Expansion in Holocaust Knowledge

Over the course of the novel, The True Story of Hansel and Gretel, by Louise Murphy, I acquired knowledge about how Jews in Poland lied to survive, how the SS conducted themselves, and how people were sorted in concentration camps. Jewish boys in Poland would lie and say that they are another religion, so they wouldn't be shot if the SS checked their body. Boys and girls would dye their hair blond and chop off the curls, to hide their identity- it got to the point where the boys and girls couldn't remember who they used to be. Despite the hidden identity, these actions were necessary to survive. The SS were disgusting people, who could never be considered humane. They shot children, and elderly citizens for being a certain race or religion. However those actions were obvious- not many people know that they would have blood transfusions with Aryan women and children. They would torture people, and use them, as well as kill them. The SS also sent people to concentration camps and decided who would be killed, and who would be worked to the death. I learned that elderly people, children, and most women were to be killed. Previously, I believed that children may have been kept, for their energy and small hands. Every new fact that I learned about the Holocaust was even more appalling and callous.

In the end of The True Story of Hansel and Gretel, Hansel and Gretel survived and found their father at a soup kitchen for Jews after the war. It was a settling ending, because Gretel also regained her memory, and wasn't crazy. However, Magda died, and became one of the 6 million "stars" in the sky, after being gassed and burned at a concentration camp. The way Louise Murphy chose to end the book reflected on her view of how it was possible to survive the Holocaust, but avoiding the death of at least one family member or loved one was inevitable, and heart-breaking. Overall, most of the problems that emerged were resolved, therefore confirming the theme of the novel. Louise Murphy was trying to demonstrate how to the Jews in the Holocaust, life was viewed in a negative way, and death was viewed in a more positive and hopeful way: their views were a direct product of the malicious attitude of the Nazis and the SS. Magda's death was written in a peaceful way, escaping into heaven to be one of the 6 million stars in the sky. This reflected on Murphy's message communicated throughout the whole story, and left you at ease. The way Louise Murphy ended The True Story of Hansel and Gretel was allaying, by describing the topic of death in a positive way, and tying together the theme of how life was negative, and death was positive, in the Jewish victims' perspective.

Korean War Memorial

The faces of soldiers etched into the walls, and the statues of the soldiers made me grateful that I don't have to experience this terror, and it also portrayed the solemn theme of death and how war affects countries as a whole. Etchings in the walls of soldiers faces were reflective for a reason- this reason being that while you view scared, injured soldiers, you also see yourself, and how lucky you are to be there. It makes you appreciate your life from a different perspective. Also, the statues of soldiers stirred an emotional reaction inside of me- I felt sick because of how scared and innocent they seemed. Their faces appeared to be terrified, and it was men that were a little older than my own father, and I couldn't bear to think about that situation if my father was in it. The bodies of the soldiers were hunched over, creating the message that they were weak and not prepared for war. My great uncle fought in this war as a pilot who was unexperienced, and he died during one of his last missions. As I made my way through this memorial, I could only picture my great uncle dying and others just like him dying in more brutal ways. The body position of soldiers, their faces, and the faces etched into the reflective walls all created a solemn tone in this monument, and painted vivid pictures in my mind of the war and how gruesome it must have been.

Humanity vs. Inhumanity

In a world where inhumanity is ubiquitous, the characters from The True Story of Hansel and Gretel do demonstrate how inhumanity is an epidemic that has swept all of Europe. However they also performed acts that show the good in humanity, when the presence of humanity is seemingly absent. An example of this is when Hansel and Gretel's parents evolved into the lure that would drag the Nazis away from their children. Their parent's showed the courage and devotion that exists throughout the good in humanity, by risking their lives to keep their children safe. Louise Murphy chose to include this act of humanity to manifest the ultimate sacrifice that some parents chose to make- their own lives. Ultimately, the author wanted to prove how, in a greedy and inexorable world,  people still manage to show kindness and sacrifice. Another example of characters showing humanity was when Magda allowed Hansel and Gretel to stay in her house, and she gave them her food. Her generous welcoming and offerings reveal how even strangers were willing to risk their lives to save the lives of hungry children. Magda took Hansel and Gretel in as if they were here own children. Murphy's reason for including this act of humanity that evolved into a strong relationship was to teach the lesson that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, and again, to demonstrate the theme of sacrifice. Magda seemed to be a witch of some sort, based off of her appearance, so that is what the children saw her as. However, she ended up being the one who saved Hansel and Gretel's lives, while immolating her own. The final example of a strong act of humanity was when Nelka provided aid for the children and Magda- washing them, and driving out the lice from their clothes, etc. She certainly did not need to associate herself with these children, who could potentially be the death of her. Nelka's actions evinced how even small, humane acts can have a great effect, while also carrying the burden of knowing you could die. Her actions were not entirely necessary, but the prevented Hansel and Gretel from getting sick. By doing so, Nelka jeopardized her life, and this is why Louise Murphy decided to include this scene with Nelka. A common theme throughout all of these acts of humanity was sacrificing your own life for another person, and persistently, the impact this had on others was immense. Although there were several examples of inhumanity throughout this novel, there were also numerous examples of humanity. The yin-yang is a symbol for this novel- the good in the bad, and the bad in the good.

They're "Cooked"

In the metaphor of "the frog in boiling water" used by Daniel Quinn, Kristallnacht represents when the frog is being boiled to death without knowing. After this turning point, the Jews (frog) can no longer escape the country (pot) and they essentially have no future. Although they were being killed, the Jews didn't notice, therefore they didn't do anything to stop the Nazis from doing so. They couldn't predict their death because to distract them, Hitler and the Nazis would take small steps, from a to b to c to d to e. The Jews would only compare b to a, and d to c, rather than comparing the drastic change from a to e. This led them to believe that all of these small changes weren't so bad, until the Kristallnacht happened. This was like a slap in the face, and they now realized there was no escaping this torture, and there was nothing they could do about it. The name Kristallnacht is euphemistic and indicates that this is a boiling point for Jewish people in Germany because the Germans have been outsmarting them for so long, without them even knowing. A culmination of all the times they have been outsmarted leads to the loss of hope for Jews. There is now almost no way to escape the country for them, which means they will either die, live alone in hiding for the rest of their lives, or go to a concentration camp and die there. This was a sad realization for the Jews in Germany, and they now were being boiled in a pot that they couldn't get out of.

Introducing Characters

Louise Murphy has introduced Hansel and Magda through their actions and their dialogue, and these introductions allow me to figure out which characters will be important, and which ones will be minor. Early on, I was able to tell that Hansel would be sneaky, and witty, because of his dialogue and actions. He was giving Gretel sass, while also being sarcastic and stubborn. Hansel's courage came through in the early pages of text when he used his only bread to create a trail, rather than eating it. This was courageous because first, Nazi dogs could smell the bread, and second, because he was so hungry. It was obvious that Hansel would be important because his wit, and courage combined create a powerful character. Magda was introduced and described more through her dialogue. As we just met Magda, she was very wise, and opinionated. She didn't care what anyone thought of her, and she wouldn't let Nazis stand in the way of her beliefs, or what she wanted to do. It became apparent that Magda would be very important because of how wise and independent she was introduced as. Other characters, such as Nelka and Gretel, were introduced as important also, because of their good qualities that make them powerful. However, Magda's brother was introduced as not important because of how he only thought of himself, and his safety- that makes for a boring and fairly inactive character. The author introduced Hansel and Magda, as well as several other characters through their actions and dialogue, which showed how powerful they were, and therefore allowed me to pick out the important characters.

What's SO Terrible

Everything about Hitler's whole plan was strategically maniacal and malicious, just like Iago's plan. Everyone underestimated Hitler, because he seemed humane: he didn't smoke, didn't drink alcohol, and eventually became a vegetarian. Therefore he was able to get away with his inhumane actions, while persuading people to follow him. Iago was two-faced also, and everyone believed he truly was "honest Iago" who wouldn't hurt a soul. Hitler beguiled everyone with his seemingly humane character, but his deceitfulness is what made him so inhumanely pernicious. To the Germans and the Nazis, humanity looked like Hitler, but it definitely wasn't. Any normal human wouldn't be so full of hatred that they felt they need to strip people of their identity and then kill them or work them to death. One glance at malnourished children or suffering elderly people would cause any human to put an end to the madness. However, just like Iago, Hitler was so empty and malevolent that he continued to kill innocent and harmless people. He was the reason why the human race turned on each other and acted like uncivilized beings, when their own kind was being slaughtered. It is astonishing how a man with only an 8th grade education, was able to pull this off. Why would he choose Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, disabled people, and Slavic people to torture? They were all innocent people, who had no intentions of ruining Germany, as Hitler thought they did. The only one ruining Germany was Hitler himself. At age 5, I knew who Hitler was and what he did, and that just goes to show you how egregious he was. The man held responsible for the deaths of over 6 million people was so inhumane because of how fraudulent he was, and because of his lack of feelings.