What Was a Day in the Life of a Prisoner Like Essay Example for Free

What Was a Day in the Life of a Prisoner Like Essay The Holocaust, the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators, depicts a series of tragic events. One may ask how was each prisoner treated upon arrival? The horrors that come to mind are endless, and the pain each prisoner must have gone through is undeniably brutal. Men, women and children of ages that varied were taken away from their homes, stripped of their belongings and separated from their loved ones. Each prisoner was identified, not by their birth names, but by serial numbers tattooed onto their body. Each prisoner’s head was shaved. Each prisoner was given clothes off of corpses. Each prisoner went through the unspeakable. Night, a memoir by Elie Wiesel, contributes a great deal to the horrifying event in history. Elie Wiesel, a fifteen year old boy at the time, endured first hand the tragedies that many other Jews, along with Gypsies, the disabled, Poles, Russians, communists, socialists, Jehovah Witnesses, homosexuals and others faced. In the afternoon, they made us line up. Three prisoners brought a table and some medical instruments. We were told to roll up our left sleeves and file past the table. The three â€Å"veteran† prisoners, needles in hand, tattooed numbers on our left arms. I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name. (Wiesel 42) During the Holocaust, concentration camp prisoners received tattoos only at one location, the Auschwitz concentration camp complex. Tattooing was introduced at Auschwitz in the autumn of 1941. As thousands of Soviet prisoners of war (POWs) arrived at the camp, and thousands rapidly died there, the SS authorities began to tattoo the prisoners for identification purposes. At Auschwitz II (Birkenau), the SS staff introduced the practice of tattooing in March 1942 to keep up with the identification of large numbers of prisoners who arrived sickened, and died quickly. The numbering scheme was divided into regular, AU, Z, EH, A, and B series. The regular series consisted of a consecutive numerical series that was used, in the early phase of the Auschwitz concentration camp, to identify Poles, Jews, and most other prisoners (all male). For many, the blurred blue lines of a serial number on a forearm are an indelible image of the Holocaust. The tattoos of the survivors have come to symbolize the utter brutality and of the concentration camps and the attempt of the Nazis to dehumanize their victims. Only those prisoners selected for work were issued serial numbers; those prisoners sent directly to the gas chambers were not registered and received no tattoos. Initially, the SS authorities marked prisoners who were in the infirmary or who were to be executed with their camp serial number across the chest with indelible ink. As prisoners were executed or died in other ways, their clothing bearing the camp serial number was removed. Given the mortality rate at the camp and practice of removing clothing, there was no way to identify the bodies after the clothing was removed. Hence, the SS authorities introduced the practice of tattooing in order to identify the bodies of registered prisoners who had died. Originally, a special metal stamp, holding interchangeable numbers made up of needles approximately one centimeter long was used. This allowed the whole serial number to be punched at one blow onto the prisoners left upper chest. Ink was then rubbed into the bleeding wound. When the metal stamp method proved impractical, a single-needle device was introduced, which pierced the outlines of the serial-number digits onto the skin. The site of the tattoo was changed to the outer side of the left forearm. However, prisoners from several transports in 1943 had their numbers tattooed on the inner side of their left upper forearms. Tattooing was generally performed during registration when each prisoner was assigned a camp serial number. (Rosenthal) The tattoos given to each prisoner, not only inflicted pain, it took away their true identity. Instead of being treated like human beings, they were treated like objects, each with their own serial numbers. My family was taken away, my clothing’s were taken away, my bundles were taken away, but I had one more precious thing taken away. We all take it for granted, our names. Our beautiful names. Nessa Yalperi. I became prisoner 54,015 in the concentration camp of Stutthof. (Female survivor A) Along with the tattoos, different color stars on their jackets identified them. Each star made them stand out amongst the other prisoners (see figure 1). Prisoners were equired to wear color-coded triangles on their jackets so that the guards and officers of the camps could easily identify each persons background and pit the different groups against each other. Political prisoners, such as Communists, Socialists, and trade unionists wore red triangles. Common criminals wore green. Roma (Gypsies) and others the Germans considered asocial or shiftless wore black triangles. Jehovahs Witnesses wore purple and homosexuals pink. Letters indicated nationality: for example, P stood for Polish, SU for Soviet Union, and F for French. (Kahan) Not only were they tattooed, but they were shaved as well. The hair of the Jewish girls and ladies was shaved when they entered the camp. They were taken to the camp barber where all of their body hair, head to toe, was removed. The shaved parts were then rubbed by disinfectant. We were waiting for our numbers to be tattooed, and we stood in line. And of course I was frightened and I called for my mother, and I heard her voice in back of me, and by then her hair had been shaved, now all of her hair has been shaved, and I turned around and I looked for her and I couldn’t recognize her because she was without hair. Female survivor B) Their heads were shaved so that the Nazis would know if the Jews belonged in the camps. â€Å"We no longer looked human, with our emaciated bodies, sunken faces and shaved heads† (Safran). The shaving of heads down to bare skin presented me with a problem since I had long hair in which was hidden He said himself that it would be a pity to do so because my hair was so pretty. As I found out later, they shaved heads not so much to prevent infestation as to collect the hair and use it in brush production. I was given a strip of dirty cloth with which to hide my hair. The shaving of womens heads disfigured them terribly. (Lutostanska) The Nazis wanted the Jewish females to feel helpless and in a lower position, and they achieved this by buzzing off all of their hair. Not only were the prisoners in the Holocaust shaved and tattooed, they were beaten, and their possessions, such as their clothes, were taken away. â€Å"As soon as we arrived in Shutoff, our little bundles were taken away from us. They told us ‘put it away, you’ll come back and take it later. ’ My group of women was taken into a very large room where we were told to strip completely naked. It was a very traumatizing experience for a child of 16† (Female survivor A). Uh, we stood in line there uh, a, a Jewish prisoner, he was I think from Germany who was there for a long time held a, a speech to usthere were a couple SS standing next to himthat anyone who has got any valuables, gold, silver, any kind of jewelry, this is the time to bring it out and give it up right now. He said uh, yesterday seventeen people have lost their lives from not handing in their valuables. If youve got it in your shoes or wherever you had it hidden uh, this is the time, you’re last chance to give it up. A number of people stepped forward, gave up. Most of us didnt have anything. And uh, that started the life of Auschwitz. (Kahan) Each prisoner was forced to give up the belongings they had on them, and â€Å"the clothes on their backs. † They were humiliated and dehumanized, forced to strip in front of one another. â€Å" We were given clothes that were probably recycled, taken off of a corpse and just given to us. And then we were expected to die too, so then they would take the clothes and give it to someone else. In other words, the clothes were much more valuable than human beings† (Female survivor B). The beloved objects that we had carried with us from place to place were now left behind in the wagon † (Wiesel 29). â€Å"Around five o’clock in the morning, we were expelled from the barrack. The Kapos were beating us again, but I no longer felt the pain. We were naked, holding our shoes and belts. An order: ‘Run! ’ As we ran, they threw the clothes at us: pants, jackets, shirts † (Wiesel 36). â€Å"The Nazis, standing around us, beating upon us, chasing us from one end of the room to the other† (Female survivor A). Along with all of this, they were separated from their loved ones (see figure 3). â€Å"Next thing, one man, the point of the thumb to the right, to the left. My brother was sent to the men’s camp, my mom, who was at that time 46, she was sent to the left. I found myself at the age of 16 all alone† (Female survivor B). Families were beaten and killed in the concentration camps. Prisoners in the concentration camps were treated with much disrespect. As Jewish families were sent to Nazi concentration camps and separated, the survival of small children was nearly non-existent. Most were sent straight to gas chambers or shot in front of ditches dug for mass graves. Older children survived by being forced into hard labor, and some children were selected for medical experiments, especially twins. Along with children, older men and women were mistreated. Women were raped and beaten by Nazi’s in the camps, and men were forced to work. The Holocaust, an event that displayed mass murder and mistreated prisoners, is remembered by horrifying stories of those who survived these tragic events. The German Nazi’s wanted to control, destroy and deliberately hurt Jews, along with Gypsies, homosexuals and the disabled. Also, Poles, Russians, communists, socialists, Jehovah Witnesses and others were victims of the Holocaust. â€Å"In politics theres absolutely nothing new. Again, out of impatience I feel myself beginning to fall into melancholy There is really no way out of this for us (Sierakowiak). The lives’ of many people were destroyed because of the horrors they faced. The way they were treated was inhumane, and their individual experiences should never be forgotten.

Vanity Fair :: Essays Papers

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair, though it does not include the whole extent of Thackeray's genius, is the most vigorous exhibition of its leading characteristics. In freshness of feeling, elasticity of movement, and unity of aim, it is favorably distinguished from its successors, which too often give the impression of being composed of successive accumulations of incidents and persons, that drift into the story on no principle of artistic selection and combination. The style, while it has the raciness of individual peculiarity and the careless case of familiar gossip, is as clear, pure, and flexible as if its sentences had been subjected to repeated revision, and every pebble which obstructed its lucid and limpid flow had been laboriously removed. The characterization is almost perfect of its kind. Becky Sharp, the Marquis of Steyne, Sir Pitt Crawley and the whole Crawley family, Amelia, the Osbornes, Major Dobbin, not to mention others, are as well known to most cultivated people as their most intimate acquaintances in the Vanity Fair of the actual world. It has always seemed to us that Mr. Osborne, the father of George, a representation of the most hateful phase of English character, is one of the most vividly true and life-like of all the delineations in the book, and more of a typical personage than even Becky or the Marquis of Steyne. Thackeray's theory of characterization proceeds generally on the assumption that the acts of men and women are directed not by principle, but by instincts, selfish or amiable--that toleration of human weakness is possible only by lowering the standard of human capacity and obligation--and that the preliminary condition of an accurate knowledge of human character is distrust of ideals and repudiation of patterns. This view is narrow, and by no means covers all the facts of history and human life, but what relative truth it has is splendidly illustrated in Vanity Fair. There is not a person in the book who excites the reader's respect, and not one who fails to excite his interest. The morbid quickness of the author's perceptions of the selfish element, even in his few amiable characters, is a constant source of surprise. The novel not only has no hero, but implies the non-existence of heroism. Yet the fascination of the book is indisputable, and it is due to a variety of causes besides its mere exhibition of the worldly side of life.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Review

a) Charismatic Leader: McMurphy shows characteristics of a charismatic leader in various ways. McMurphy is transferred to a mental institution for evaluation after he had been convicted of statutory rape. When McMurphy gets to the institution, he feels as the institution is very supressed and has a strict regimen that everyone is expected to follow. Unpleasant medical treatments are used to supress the patients. When McMurphy sees this, he realizes that the environment needs to be lightened up and the patients should be treated like real people. He becomes a leader to several patients at the institution teaching them how to have fun and enjoy themselves in an environment that doesn’t allow them to do so. McMurphy convinces his friends to enjoy themselves by playing cards, breaking out of their shell, and watch baseball games. The patients follow his footsteps and hope to be like him as he displays such charisma that people want to conform and have the confidence he has. This example is evident when the patients are sent up for shock therapy which many patients are afraid of. McMurphy goes up for the treatment and comes back down assuring the patients that the therapy has only charged him up for the next women he will be with. McMurphy also challenges Mildred to change the ward policy which furiates her as no other patient has ever had the courage to. b) Alienation/Outsiders: The patients within the mental institution are alienated from the outside world. They are considered the people who are looking from the outside in. The Institutions head Nurse Mildred treats the patients in a harsh manner, not as If they were people. These people haven’t experienced life to their fullest due to where they are but they still want to enjoy their life. When they look outside they realize the world has much to offer but they are alienated by being contained within the facility. They are also not allowed many visitors which is essentially alienating them from the outside world. c) Rebellion against social norms: When McMurphy realizes what he has gotten himself into as well as seeing his fellow patients he decides to rebel the social norms within the facility. The patients begin to drink, lay cards and bet cigarettes which Nurse Mildred gets furious, evident when she confiscates the cigarettes and rations them out. McMurphy also steals the hospital bus and gathers his friends to pick up a party girl. The group also parties one night sneaking in two female visitors with alcohol and enjoy the night away even though McMurphy has a plan of escaping which fails as he is drunk and fatigued. One of the patients even loses his virginity within the facility which is frowned upon. The rebellious attitude gets the patients into a lot of trouble especially McMurphy as the patients were â€Å"well-behaved† but now are not. ) Changing Group Dynamics: Before McMurphy arrived, the group of patients who were previously present were very â€Å"well-behaved† as Nurse Mildred would say. They followed rules and strict regimen that was provided without questioning anything. They took any punishment and also agreed to unusual medical treatments that were said to help the patients even though they were just a method to suppress them. The patients were very unhappy but just followed the orders that were given as no one had the courage to stand-up. When McMurphy came along, with his Charismatic and daring personality, the patients wanted to conform and be more like him so that they could live their life to the fullest while being contained within a facility. The patients forgot what life was like outside the facility but when McMurphy came along he proved that life could be lived the way you wanted to no matter where you are. e) Authority’s response to rebellion: Nurse Mildred tried to contain the rebellious behaviour by increasing the unusual treatment like shock and hydro therapy. She confiscates cigarettes and does not allow freedom to the patients. When patient Billy is found with a girl in a room within the facility she threatens to tell his mother, using the method of embarrassing the patient so he will regret what he has done and straighten up and refuse to rebel but unfortunately Billy takes his own life. She tightens her grip on the group and has â€Å"humiliation sessions† which furiates many patients but they don’t defend themselves. After a thorough examination of various facilities, I have come to the onclusion that many of these facilities treat their patients in a harsh manner which is completely unnecessary as it may stall the improvement of their current mental state. Mental institutions are meant to aid patients positively and help them become better physically and mentally. As an advocate to reform mental institutions, I propose changing various methods of treatments used on patients as well as the atmosphere they are treated in, to help the patient becoming better rather than worse. The first change I propose is changing the decor of the building. Patients come to the institution to get better. It is proven that visuals and colours affect moods. By changing decor and colours we can make the institution visually seem like a positive atmosphere rather than a dingy one. The second change I would propose is the change in attitude amongst the workers. In the film the staff was shown as a strict, very harsh group. The attitude greatly affects the people you work with and how they respond to you. In the movie the patients were very fearful and quiet due to the intense rules and regulations. As a staff it would be appropriate to make patients to feel at home as they might be staying at the institution for a while. Exuding positive behaviour will change the atmosphere itself. Patients with mental health issues need the positivity around them to get better as well as feel comfortable with being themselves. The third idea I would like to propose is that staff is not allowed to conduct unnecessary treatments to supress the patients just so they will behave. This stalls the improvement in health and just causes fear amongst patients. As said before mental institutions are supposed to aid patients not make them worse. And absolutely NO LOBOTOMY! This is a very serious matter and it will not be tolerated. If a patient is to show rowdy behaviour, he shall be placed in a room alone to think about his actions and if unable to do so they will be given medication so they do not pose a threat to anyone else within the facility. The fourth idea I would like to propose is that, the patients should be allowed visitations and also be allowed to go out. Staying in one place can cause a person to become depressed and feel lonely. This can also provoke thoughts of escaping as seen within the movie. Exploring the outside world and enjoying the world as a human being will allow the patient to feel that they are not contained but are very much like normal human beings. The Last idea I would like to propose is allow â€Å"free days†. Free days allow patients to enjoy themselves such as smoke, drink and party within the facility. A designated room with supervision would allow the patients to enjoy themselves with food, music, drinks. Having these ideas would help the facility work smoothly as possible, with barely any acts of rebelling and any serious issues. The movie could act as an agent of social change and reform as the movie excellently portrays what can happen when patients are in a supressed environment. Patients are people and they have all the rights that people outside the institution do. By watching this movie people can see how such repression can cause patients to act out and this can be used as a precautionary device to see what can be changed in mental health institutions to make them better. Mental institutions can make note on the staff and how facility works and instead of using it as a guide, they can make the institution better. Nurse Mildred and her staff are very strict which doesn’t help the patients if they reformed to a kinder, gentler approach to patients with a positive attitude will help their institution for the best. Personally I enjoyed watching the movie as it displayed the hard truth about some institutions and it made it evident that the institution that was portrayed is in fact a very much part of reality. Many institutions during that period of time or even today may be like that which is very sad. Personally I love Jack Nicholson and his portrayal of the character of McMurphy was very convincing. Nicholson, a charming persona on his own, made the character McMurphy very lovable and understanding even though the crime he was convicted of in the beginning may beg to differ. The charisma Nicholson displayed made it evident why he was chosen to play McMurphy. I felt as he was a very relatable character as a charismatic leader. The portrayal of Nurse Mildred Ratched was also very good. The intense, raw persona portrayed by Louise Fletcher made her seem like in reality she was indeed the same person as Mildred. The intensity between McMurphy and Ratched was totally believable. As for the story, I felt like it was very touching. An individual trying to help others realize their own potential and enjoy themselves within a contained environment with mishaps along the way just depicts the reality of life and friendship. McMurphy realized and felt the fear amongst his colleagues and decided it was time for change. With his rebellious ideas, attitudes and actions he captivates the hearts of his friends and viewers making them want to be more like him; outgoing and courageous. Although the ending is very sad resulting in the death of McMurphy after having a lobotomy, he leaves his legacy, showing the other patients that there is not point of being afraid, life is too short so you must enjoy it to the fullest not matter where you are. I felt like many characters could have been more evident in the movie such as Martini, portrayed by Danny DeVito, an amazing actor who shouldn’t have been limited to his talents. I felt as if most characters were not memorable such as Martini, which is sad as I love Danny DeVito. The Characters beside McMurphy that were evident were Billy and Chief. Chief was only evident because he was a fairly larger man then the rest of the group and also of different ethnicity. He was also the one who put McMurphy out of his misery after McMurphy had received a lobotomy. Billy only became evident to me personally, after he had sex with Candy and he killed himself. Other than that I had not paid much attention to his character. In the film’s defense I would say yes that the attention was mainly on McMurphy, but I was hoping for more from the secondary characters seeing how each one as an individual conformed rather than as a whole group.

Autism Representation in TV Show Atypical - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1307 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/02/14 Category Medicine Essay Level High school Tags: Autism Essay Did you like this example? In the first season of the TV show â€Å"Atypical†, the viewer meets the Gardner family, a seemingly normal family with an autistic teenage son, Sam, as the focus. This show failed initially to deviate from typical portrayals of autistic people on screens, as a white male, intellectually gifted, and seemingly unrelatable, although it seemed to try. Sam acts in ways that seem almost unbelievable for even someone with autism to, such as when he declares his love for someone else in front of his girlfriend’s entire family. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Autism Representation in TV Show Atypical" essay for you Create order This made the plot of the show more interesting, but sacrificed Sam’s reputation to some degree. This failure to protect the dignity of an autistic person on screen, in my opinion, was a failed representation of autism on screen. Sam was not made to be relatable or seem in any way â€Å"normal†, and although the show claims support of autism and the desire to spread awareness, it actually seems to ostracize Sam and his autism. For the filming of the first season, the show did not utilize people with an understanding of autism or who personally have autism to help censor its on-screen representation. The only person to help the show was Michelle Dean, an assistant professor of special education at California State University Channel Islands. She herself does not have autism. Additionally, the actor playing Sam is not autistic and must pretend to be so for the show. For Season Two, the show used the help of an autistic author, David Finch. This improvement in knowledge of the spectrum is more apparent to me in Season Two. Season two of Atypical broadened the overall focus of the show and worked to shift the blame for the brunt of the families struggles off of Sam and onto the rest of the family too. In the first season, it seemed as if Sam was the catalyst for all of the family’s misery. He seems to be the only thing the family focuses on, causing Elsa (the mother) to have an extramarital affair and letting Casey (the sister) struggle through high school in secret. In the second season, everyone else’s problems come to the forefront and are obviously not Sam’s fault. Elsa spends the second season tirelessly fighting for her marriage after her affair, and Casey struggles with anger towards her mother and the exploration of her sexuality. These situations are depicted in great detail and one finds themself following the individual stories of each family member. Sam is no longer a standout but is seen as a functional part of the family. This shows to the viewer that, although Sam ha s autism, there are other things in their family to focus on. This makes the family more believable. Moments are also shown of the sibling interaction that make their family seem more like a real family- where the siblings argue and play, such as when Casey sits on Sam and acts like he is an egg she needs to protect. The show improves upon the former season’s failed representation of a real family. In season two, Sam is a senior in high school and exploring his options following graduation. He decides to go to Art school, which is a big surprise to his family. One does not necessarily picture an autistic person pursuing an art degree, so I think this is a great improvement for the show. The peer group in which Sam participates also expands upon this. As mentioned in an article on New York Times, one student aspired to be a dentist, another had a fascination with Ambulances and presumably dreamed of being an EMT. In this aspect, Atypical did a good job of breaking the mold in comparison to shows like â€Å"Big Bang Theory†, where autistic people are portrayed usually as geniuses with no creative interests. All of the actors for this peer group were autistic, which I think is a great aspect. There is no better person to play someone with autism than someone who themself has autism. The personal experience I have with autism is that my cousin has autism. Seeing autism misrepresented on television hurts me because I have a personal relationship with someone on the spectrum and know the struggles and difficulties they face. I think in some ways, Sam is a role model for people with autism. He shows them that they can achieve what they want to and that they can have an exciting future. In the show, Sam is not often told when he says or does something socially unacceptable. He breaks into his therapists house and later professes his love for her. After his therapist yells at him for it, she apologizes to him instead of letting him realize his wrongdoings. This seems like a situation where the therapist should get a restraining order, not apologize to Sam, let alone go to his high school graduation. In the only scene in which he was outright told something he could not do, his high school counselor informed him that his first experience being exposed to breasts was an inappropriate topic for a college essay. This seems to the viewer like such an obvious fallacy that Sam should already know is unacceptable. The characters continually act like they need to walk on hot coals around Sam- careful of what they say and do around him. For instance, the family tried to keep the mother’s affair a secret from Sam, instead of just telling him before he found out himself. Sam tries to prove himself capable of things on his own when he decides to be totally â€Å"independent†, but this seems more like a last ditch effort to prove that Sam was not actually incapable. There is an unfitting contrast in the way he is treated at home and his accomplishments. I think it is also important to show viewers his capability and prove that people on the spectrum can accomplish great things and, often, can live mostly or fully independently. The portrayal of Sam as dependant upon his mother is an insult to his character and discouraging to anyone in a similar situation to his own. The show would be a lot better off if they employed a so called â€Å"focus group† of teens on the spectrum at around the same age and capability level of Sam and use their example to portray a positive light upon Autism. The more realistic a show is, the better it will be taken in in today’s social context. As far as laughability goes, this show appeals to a certain type of humor. I find that the script often goes for the easy joke. The laughs are usually quite cringy and what some may call the â€Å"dad† joke type. It is not a show that will have you out of your seat laughing, but it generally leaves the viewer with a good feeling after watching.This show addresses a social problem more directly than most other shows of its kind. It is based around a young man with autism. The entire basis for the show addresses a problem- the treatment of people on the spectrum in our society today. I think anyone would be better off for watching this show because they gain at least a glimmer of awareness about autism than they had before. Scenes such as when Sam gets taken to the police station because he was reciting his penguin mantra raise awareness for situations like it and will, hopefully, someday help someone not to make the same mistake the police officer did. The officer thought he was under the influence of drugs and in danger. If you are looking for a show that will improve your knowledge of social issues today while still providing humor and light hearted fun, this is the show for you.