After leaving Auschwitz and coming to America, Sophie suffers from depression, often drinking away her problems. While in the process of being confined in Auschwitz, Sophie is presented with the dilemma of being forced to choose between her two children Jan, her son; or Eva her daughter. “‘Eva was taken away,’ Sophie said, ‘and I never saw her again.’” (Styron 389) Along with this, it was also revealed that her son Jan, had most likely died while being kept prisoner in Auschwitz, despite Sophie’s pleas for him to be placed in the “Lebensborn” program. This program was the arrangement for children “pure of blood” to be taken from their parents and educated by the Schutzstaffel , or protection squad(Jewish Virtual Library). “‘Sophie got this …show more content…
Zimmerman, where all three main characters reside (also known as the “Pink Palace”) is perhaps the first symbol of the common post WWII attitude and its pressures. The interior of Mrs. Zimmerman’s home is entirely pink. “...and [the Pink Palace] got its nickname because it had been painted roof to foundation in various shades of lox and rose, the legacy of Yetta's late husband, Sol, who had gotten a deal on Navy surplus paint. ” (Styron 134) The attitude of an American during the post WWII era functions in a similar manner: reflecting optimism, seemingly out of place (many suffered losses from what was one of the largest wars in history), and has much to do with being practical. The post WWII attitude was mostly optimistic due to the booming economy, which led to its practical nature. The attitude of needing to spend was popularized by the demand to keep the economy going along with modernizing one’s everyday life. And, much like the Pink Palace, societal pressures surround Sophie and Nathan. Sophie lives in the house in a much more complacent manner, showing how she is much more easily molded by society around her, which furthers the idea of Sophie’s vulnerability to outside influences, leading to her reliability on Nathan. On the other hand, Nathan storms out on the occasion, fueled by his volatile temperament, showing how his condition creates a desire for him to escape the throes of societal pressure. Styron especially emphasizes how Nathan feels the …show more content…
Zimmerman’s house is the first place where Nathan and Sophie are first introduced, and also, the first place where the dysfunctionality of their relationship is seen. The ideal of the late 1940s and the early 1950s was to get married and have children, essentially starting one’s life straight after high school. The roles delegated to husbands and wives were the generic stereotypes. Husbands were to be the providers of the family; they were expected to work and provide financially support. Wives on the other hand, had the role of the homemaker, with the duties of taking care of the children along with house chores like cooking and cleaning. Marriage was a highly idealized institution, with a divorce rate of only 23%, due to the idea that divorce was “deviant behavior and a public acknowledgement of failure.” (Gotay) Sophie’s and Nathan’s relationship strays from these standards. Nathan and Sophie are well beyond the “normal” point for marriage by the standard of the 1950s, both being roughly at the age of thirty. Not only are they not married, their relationship is dysfunctional at best, with Nathan being an abuser physically, and emotionally. From a physical standpoint, Nathan often takes out much of his frustration using violence. “[Sophie’s] all right. [Nathan] beat her up again, but she’s all right. He said he was goin’ to kill her.” (Styron 437).This is especially evident while Nathan is abusing substances, and, coupled with the symptoms of his mental illness, he
The commonality of such hatred during this time period means that many affluent families would produce their own propaganda. Which Sophie’s father took part in by developing a pamphlet on the eradication of the Jews from Poland because he deemed them a “problem”. Along with her father’s propaganda, he idolized the Nazi’s rise to power. He believed he deserved to work alongside the commandants in occupied Cracow, but, in a cruel form of irony, he was executed along with some fellow professors. He communicated his confusion to his wife and Sophie through one small message that read “ I have my pamphlet…I cannot understand why I am unable to through to the authorities here” and join the crusade against the Jews of the world. He was Polish and, in the eyes of the Germans, not much better than the Jews. Such a twisted irony is obviously used for dramatic effect in a literary sense. Styron designed this specific moment to prove a point for one of the themes of the novel: the idea that succumbing to the evil around you for personal gain, not for survival, will lead to an untimely demise. The possibility that Sophie’s father was executed randomly is
Since Lynn was a busy town of commerce and trade, the middle-class inhabitants were wealthy. The status of Margery?s father, John, several times mayor of Lynn, helped to instill Margery with self-respect. She was very much influenced by the people of Lynn?s concern with status and wealth: ?She had a very great envy of her neighbors that they should be as well arrayed as she.? In her Book, she even goes so far as to say that her marriage to businessman John Kempe did no justice to her ?worthy kindred? and was a socially-imbalanced relationship, although they both belonged to the same social class. This haughtiness and sense of pride are distinguishing features of Margery throughout her life.
Growing up on Mango Street, girls had to take two steps backward to take one forward. Just like ballroom dancing, women let men take the lead and sacrifice an extra step to continue moving on the floor. When Sally escaped from her father and married the marshmallow salesman, she had to give up her youth and femininity.
Sophie and her brother both start as being fans of Nazism and Hitler’s rein. “Hans was an active Hitler Youth leader- all the children had been members of the movement- the most disturbing aspect of their lives had been the conflicts this had aroused with their fathers” (Dumbach 15). They did this even against their father’s wishes and beliefs. They thought that it was the right thing to do because all of the other children around them were doing this same thing. They saw it as an exciting thing to participate in. They “felt themselves a part in the rebuildings of their deeply divided and demoralized nation”(24). Before Hitler came to power, when they listened to him speak they liked what he had to say about the youth. However they ended up changing these views. “All of the Scholl children had grown disillusioned with National Socialism, and after a few tension-filled years, the family was reconciled” (Dumbach 15). They do this because “their family stood posed against a regime that was making increasing inroads into the peace and autonomy of their lives”(15). Also Hans was appalled by the rules that the Hitler Youth had in place. “[A]n early confrontation that raised within him doubts about the organization to
Judgement is a very frequent occurrence in today’s world. It usually isn’t an encouraging judgement though. Throughout the book, The House on Mango Street, the message of judgement of others being cruel is revealed. This isn’t just in Esperanza, the main character, but everyone in the book. It is important that everyone in the book progresses and matures as a person because, it causes everyone to become more together. This all proves the claim of, The House on Mango Street portrays an aspect of maturity by showing that what people imagine about others is often not how they truly act and are as a person, how they grow as a person, and what they strive to become.
Nathan Landeu is a Jewish man living in America with Sophie, very vulnerable young women. Nathan takes advantage of Sophie knowing that she needs him and will always love him. Towards the end of the book Stingo learns that Nathan suffers from a mental disease called schizophrenia. This disease causes voices in his head and him to act like a demon is possessing all of his thoughts. During world War 2 he was not allowed to join the military because of his mental disease, this made him sit back and watch thousands of people of his race die and actually made his disease even worse. In the book Stingo says “He was by now deathly afraid of Nathan and he pinned hungrily to be able to appeal to the police- for protection, if nothing else” (Styron 547). This is explaining to the audience that Nathan is a dangerous man and World war 2 has completely changed his state of mind.
In the book Escape Children of the Holocaust, author Allan Zullo highlights the struggles of three innocent Jewish children, Hanci Hollander, Halina Litman and Gideon Frieder. All three children were born in different countries affected by the Holocaust; Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. If you did not know, the Holocaust was a gruesome time in the world’s history. There were concentration camps for Jews. All because of one Austrian man, Adolf Hitler, who hated the Jews so much he did not want one Jew left standing. Consequently, he made the Nazi Germans hunt, enslave and kill the Jews.
“Born Bad” is the vignette I chose to address from The House on Mango Street. I didn’t find it to be significant at first because of the style of writing the author uses. I’ve not read any books using little vignettes as chapters. This style of writing makes me feel like I am reading about situations that seem random and disconnected. Esperanza was born on the evil day, what does this really have to do with her being a woman and not fitting in on Mango Street? Lucy, Rachel, and Esperanza made fun of Aunt Lupe the day she died, a sad event but what does that have do with her being a foreigner on Mango Street?
Sandra Cisneros is a latina born in Chicago in 1954. She is the only daughter out of seven of her siblings. She worked as a teacher and counselor to high-school dropouts, as an artist-in-the-schools where she taught creative writing at every level except first grade and pre-school, a college recruiter, an arts administrator, and as a visiting writer at a number of universities including the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan. When she began writing books it was soon translated into many languages such as Spanish, French, Dutch, Italian and many more. She is very proud of her family. Her grandfather even played piano for the mexican president. She is know mostly for her famous book, ‘The House on Mango Street’. The book was based off her neighborhood that she grew up In Chicago. In 1995,
The Novel, The House on Mango Street, was based on the writer Sandra Cisneros. She was writing this when she was living in Chicago. She was like Esperanza. She want though poverty. She has been heartbroken and deeply joyous. She inventing for herself who and what she will become. This is the life of Esperanza Cordero and based on Sandra Cisneros to all women out there.
People from all over the world change, change in either mentality, thoughts, maturity, physically, mentally, appearance, feelings and etc. What causes the transformation of that person is important, but how much did it affect them is also crucial. In Sandra Cisneros novel, entitled The House on Mango Street,the story depicts a Latina girl who transform throughout her time being on Mango Street. The girl named Esperanza is to faced obstacles of female oppression that she witnesses in the life of women on her street who they depends on men to bring them out of the street. In The House on Mango Street, Cisneros uses characterization to express the
Living in Welch was a very life changing time for Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle. In her book, she lives in many places but doesn't stay in the same place for long. Welch was the longest place her and her family lived. As Jeannette lived her life in Welch she kept running into unbearable situations which was due to her parents lack of ability to take care of them correctly. Unlike before Jeannette starts to realize these faults in her parents. Her mother had a job and was getting a steady income but on page 198, she says , ¨So even though she had a steady job, we were living pretty much like we had before.¨ Not only did Jeannette realize her mother could not handle money she also saw her unable to hold a job and her irresponsibility
Eliezer, as a Jew in the holocaust, faces dehumanisation through isolation and the feeling of insignificance. Upon arrival at Auschwitz, the Jewish men are immediately separated from the immature and female members of their families, often with the implication that these women and children are going to be murdered. This horrendous “introduction” is carried out with the purpose of forcing the remaining men to feel alone and isolated. Solitude inhibits notions of hope or rebellion, thus making these men mentally weaker and easier to control. Proof of this weakness is exhibited by Stein, the man asking Eliezer and his father about the current state of Stein’s family. “The only thing that keeps me alive, he kept saying, is to know that Reizel and the little ones are still alive. Were it not
In the year 1942, a young Helen Sternlicht was doing her daily tasks in the Plaszow labor camp when Commandant Amon Goeth approached her and selected her to be one of his housemaids. For 2 years her and another maid, named Helena Hirsch, shared a room
After a little more than a year living in Auschwitz, the mom couldn’t take anymore. She didn’t want to leave in isolation anymore so she started to plan to leave the city.