Historical Fiction Book Report:
The Hope by: Herman Wouk
The book The Hope is the story of Zev Barak, Benny Luria, Sam Pasternak, Kishote, four of Israel’s army officers during the major battles and struggles of Israel from 1948 until 1967. The War of Independence, The Six Day War, and the 1956 Sinai Campaigns were all major events that had major effects on Israel.
The book starts out with the war of independence in the town of Latrun with the Haganah 7th brigade. The battle of Latrun was a battle that took place in beginning phases of the war. This battle was a failure to the Haganah 7th brigade, which was newer formed unit. The main road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem which was commanded by the Latrun fortress. Arab forces were trying to take over the fortress and deny jews from entering into Jerusalem. This particular battle and the events depicted around and about the battle in the book are events and occurrences of actual history but it is a simplified version of the events, of course. But the things that are not actual or real things in history are the characters. Sam Pasternak is the fictional character used to illustrate the tasks of Colonel Chaim Herzog which was a Israeli army officer who became an army general, later a popular historian of the military, and then took on Israel’s envoy to the UN, he even took on two terms as President of Israel. The story of “Burma Road” in the book, like the battle of Latrun, is simplified. All though, in the
“You don't understand the power of loss when it first hits you like a baseball coming fast from an out-of-control pitcher. You reel back stinging from the blow.” (Bauer,162). Throughout the novel Hope Was Here we see characters go through struggles and gain strength to overcome them. In our everyday lives we have struggles that we also have to overcome. In the novel Hope Was Here, one of the characters Braverman has to choose his family or education. The character Addie, faces the struggle of miscarrying three babies. In my life I have struggles and so do the people around me. For instance, my grandma went through the struggle of losing her husband. From this novel it is learned that if there's no struggle there's no strength.
Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright is a must read for any Christian looking to expand their understanding of faith. Surprised by Hope gives us a full understanding of salvation as it is revealed in the Bible. This book also tells us how we should act in our lives and in this world as God’s redeemed people. It reveals incredible insight that is important to us because it explains just how crucial our role in this world is. Wright talks about the way things currently are and how they will be with the resurrection and our salvation. The book expands on the Christian mission and what it means to live with hope and faith and attempts to answer the very famous question: What is heaven?
Well-known essayist and writer, James W. Loewen, in his essay, The Land of Opportunity, argues that the common American people aren’t given equal opportunity in this day and age. Loewen effectively convinces his readers, high school teachers and history buffs that, social class and inequality is an important thing for students to learn and understand. Through convincing logical arguments he proves that American history books are giving students across the nation false information. According to Loewen, “social class is probably the single most important variable in society.” (Loewen para. 5) He goes on saying, “From womb to tomb, it correlates with almost all social characteristics of people that we can measure.” (Loewen para. 6) In addition, he establishes credibility with his audience by not accusing students or even instructors for this lack of knowledge, but clearly blames the textbooks used in high schools today. Lowen’s logical approach in exposing the lies that we are taught and taught to think leave the reader with the abitlity to empathize with him, ultimately getting the message across far more effectively.
The book is based on actual events and is expressed through a personal point of view. Ishmael wrote a memoir that tells the story of a young boy who is torn from his peaceful life, and then forced into a frightening world of drugs and slavery. In writing about his experiences, he has made the decision to present his experiences in a particular way by missing out details and recounting others. This
“Hope is the only thing stronger than fear.” -President Snow in The Hunger Games. The book Night by Elie Wiesel is a true story about the holocaust. In the story the main character, Elie, experiences terrible things. He is so hopeful that things are going to get better (after all how could they get any worse) and he is so fearful that his last bit of hope will be taken away and he will give up on life. Elie experiences the worst things that we can imagine. How could anyone have hope in such darkness? What could anyone fear when they have lost everything?
In all situations where survival is scarce, hope is often needed to survive. The Holocaust is an example of a situation where survival is scarce because very few people survived and most inmates died. In this situation hope is needed because the want to survive is based off hope and without hope the probability of surviving is not good. From the start of Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie the main character shows the importance of hope. From the time he first arrives at Auschwitz to when his father dies he might have moments when he loses hope but deep down he still turns to hope for his survival. Though at times he may show signs of loss of hope he still utilizes hope for his survival. In the Holocaust memoir Night, Elie Wiesel uses the motif of loss of hope to convey the idea that when faced with extreme circumstances, it helps to have a reason to keep going, so that a person can withstand the challenges.
The story is a documentary but in a cartoon, comic type of way and is like an adventure that makes you just reflect about your life and back then. LIfe was a struggle to survive during the war if you were a Jew for they would hunt you down. Also it just reflects on feeling of how you would feel if you lost your family and all you had, even if you were rich and wealthy you would be treated like less than a human. The book leaves you thinking on many concepts and it's true how could a human be treated as less just because of your religion.
This novel was based on the true story of a boy named Yanek Gruener and how he defied all the odds of being a Jew in Poland during the infamous World War II.
I know I can’t even imagine what type of problem that these kid soldiers had to overcome not just to survive but to become normal people again. Although things didn’t go as well as Ishmael Beah planned for his life. I was amazed by his courage and inspired that someone who could go through all that crazy stuff and fight through it to still be successful. I think you should read the book also it’s a good reminder that if he can go from kid soldier to a New York author then our possibilities are limitless
In Night, by Elie Wiesel, Elie flips on and off with having hope and hopelessness. It was hard to have hope in this horrid time, but however even the smallest and some of the most dangerous things gave Elie hope.
Social change comes from a societies understanding and acceptance of controversial topics, laws that enforce social norms and the politics that play a role in such change. The author Gerald Rosenberg of “The Hollow Hope” believes that the Supreme Court is able to bring about social change. Rosenburg main argument seemed to be questioning if a courts ruling that had once been accepted and had standing for several years were to be over turned, would the environment outside of the courtroom suddenly change and be accepting of their division.
Despite the bitter realities, we always search for the silver lining or light at the end of the tunnel. There's always that one key aspect that keeps one motivated to continue on. The value of Hope is proven in Elie Wiesel's memoir Knight as well as throughout The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy. Although the key to survival is maintaining hope, while simultaneously the delusions can be one's Achilles Heal.
Throughout the book Night, Elie Wiesel provides us with anxiety as Elie and his father go through multiple hardships. Although it may seem like hope, the author discreetly shares despair with the book. Throughout the book they somehow still survive. For example they always pass the selection test even when it seems like they won’t. As it states on page 76 “Were there still miracles on this earth? He was alive. He had passed the second selection.” When it seemed like he was going to lose his father, the author shares hope as the father passes the selection. Families have been separated, Jews are deprived of food and water, are treated like they are lesser humans, killed without regard. They both survive for four years, however when they are
Holocaust narratives are often stories of maintaining hope throughout inhuman treatment, but there is more to it than that. In the case of Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night, first published in English in 1960, hope is denial. Hope is, prior to Elie and his family being sent to Auschwitz, the denial that extermination is imminent. Hope is the denial that what they have heard about the Nazis is true, allowing them to complacently live in a ghetto and then be shipped off by train to a concentration camp. However, after they have arrived hope takes on a new form. Hope is no longer an act of self-destruction, but instead an act of self-preservation. For Elie, to hope in a concentration camp is to deny the very real possibility that his father, Shlomo, will not survive until the end of the war, and for Shlomo hope is the denial that his son will die. For each of them, the hope required to continue living is not the hope that they themselves will survive the war, but instead the hope that the other one will. In Elie’s memoir, hope is both a pathway towards death and survival.
Many times, authors have a title to their work that can be intriguing and thought provoking, as if it were bait to an inevitable hook that would catch and keep you enthralled. In Alan Lawson’s circumstance, this is not the case. In Lawson’s A Commonwealth of Hope: The New Deal Response to Crisis, the title is very straight forward, as most would expect from a work mainly targeting the attentions of colleagues and other scholarly minds. The highly biographical book leads its readers on a chronological story of the Great Depression, the social and political life of Franklin Roosevelt and the progression of reformist ideas that sparked the New Deal.