Everyone thinks that they would chose to do the “right thing” when faced with a dangerous situation concerning your pride or safety. However, would they actually choose the brave and valiant path? In the graphic novel, Maus, and the article “The Price of Going to Class”, Vladek, a man owning up to his Jewish heritage in World War II and Shamisa, a girl courageous enough to go to school despite the Taliban, choose the path of putting what they believe in before their safety.
Vladek and Shamisa, have another aspect in common besides their bravery: their government, or the people who are making them chose between life or staying true to one’s values. The Taliban and the Nazi’s fascist system of trying to control people using tradition and conformity are very similar. It is the reason that both organizations got power, a popular movement and an attempt to unify people under one set of rules. And if you aren’t within the requirements, violence is used to make you stay quiet or to just get rid of you. It is very effective way to make people back you up: the tactic of fear. By being a fascist and totalitarian government, there is only one right way, one organization, and one way to behave and look like. And fear was and is the method of control for the Nazis and the Taliban.
If you were faced with the option of going to school and knowing that you would have acid thrown on your face by the Taliban due to your ongoing education or staying safely in your home, what would you would do? Or would you take the chance to cover up your Jewish heritage during a time of Nazi rule? It would mean you would slip past the horrors of World War II, but is that worth the price of betraying your religion, your God, and your fellow Jews? Would we succumb to the fear of the terrifying fascist government, or defy them by upholding your values and heritage? We would all like to say we would pick the latter, but I suppose we won’t every truly know until we are faced with a similar impossible situation.
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You take a surprisingly professional way to execute a very emotional topic, which brings in more solid evidence. You ask a seemingly unanswerable question which leaves the reader thinking...(this is good.) Overall, I love your writing style and you chose a thought provoking topic.
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ReplyDeleteI really liked how you compared the two characters that we studied instead of simply the two groups. It was a very creative and interesting approach. I thought that your second paragraph comparing the Taliban and the Nazis was your best paragraph. It was very concise yet made a strong point, which made it easy to read.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the last post, I don't know why it did that.
I like how you ask a bigger, overarching question about fascism and how we would respond to it. It gives it a personal element where we are almost forced to put ourselves into their shoes. You answered your question using real historical events that strengthened your op-ed a lot. In general, I liked how you looked at the bigger picture of fascism and how it works and is successful. The idea of fear is really important and I don't think it was talked about by many other people.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you mentioned that many of us think we would make the "right" decision when facing a similar situation to that of Vladek or Shamisa, but in reality we won't know what we will do until we face a situation as grave as those. It really made me think of how much I value my life and safety versus how much I value my religion and my education.
ReplyDeleteI like how you show that life isn't made up of clear and easy decisions. In your conclusion you say how we can not fairly judge others actions in something we have never had to face. It is easy to take the moral high road when all is well, but once everything goes to hell there is no easy answers.
ReplyDeleteI love how you focus on Maus, not only does that take the Holocaust and Nazi's into account but also connects us with a material that we are all following along in. When you ask, what would you do? it really clicks with me in a way that I question myself and see if i can even begin to comprehend what i would do. Your ending paragraph is very strong and is a great ending to your fabulous op-ed.
ReplyDeleteGood job Molls!