Cover Image of Night from Amazon
In a matter of hours last week I read the book Night by Elie Wiesel. Night is the powerful story of Elie’s experience in Auschwitz and Buchenwald during World War II. It is a personal and powerful account, and quite honestly he could have published one sentence, “I survived Auschwitz.” and I would call it amazing.
What I found most fascinating, and terrifying, about Night was the author’s honesty and understanding of the human psyche in this brutal situation. He did not embellish any of the horrific details of his experience, for such things need no embellishment. A single quote from the preface of the newest translation, is one of the most profound statements in his story: “I shall never forgive myself. Nor shall I ever forgive the world for having pushed me against the wall, for having turned me into a stranger, for having awakened in me the basest, most primitive instincts.”
Those of us who have never been forced to such extremes get to live with our illusions of strength. We get to go on believing that, when pushed, we would maintain our humanity, that we would die martyrs before we would become animals; but would we?
When I think of courage the first image that comes to mind is a fierce individual who stands up and defies his or her oppressors. This story helped me to remember that for some people, getting out of bed in the morning is an act of courage. In any situation a starving person sharing his crust of bread is one of the most selfless acts of heroism I can imagine.
Elie Wiesel is a man of great courage, not because of any specific act during this darkest time in his life, but because, when it was over, he was brave enough to tell the truth about himself. It made me ask myself, do I have that kind of courage?
What about you? How do you define courage?
*Elie Wiesel won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 and his acceptance speech can be found in the back of the 2006 translation.
*Survivor by Tania Kauppila is another amazing tale of human strength that I read after meeting Ms. Kauppila when I was ten years old. Her story had a profound impact on my life.
Courage is so often defined in our time as an act or a person defying struggle, standing up to, becoming the ‘super hero’ that people feel they need. It is so much greater and deeper and simpler than that at the level. Courage is any act of giving of and from yourself for the betterment of a situation or person. It is giving up the fears you hold about your own life, insecurities, past, and the like, and doing what needs to be done now whether it is on a grand scale, or a private moment. Courage does not need fan fair and whistles and recognition, it just happens because someone needs it at the time. Courage isn’t never being afraid, its acting in that fear even though it exists.
Thank you for this beautifully expressed response Chris. I completely agree and couldn’t have said it better. I’m so glad you read this and responded, thank you!
This is a difficult subject to tackle, and you have done a lovely job. Courage is facing fear, despite a strong desire to run the other way. It’s having the confidence to put yourself out there, take a personal risk, and accept the consequence with grace. Whether it’s something small, like talking to a stranger or, large, like sacrificing what is very dear to you– it can be an opportunity for growth, or great destruction– depending on what is in your heart when you decide to accept the challenge.
An opportunity for growth or destruction, depending on what is in your heart…really interesting point D.D. I agree that courage is facing fear, whatever that fear may be. Thanks for reading and sharing.
I haven’t read NIGHT, but I recently read THE LOST WIFE, by Alyson Richman (also deals with holocaust survivors). It took me to a dark place, but I’m glad I went. Being of German ancestry, I have wondered what it takes to bring an entire group of people that low, to view other humans as animals or worse. It’s comfortable to either not think of it at all, or to think it would never happen to people you know or love, or–God forbid–to yourself. It would’ve taken courage to stand up to what happened in Nazi Germany, to not just ‘go along,’ or even to not just look away. There are many heroic stories out there.
It’s important that we never forget. Unfortunately mankind’s capacity to sink to this level of evil continues to arise. Thought-provoking post, Nicole.
It is difficult to believe such things could happen. These true accounts of unspeakable horror make me wonder how people can read fiction and call it far-fetched when things get excessively violent. People are capable of great evil. Fortunately there are also people capable of great good. I hope I can look back and say I did all I could to be in the latter category.
I think courage is doing what you know is right, regardless of the consequences. There is a fine line between genius and insanity, and likewise between courage and stupidity !
It does take incredible courage to do what is right when you’re going against the crowd, or know that the short term consequences aren’t going to be pretty. Thanks for adding that Scott!
I’ve heard it said that we never truly know how we would act unless we were literally in another person’s position, no matter how much we may speculate, and I have to completely agree. I think those accounts are absolutely terrifying but equally amazing. Sometimes I try to picture myself in their shoes as I read them and simply can’t. I think you’re right about true courage being standing up to someone more powerful than you who holds a lot of important things in their hands, maybe even including your life, or that of your family. That’s definitely an important thing to grasp in storytelling, and a good way to define the truly brave heroes.
That’s a great point Margaret. No matter how empathetic we may think we are, there is no way to know how another person truly feels, how their own personality and history combine to react to certain situations. Thanks for weighing in with that thoughtful comment.