Silence By Shusaku Endo 's Silence

One common theme between good and bad priests is that the vocation they were called to never seems to completely leave them. This is a common theme in Silence, by Shusaku Endo. In the beginning of the novel, the reader discovers that Ferreiera apostatized, giving up not only his roles as a priest but his faith in God as well. Although Ferreira abandoned the priesthood and gave up shepherding the few Catholics of Japan, he still continues “to be useful to others, [which] was the one wish and the only dream of one who had dedicated himself to the priesthood” . However, once he is reunited with Sebastian, “there flashed into his eyes a servile smile and momentary shame”. Here Ferreiera feels as though he has failed Sebastian because if he had not apostatized, Sebastian, acting as a good priest, would never have gone to Japan to save him.

“Silence is violence” is a common phrase used by people nowadays which references people who lack initiative when it comes to speaking out against oppression. The same phrase could be applied to the ideas within Shusaku Endo’s novel, Silence. Endo was clever to name his novel Silence, because the word is a very prominent symbol within the story. In fact, it plays a crucial role to the development of the main character. Although some readers may argue that the role of silence in the book is neutral, I claim that silence plays a negative role for the characters because it is what causes protagonist Rodrigues to renounce his faith. In the story, it represents the silence of God, which induces Rodrigues to question his religion through the torture of innocent Japanese Christians.

In this quote, the theme silence is illustrated by God’s silence. As the Jews are heading to the left they are told by other prisoners they were going to the crematorium and the start to pray to God. Except, instead of answering their prayers with a miracle He answers with silence.

“I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I cannot feel it. I believe in God even when he is silent”. These are the words that were carved onto a German jail cell wall by a Jewish prisoner during the Holocaust. The mentality of knowing God would watch out for the Jewish people affected by the Holocaust was really the only reason for staying hidden throughout the two year span that the Holocaust lasted. One of the Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, Jeannine Burk, could be a perfect example. Jeannine hid from the Nazis for two years, and the urge to see her family again was what drove her to keep hidden and go through such a difficult experience with confusion blinding her every move.

The final example I have here for you is when Eliezer prayed to God in a time of need when there was no one else to go to. “My God, Lord of the Universe, give me strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahou's’ son has done”(Night, pg 87). This example shows that the Holocaust has impacted the Jewish people’s faith to such a degree that many will only pray in extreme times of need, and also shows how faith can be important to fall back on for comfort and familiarity.

Eliezer says “Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprives me, for all eternity, of desire to live” (pg25). Eliezer and the other prisoners call out to God throughout their journey and he does not answer “where is God? Where is he?” (pg47). I also believe Silence is what allowed to Holocaust to continue for so long.

With regards to the Christian faith, and from a historical point of view, the Jewish people were considered as the chosen people of God. Abraham, who is regarded as the father of Christian faith and to whom God first revealed himself, was a Jew. The ten commandments, which serve as a guide for Christian behavior, were revealed by God to a Jewish man named Moses. Jesus Christ, who Christians recognize as the son of God and God himself, was born among Jews and hence was also a Jew. So, there is a perceived connection between the Jewish people and God. It is very ironical that the “people of God” will suffer such a horrific experience. For those who believe in some form of deity, and most especially for Christians, it seems obvious to ask why God allowed doom to fall on his people. Why do bad things happen to good people? This is a ubiquitous interrogation which generates numerous debates. Let’s consider the story of Jesus Christ, a story filled with many paradoxes. The Jews, who for a very long time awaited the coming of the Messiah, ruthlessly put him to death when he finally came. Even more troubling is the fact that Jesus Christ, who is considered son of God, has also examined God himself. This implies that he had the ability to defeat his oppressors, or even escape from them. Instead, he journeyed innocently towards death, just like the Jews. “They guess where they are going, they know it, and they keep silent. Tense, thoughtful, they

For example, when the prisoners were in their block in Auschwitz singing Hasidic melodies, Akiba Drumer spoke of God and the redemption to come for the Jews by telling them, “God is testing us. He wants to see whether we are capable of overcoming our base instincts, of killing the Satan within ourselves” (Wiesel 45). Akiba Drumer is holding on to his faith in God, rather than giving into fear and torment that he faces in the concentration camps. Akiba Drumer’s faith and trust in God, believing that he will be saved from the physical and emotional pain that he is facing, gives him the strength to survive. In addition, when Yom Kippur approached and the Jews were debating whether to fast or not, they decided to fast because it was dangerous and the prisoners thought to themselves, “We needed to show God that even here, locked in hell, we were capable of singing His praises” (Wiesel 69).

Quote, “And, in spite of myself, a prayer rose in my heart, to that God in whom i no longer believed.” (Wiesel 97) He felt an urge to pray to a God that he doesn't even believe in anymore. In the world, many things happen for people struggle with religion. Shootings are a big issue; innocent children have been killed, some believe that God let this happen, but some people rely on God even more. When people hear about murders they wonder (spiritually) where God is or why he would let this happen. This has not happened to me but I know someone that has. For example, a couple looked up to god, worshipped him and loved him as much as Elie did. The couple had a son and he was very young, instead of taking him to the hospital they relied on god to heal him. They wondered why god hadn’t healed him and next thing you know he dies. The couple no longer believed in god or go to church after their son’s death. They question on why god let this

In the novel, “A long way gone” by Ishmael Beah, Beah is overwhelmed with the situation in Sierra Leone that he has been forced into. Beah looks at the world as if they are both at war with one in other, in Beah’s mind everyone and everything is trying to kill him. For example, Beah and a couple others are attending a church service, when the rebel forces come into the town and try to kill everyone. Beah and his friends flee into nearby bushes, but the “imam” (pastor) continues to pray. The rebel’s take the imam to Town Square, “tied him to an iron post, and set fire to his body. They didn’t burn him completely, but the fire killed him”(pg 44). This tragedy, most likely made Beah question his religion, because how could God stand by and let

As Christians, we claim that God is all powerful and compassionate, and that he is omnipresent, meaning he is everywhere all the time. The biggest argument against the presence of God here on earth is that, even with these characteristics, God seems to be incapable or reluctant to put an end to the infinite amount of hardships, darkness, and suffering in the world. While I understand this stance, I believe that God’s intentions are always pure and good, and come with perfect intent. Without pain and suffering in our lives, God would be nothing more than a genie in a bottle that we go to only when we need something. This idea is described perfectly in an article called, “How God Uses Suffering for His Glory” written by, “Randy Alcorn”, it states, “God uses suffering to purge sin from our lives, strengthen our commitment to him, force us to depend on his grace, foster sensitivity, discipline our minds, and impart wisdom. And once he accomplishes such great things, often we can see that our suffering has been worth it” (4). This explains that God has a purpose for everything, even suffering. His purpose is to make your spiritual life obvious to everybody you came into contact with, and make it apparent that he is in fact present, here on earth, all of the time! God wants to be sought out, so if you are waiting for God to come to

An old rabbi, who is a victim of selection, from Poland recites whole pages in the Talmud and is always praying in the concentration camp. Often times he would debate with himself over answers to his endless questions concerning his religion. The rabbi is faithful to God until he realizes that God has deserted them. Burdensome for him to admit it, but he “sees what is being done” in the camp. He cannot believe in the “God of Mercy” (Wiesel 77). After honoring this God that is supposed to be their savior to then watch so many fatal and unjust ceremonies, just did not corroborate the same God from the scriptures. Furthermore, the rabbi does not comprehend why this God does not intervene in the daily executions that occur in Auschwitz. The rabbi praises God through every tragedy, and his creator repays him by making him a victim of selection. One in the same position would ask what happened to the God of the Bible and Talmud; the God that is full of forgiveness and will not allow any of his believers to suffer at the hands of their enemies. Overall, the rabbi rendered his all to his creator

In many ways throughout the short story Saki reflected very obvious experiences a soldier’s possibly have experienced during WWI. One of Saki’s example of what could happen to a soldier during war is when the two men get trapped under the tree. A different example that Saki shows that a soldier possibly could be in is when both of the men bluff and say that they have men coming to save them and no one shows up.

The Holocaust is one of the major tragic events that we are taught as a part of history. The Holocaust and all other anguishes of certain groups of people that have taken the time to impose on others, this opens the door for the dispute that religious faith is unsustainable. Religion is something that one holds near and dear to them. It is even a part of them, their personality, their overall being. They look to their religion when things go wrong and praise their religion when things go right. With that being said, it is not hard for religion to be questioned when things go awry.

If God loves us, why does He allow us to suffer? The central question in Shadowlands challenges traditional religious and moral conventions. It is a question asked by many, with few satisfactory answers. Before attempting to answer the question, and explore its relationship to Shadowlands, let us first define the question, so its implications may be more clearly understood. At the heart of the question is a doubt in the goodness of God, "If God loves us". From the beginning it is clear that God is being judged and criticized by the question. Then the second phrase follows"Why does He allow us to suffer?". The assumption made in the second phrase is that God has enough control over the world to prevent suffering. If He can prevent