Struggle to Survive
" He had sought this separation in order to get rid of the burden, to free himself from an encumbrance which could lessen his own chances of survival. " This quote, spoken by Elie Weisel in the novel Night, describes a friend of the author as he struggles to survive in a Nazi concentration camp. This novel, a staple in literature, demonstrates a common theme authors often incorporate into their works. Other novels that can be used in this testimony include A Separate Peace ; by John Knowles, A Streetcar Named Desire ; by Tennessee Williams, Barabbus ; by Par Lagerkvist, Death of a Salesman ; by Arthur Miller, Lord of the Flies ; by William Golding, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich ; by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and Siddhartha ; by Hermann Hesse. After reading these pieces, it is evident that throughout literature, authors have based pieces on the life of man by incorporating the struggle to survive in their works. In A Separate Peace, Tennessee Williams tells the story of two adolescence, Finny and Gene, who develop a dependency on one another necessary for the other to live. Although they come from two different backgrounds and excel in opposite
" Listen, pal, if I can't play sports, you're going to play them for me. " At this moment in time, Finny has demanded that Gene take his place, regardless if he had the time or not. Gene comments, " Govinda remained behind as a follower of Gotama, while Siddartha chose to continue on his path alone. " (Hesse, book one) Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha is a struggle unlike the rest. The others all dealt with struggling; physically. They talked about struggling to live. The struggle to survive presented by Hesse is a spiritual journey. Siddhartha struggles to survive spiritually and in a religious, mental state. Having being suffocated with religious, sacrificial and sacred teachings all his life, a journey on his own into an unfamiliar environment will prove to be dangerous. He has to deal with the fact that he will not be seeing his wife and children for at least another two years and the change in lifestyle leaves him alone. He suffers and eventually learns to handle it. " He had dreamt that a bird in Kamala's golden cage was dead, and that it was his job to throw out its dead body with everything good that is inside of him..............he left the world of Samsara for good . " (Hesse, book one) Siddhartha realizes his danger in this place if he stays, so, as part of his struggle to survive, he leaves. In addition, Govinda saved Siddhartha from the snakes while he was sleeping. His friend had aided him in his struggle to survive. He was not conscious to see it take place, however, if it was not for his friend, he would not have survived. Perhaps one of the most testimonial books to this reoccurring theme of the struggle to survive is One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich , where Alexander Solzhenitsyn tells the story of a man who lives one day at a time simply trying to get out of prison alive and on time. Ivan Denisovich Shukhov is a Russian in the eighth year of his ten year sentence, during Russia's war with Germany. He is not a hero or some type of demi - god, but rather and example of the life of every Russian man.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2496
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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