Mrs. Housepian/Mr.

Conner
English 2H; Period 2
8 April 2016
War:Self
Hunger, love, pain, fear are some of those inner forces which rule the
individual's instinct for self preservation (Einstein). War brings many
tragedies and brutalities to the world. Its effects elicits humans darkest and
deepest desires in which can cause one to go beyond morality. The novel
Night,by Elie Wiesel, displays the truth of war and how it affects a human
being, as well as other great pieces of literature such as A Spring Morning,
Escape from Camp 14 and Queen Mary of Scotland and the Isles. Which all
prove the cruelties of war evoked from an individuals instinctive desire for
self preservation, which suppresses family commitments.
During times of war, ones desire to survive influences s/he to abandon
family commitments. Elie Wiesel is one of the many victims of the Holocaust,
who shares his experiences through his book Night: Violent blow on the
head with his truncheon. I did not move. I was afraid. My body was afraid of
also receiving a blow (Wiesel 116).While his father is beaten to death, Elie
stands back and does nothing because he fears of getting hit. Due to the
harsh cruelties of the Holocaust, Elie Wiesel throws away his relationship
with his father when he is placed in a dire situation in which limits his
chances of survival. Similarly, there is another person who has the same
situation as Elie: his son had seen him losing ground, sliding back to the

rear of the column. He had seen him. And he had continued to run in front,
letting the distance between them become greater ( Wiesel 97). The son
ignores his father after he sees his father slowing down while they're
running. Under the heavy impacts of war cruelties, the sons determination
to survive pushes him to break the duty of a son when he sees him as
something that would lessen his chance of survival. Furthermore, Blaine
Harden, the author of Escape from Camp 14, interviews Shin Dong Hyuk, a
North Korean escapee; in which he shares how it was like for him and his
family during the times in one of the North Korean camp: He regarded his
mother as a rival for food and was right to do so; she once beat him with a
hoe for eating her lunch(Maslin). Mr. Shin reveals that his mother and him
dont see each other as family. Instead, they see each other as rivals for food
and supplies. Under the cruelties of the camp, Mr. Shin and his mother feel
the impulses to eliminate anyone that steals their food even if s/he is family,
in order to survive. Thus, when an individual is placed under harsh cruelties
of war, s/he chooses to protect ones own self, going as far as to cutting all
familial relationships with his/her family.
War and its effects influence one to commit to their own self-interests,
breaking the obligations of family. The father in a Spring Morning fulfills his
desire by letting his daughter die: He answered loud[...] softly, to her,
Forgive me (Fink 133). The Jewish father purposely gets his daughter killed
before they arrive at the camp. Influenced by the brutalities of the Holocaust,
the fathers desire of not wanting to see his daughter suffer pushes him to

breaks his responsibilities of protecting his daughter. Additionally, the wife

also has the same wish as her husband: [.. ]sound of a shot cracked[. ]He
felt his wifes finger, trembling and sticky from sweat.. Heard her faint,
whimpering moan (Fink 133). The mother does nothing when her child is
killed because she also wants her daughter to die. Just like the father, under
heavy influences of war, the mothers wish of her daughter dying before the
child experiences the brutality of the Holocaust overpowers her role and role
of a mother. Lastly, Marie de Guise breaks her role as a mother because she
chooses to sell her daughter to France during the times of war against the
English: [...]French royal children [] farewell banquets--- five year old Mary
had not realized that her mother would not be coming with her (George 38).
Despite Marys young age, the Queens mother decides to engage her to
Frances crown prince in order to secure Scotlands allies during the war
against the English. Marie de Guises wish to protect the country suppresses
her duty as a mother to her little daughter, Mary Stuart. Therefore, proves
when one faces war and its impacts s/he devotes to self desire while
breaking the responsibilities to family.
Wars brutalities are toxic to the humanity, it triggers the deepest and
ugliest part of a human being which can pushes one to go pass humans
ethic. Great novels and stories such as Night, A Spring Morning, Escape
from Camp 14 and Queen Mary of Scotland and the Isles demonstrate the
truth about ones behavior when s/he is under the impacts of war and its

cruelties. War comes with violences and misfortunes, which influences one to
protect one's own self resulting in betrayal to his/her family.

Works Cited
Fink, Ida. Spring Morning. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print
George, Margaret. Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles. New York: St.
Martin's Griffin, 1992. Print.
Maslin, Janet. "The Casual Horrors of Life in a North Korean Hell." The
New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Apr. 2012. Web. 05 Apr. 2016
Wiesel, Elie, and Marion Wiesel. Night. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, a
Division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. Print.