his mother’s health, having to be solely responsible for maintaining a household with eight children, and …show more content…
Malcolm turned to a life of crime and violence and ended up in prison. It was during this time that he turned to religion and the Muslim faith. Even after Malcolm’s conversion, his hatred was still quite evident in many of his speeches. He often referred to the white man as “the devil.” (pg 162) Elie was the polar opposite. His entire family was taken away. After being separated from his mother and three sisters in Auschwitz, he never saw them again. He watched his father, whom he idolized, suffer and die a horrible death. Elie, a once devout Jew, lost his faith in God while in the camps. “The student of Talmud, the child I was, had been consumed by the flames. All that was left was a shape that resembled me. My soul had been invaded-and devoured-by a black flame.” (pg37) Despite all Elie went through, he emerged after the war becoming a journalist and writing about his experiences. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 as a result of his speaking out against violence, racism and other injustices since World War II. Elie and his wife Marion founded the Elie Wiesel Foundation for humanity in 1986. The foundations mission is "rooted in the memory of the Holocaust, to combat indifference, intolerance and injustice through international dialogue and youth-focused programs that promote acceptance, understanding and equality."