Albert Camus-the Outsider - 1194 Words

â€Å"Probably no European writer of his time left so deep a mark on the imagination.† – Conor Cruise O’Brien. First published in French as L’Etranger in 1942, Albert Camus’ The Outsider addresses the constrictive nature of society and what happens when an individual tries to break free from the conformity forced upon him by staying true to himself, and following his own ideal of absolute truth and sincerity in every action. Propelled more by the philosophy of existentialism and the notion of the absurd than plot and characters, Camus’ novel raises many questions about life, and answers them in a final chilling climax. The plot of The Outsider revolves around a central act of unmeditated violence on a beach, proving that â€Å"the darkest†¦show more content†¦Existentialism refers to the philosophy that questions life which exists in a hostile environment. Camus, along with his friend, fellow writer, and French Resistance leader Jean-Paul Sartre pushed this train of thought into mainstream culture. In the extended essay The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus realises the only philosophical question worth asking is whether or not to commit suicide. The absurd nature of life referred to is the incompatibility of incomprehensible circumstances such as impending death, cruelty, violence, genocide and racism, and the overwhelming desire for, and expectation of a happy life and the principles of optimism. One primary example of the absurd given in the text is the co-existence of the suffering and joy in life. This view of absurdity is shared with the existentialist Simone de Beauvoir who contends that the suffering in death is a â€Å"scandal†. The hostile environment, or constant, harsh circumstances are represented in the text by the oppressive heat of the sun which is ever-present at the side of Meursault’s consciousness. He feels it as he walks to his mother’s funeral service through the French countryside; He feels it beating down on him when he’s out swimming with a girl, Marie; he feels its uncomfortable, abrasive fire inescapably as he fires the bullets into the Arab’s body. Meursault becomes aware of the absurdity of life on the eve of his death as he realises that he’s â€Å"happy†, andShow MoreRelatedThe Outsider By Albert Camus1139 Words   |  5 PagesAlbert Camus’ novel The Outsider follows a young French Algerian, Meursault, who lives his day to day life detached from the rest of the world. Along with his indifference towards others, Meursault has alienated himself from society with his absurdist ideas and blata nt honesty. Camus has structured the novel into two parts. In Part I we see Meursault’s routines, habits and general reactions to daily events around him. At the end of Part I Meursault kills an Arab man which eventually leads to hisRead MoreEssay on The Outsider by Albert Camus 1536 Words   |  7 PagesThe Outsider by Albert Camus BACKGROUND: ‘In our society,’ wrote Albert Camus, ‘any man who doesn’t cry at his mother’s funeral is liable to be condemned to death.’ This may seem a bewilderingly dramatic, almost self-indulgent sort of assertion, but it is one which Camus brought to life in The Outsider, and to frankly devastating effect. The Outsider has become something of a cult classic over the years, especially in undergraduate circles. It inspired The Cure’s ‘Killing an Arab’, a song whichRead MoreThe Outsider by Albert Camus Analysis of Themes672 Words   |  3 Pagesresonance of Camus’s philosophical notion of absurdity. In his essays, Camus asserts that individual lives and human existence in general have no rational meaning or order. However, because people have difficulty accepting this notion, they constantly attempt to identify or create rational structure and meaning in their lives. The term â€Å"absurdity† describes humanit y’s futile attempt to find rational order where none exists. Though Camus does not explicitly refer to the notion of absurdity in The StrangerRead MoreA Outsider Of The Stranger By Andre Gide And Albert Camus1850 Words   |  8 Pages Andre Gide and Albert Camus seemingly had much in common. Both were French-speaking Nobel Prize winning writers with deep ties to France’s African territories and strong anti-establishment tendencies who sought to cast off the burdens society foisted upon them. Yet their as best evidenced by their respective best-known texts, Gide’s L Immoraliste (The Immoralist) and Camus’ L’Étranger (The Stranger). While both novels center around aloof young men hostile to the norms that society foists upon themRead MoreThe Outsider, by Albert Camus and The Assault, by Harry Mulisch1380 Words   |  6 PagesCamus and Mulisch present that the past and present are interrelated. The authors do this through the two characters, Meursault and Anton. Through Meursault, we see that his past actions affect the outcome of his trial. Through Anton, we see that his present situation constantly brings him back to his past despite him trying to escape it. Thus the authors stylist ically link the past and present to demonstrate that they are inevitably related, where certain events are unavoidable or the past is undeniableRead More Comparing Story Openings of Bleak House by Charles Dickens to The Outsider by Albert Camus954 Words   |  4 PagesAt the opening of the story The Outsider, the writer Albert Camus places time in the wrong order. This creates the impression that we are seeing into the characters thoughts rather than a story being told to us. It works very effectively as the paragraphs are spontaneous and not in any form of order, thus creating a mental picture in our heads of one or two day?s worth of events, as if we were remembering them ourselves. This, however, does not apply to Bleak house. Dickens does not use any formRead More Comparing Albert Camus The Stranger (The Outsider) and Jean-Paul Sartres Nausea2131 Words   |  9 PagesLack of Order in Albert Camus The Stranger (The Outsider) and Jean-Paul Sartres Nausea  Ã‚   Nausea, by Jean-Paul Sartre, and The Stranger, by Albert Camus, refuse to impose order on their events by not using psychology, hierarchies, coherent narratives, or cause and effect. Nausea refuses to order its events by not inscribing them with psychology or a cause for existence, and it contrasts itself with a text by Balzac that explains its events. Nausea resists the traditional strategy of includingRead MoreComparison of How Shusaku Endo in Wonderful Fool and Albert Camus in the Outsider Have Used Moral Issues to Develop Their Works1599 Words   |  7 PagesComparison of how Shusaku Endo in Wonderful Fool and Albert Camus in The Outsider have used moral issues to develop their works It is debatable whether morality is a code of conduct that is considered right by society or whether it is a code unilaterally decided upon by an individual. When we consider morality as a tool used by both Shusaku Endo in Wonderful Fool and Albert Camus in The Outsider, this debate holds immense relevance. Wonderful Fool, heavily influenced by Christian doctrine, addressesRead MoreComparison of How Shusaku Endo in Wonderful Fool and Albert Camus in the Outsider Have Used Moral Issues to Develop Their Works1612 Words   |  7 PagesComparison of how Shusaku Endo in Wonderful Fool and Albert Camus in The Outsider have used moral issues to develop their works It is debatable whether morality is a code of conduct that is considered right by society or whether it is a code unilaterally decided upon by an individual. When we consider morality as a tool used by both Shusaku Endo in Wonderful Fool and Albert Camus in The Outsider, this debate holds immense relevance. Wonderful Fool, heavily influenced by Christian doctrine, addressesRead MoreThe Outsider1524 Words   |  7 Pagesof an extract from pages 14 to 15 from The Outsider by Albert Camus Word Count: 1,378 I have decided to focus on an extract from chapter 1 of Albert Camus’ The Outsider as I feel this extract is highly significant as it serves as a device of exposition to develop Meursault’s, continuously judged, character and provides foregrounding for the rest of the novel. The prose style throughout this extract allows Camus to convey his philosophy of the absurd and portray

The Significance of Death and Sex to William Shakespeare

The Significance of Death and Sex to William Shakespeare In this essay, I will consider Death and Sin in Shakespearean drama and I would like to look at three of Shakespeares tragic plays: Hamlet, Othello and King Lear. Shakespeare uses many themes in all his play that attract audiences throughout history. The things he wrote about are as relevant now as they were in his time. Death and Sin were issues that are always around. In his plays, Shakespeare could comment on these things and make audiences see things that they could not before. In Hamlet, we can see clear examples of Death and Sin as significant to Shakespearean drama. The first thing that points to both death and sin is the inclusion of a ghost in the play.†¦show more content†¦Claudius is the cause of a death and therefore also the committer of a sin, and having committed incest, he is guilty of two sins. The cause of the revelations on Claudius character as revealed by the ghost make him a hated character in the play by the audience. There is normally a character that the audience know everything about, giving cause for them to hate him, and Claudius is Hamlets hated Character. Religion in the 16th Century was still a prominent issue. Religion had changed from Catholicism to Christianity, depending on which monarch was on the throne at the time. People were expected to change religion depending on what their monarch said or face being an outcast. In Elizabeths reign, the religion changed from Catholicism to Protestantism. Being unsure of religions myself, the definition in the Collins pocket dictionary is as follows: Protestant: n 1 follower of any of the Christian churches that split from the Roman Catholic Church in the sixteenth century. Adj 2 of or relating to such a church. Protestantism n In the Ten Commandments, written for the Christian faith, there are some elements that must be followed that are also relevant to Shakespeares writing: Honour thy father and thy mother. Then you will live a long time in the land. You must not murder anyone. You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not want to take your neighbours house. You must not want hisShow MoreRelatedThe Oedipal Relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude Essay851 Words   |  4 Pages Throughout William Shakespeares Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays Hamlet with the same types of behaviors and frustrations in humans that Sigmund Freud saw at a much later date. When the relationship between Hamlet and his mother is analyzed Freuds oedipal complex theory comes to mind. The oedipal complex is a theory created by Freud that states that The child takes both of its parents, and more particularly one of them, as the object of its erotic wishes.(51) Because of this desire to be withRead MoreOedipus Relationship Between Hamlet and Gertrude1224 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout William Shakespeares Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays Hamlet with the same types of behaviors and frustrations in humans that Sigmund Freud saw at a much later date. When the relationship between Hamlet and his mother is analyzed Freuds oedipal complex theory comes to mind. Sigmund Freud first wrote about his theory in his book An Interpretation of Dreams in 1899. Simply put, Freud states that it is normal for children to have sexual desires for their parent of the opposite sex. He saysRead More Homosexuality in William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice1474 Words   |  6 PagesHomosexuality in William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice With every great story line comes a theme. William Shakespeare created an art of intertwining often unrecognizable themes within his plays. In Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, one hidden theme is the idea of homosexuality. This theme might not have even been noticed until modern Shakespeare fans discovered them. According to Alan Bray’s book, Homosexuality in Renaissance England, â€Å"the modern image of ‘the homosexual’Read MoreComparing Attitudes Toward Love in First Love, Shall I Compare Thee, Porphyrias Love and The Flea1055 Words   |  5 Pagesdifferent types of love, whether its between mother and child, friends, lovers or a shop-a-holic and her credit card. Many poets have written on the subject of love and tried to capture the essence of the indescribable feeling. William Shakespeare discusses romantic, eternal love in Shall I Compare Thee...? whereas John Clare addresses the issue of unrequited love in First Love. Contrasting with these ideas of admiration and romantic love is John Donnes The FleaRead MoreThe Role of Women in Julius Caesar773 Words   |  4 PagesRoman girl would then be coerced into the dominion of her husband, often taking a plethora of roles, ranging from lover, caretaker, and best friend. It is often lightheartedly stated that, â€Å"Behind every great man is an even greater woman,† and William Shakespeare exemplifies this concept beautifully in Julius Caesar, in which he effectively used the spouses of the two main characters to add more depth, drama, and literary elements to the play, bringing it to life. Although the only two female charactersRead MoreEssay on Second Character Role in Hamlet by William Shakespeare1355 Words   |  6 Pages In many stories, the concept of a secondary character role is often overlooked and deemed irreverent. However, in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare and the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, the secondary characters Horatio and Dunstan Ramsay respectively both play a cruc ial role in the fulfillment of â€Å"Fifth Business†. According to Davies, Fifth Business are those roles which, being neither those of Hero nor Heroine, Confidante nor Villain, but which were nonetheless essentialRead MoreHamlet Soliloquies Essay1218 Words   |  5 Pagesessential condition for tragedy is met – in the Aristotelian sense at least. Shakespearean tragedy however, is not an exact mirror of that outlined by Aristotle. Poetics outlined that the drama should largely focus on action. In â€Å"Hamlet† however, Shakespeare has the audience learning about the central character through soliloquies rather than action. Soliloquies allow the audience, and readers, to delve deep into the mind of the character and find out the truth. As one critic noted, it is a conventionRead MoreHamlet Essay Holly Silm1491 Words   |  6 Pagesintegrity of that text. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet has inspired diverse interpretations regarding its authorial preoccupat ions, structure and language choices, peculiar to the ideological, historical and cultural lenses of its commentators. The consequent reception and significance assigned to this text over the centuries simultaneously betrays the polyspersectivity of critical interpretation and the expedient perspicacity of social commentators. Asserting that Shakespeare and his work reflects theRead MoreRepresentations of Romantic Love in Poetry Across the Periods1480 Words   |  6 Pagesattitudes towards romantic love have shifted with changing values and beliefs. ‘Sonnet 130’ by William Shakespeare from the Elizabethan period, ‘Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’ by John Donne from the metaphysical period, and ‘Lullaby’ by W.H. Auden from the modern period are three poems that clearly reflect the changing representations of romantic love across time. The Elizabethan period in which William Shakespeare wrote was a time of cultural renaissance in England. Sonnets were written for the entertainmentRead MoreThe Role of Women in Julius Caesar Essay820 Words   |  4 PagesRoman girl would then be coerced into the dominion of her husband, often taking a plethora of roles, ranging from lover, caretaker, and best friend. It is often lightheartedly stated that, â€Å"Behind every great man is an even greater woman,† and William Shakespeare exemplifies this concept beautifully in Julius Caesar, in which he effectively used the spouses of the two main characters to add more depth, drama, and literary elements to the play, bringing it to life. Although the only two female characters

Current Event Fashion Ysl Free Essays

Paige Restivo Fashion Fundamentals Assignment #2 Current Event Yvan Mispelaere Out as DVF Creative Director September 12, 2012 â€Å"After two-and-a-half years as creative director at Diane von Furstenberg, Yvan Mispelaere is out the door. † (Rosemary Feitelberg) The article I haven chosen was published during fashion week shortly after the DVF spring 2013 runway show. It grabbed my attention because the title claiming creative director Yvan was gone and I knew that the show had just went on. We will write a custom essay sample on Current Event Fashion Ysl or any similar topic only for you Order Now His departure was announced 48 hours after the show. Mispelaere had worked with many designers before DVF, such as Yves Saint Laurent, Chloe, Valentino, Luis Feraud and Gucci just before DVF in march. He was very talented but never known for sticking to one project. Mispelaere was in for the challenge of it, he said earlier in the week, â€Å"I came to DVF to help further the brand’s mission and create a world-class design team. I am confident we have been able to achieve that during my time with the company. I can’t thank Diane enough for the opportunity to work with her and such talented people. The group is now well-positioned for even greater success, and I am eager to take on my next challenge. . I noticed a significant up bringing in Diane von Furstenberg’s line shortly after Yvan had joined the team, in past years DVF had been known but not the way it is now. Yvan Mispelaere felt his job was done and it was time for time next. I think the most propionate points of this article was when press had asked von F urstenberg to comment on behalf of his departure nothing but kind words were said. Von Furstenberg thinks he added â€Å"enormous value†, and is more than thankful to have had him join the team to help further them in each direction. Even though Yvan Mispealere had left DVF without a creative director, they are not eager to replace him just yet. Thankfully shortly before Yvan leaving DVF, they had just signed on Joel Horowitz as co-chairman. Down one man, but still have another to help run things smoothly. They are determined to keep DVF growing and becoming more of a world class brand. I enjoyed reading this article because I think drama in the fashion world is interesting, but shortly after analyzing this article I realized there actually wasn’t any major drama. Yvan would move on to his next big project, and Diane von Furstenberg was just happy to have had him to help. Closing this article was a comment by von Furstenberg – â€Å"I hope Yvan will immediately put his signature on the collection, I’m curious to see his slant. But it will still be DVF. † Rosemary Feitelberg (2012). Yvan Mispelaere Out as DVF Creative Director. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. wwd. com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/yvan-mispelaere-out-as-dvf-creative-director-6274810. [Last Accessed September 14, 2012]. How to cite Current Event Fashion Ysl, Essay examples

Law of Torts Rights and Liabilities in Tort

Question: Discuss about the case study Law of Torts for Rights and Liabilities in Tort. Answer: Introduction: The first issue in and in a related with the damages that can be awarded to David and Richard's mother Fiona who have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and Fiona has not been able to sleep for months. Therefore it needs to be seen if the damages for psychiatric injury can be awarded in this case or not. Similarly verified that the president is this is related with the liability of Armidale District Council for the injuries suffered by Barry as a branch of a tree adjoining the road fell on his car. In this case, the responsibility for the upkeep of the road and the adjoining land was of the Council. Another reason that also needs to be discussed in this assignment is if the wife of Richard, Constance and his two children, Albert and Edwards were entitled to compensation, particularly when they had started to live with a wealthy stockbroker, Hector who was taking very good care of them. Rule: As is the case with negligence under the common law, for the purpose of establishing negligence under the Civil Liability Act, a plaintiff is required to establish that the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff, such duty of care has been breached by the defendant and it has resulted in the damage alleged by the plaintiff. Generally it is considered that the modern negligence law has been recognized in Donoghue v Stevenson. Therefore, for bringing a positive claim under negligence, it is essential that the claimant establishes that the defendant had a duty of care towards the plaintiff; such duty has been breached by the defendant; the breach of duty has resulted in damage and such damage was not too remote. The legal test that can be used for imposing the duty differs on the basis of the type of loss suffered by the claimant. Therefore in case of personal injury and property, generally the Caparo test is applied by the courts. On the other hand, in case of psychiatric injury, the Alcock test is applied. In order to establish a breach of duty, an objective test is used for the purpose of deciding if the defendant has breached the duty of care. On the other hand, the 'but for' test is used for the purpose of deciding causation. This test was provided by the court in Barnett v Chelsea Kensington Hospital. But, in certain conditions, some other concerns may also apply. The test provided in The Wagon Mound no 1 is used by the courts for the purpose of deciding the remoteness of damage. According to this test, defendant can be held liable only if the loss was of a foreseeable nature. Therefore if the loss suffered by the claimant was of the foreseeable nature, the defendant will be liable to the full extent of the loss even if the loss suffered by the claimant was much greater than expected. The tort law in Australia is heavily influenced by the common law but this position has been changed after the introduction of the Civil Liability Act. Advice for David and Fiona for the psychiatric injury suffered by them: A restricting approach has been assumed by the court in awarding damages for the psychiatric injury that has been inflicted as a result of negligence. Apart from the Caparo test that is used for imposing a duty of care, several restrictions have been imposed by the courts that have to be satisfied by the claimant for the purpose of establishing reliability of the defendant for the psychiatric injury that has been inflicted as a result of negligence. First of all, an actual psychiatric injury should have been caused. The result is that the emotions of sorrow and grief are not sufficient to be considered as psychiatric injury. In the same way, the feelings of fear, panic or terror are also not considered as psychiatric injury. In the beginning, the claims for psychiatric injury were limited to those who fear for their personal safety. However, as a result of the development of the law in this field, a wide range of circumstances have been allowed by the courts but still they are quite restricted. In this regard, the law makes a difference amid the primary and secondary victims. In this regard, Lord Oliver stated in Alcock that primary victims are the persons who have been involved mediately or immediately as a member in the incident. Later on, this was restricted to the persons who were in the physical danger zone as mentioned in White Ors v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire. In this context, the court stated in McFarlane v E. E. Caledonia that an objective attitude has to be adopted by deciding if the plaintiff is in physical danger area or not. The law requires that the primary victims only have to establish that the physical harm suffered by them was foreseeable. Therefore it is not required that the psychiatric harm suffered by them was also foreseeable if the personal harm was probable. In this regard it also needs to be noted that a primary victims does not have a duty of care towards the secondary victim, regarding self-inflicted harm. On the other hand, the secondary victims are the persons who are not within the physical danger zone but who have witnessed horrific events. In this case, the law requires that the secondary victims should establish that the four criteria mentioned in Alcock are present for the purpose of establishing liability. These are the presence of a close tie of love and affection; seeing the event with their own unaided senses; closeness to the occurrence itself or the immediate aftermath of the event; and the psychiatric harm suffered by the claimant should be due to a shocking event. The law provides that a close tie of love and affection is presumable between parent and child and between spouses but in case of other relationships, it has to be proved by the claimant. Particularly, in case of siblings, generally there is no presumption in favour of a close tie of love and affection. The second requirement is that the claimant should have witnessed the event the own unaided senses. Therefore, for example witnessing the event on the television is not considered a sufficient. The other requirement is the proximity to the event itself or its immediate aftermath. For example in Alcock, it was held by the court that the relatives who had visited the makeshift mortuary for identifying their loved ones were not within the immediate aftermath of the event. Therefore, what amounts to immediate aftermath of an event depends on the facts of each case. It is also require that the psychiatric injury should have been caused by a shocking event. In this context, Lord Ackner stat ed in Alcock that, shock, in context of this cause of action, involves the sudden appreciation of qualifying event, by sight or sound, which has violently educated the mind. However it is yet to include the psychiatric injury that has been caused as a result of accumulation of more gradual assaults on the nervous system over a period of time. As a result, the persons who have suffered psychiatric injury due to the long-term process of providing care to a loved one underwent harms due to the negligence of the defendants, are excluded. In this part of the assignment, the issue is related with the liability of Armidale District Council (ADC) as David's brother, Barry has suffered injuries when he was driving along a country road and was hit when an overhanging branch of the tree fell off. The responsibility for the road and the tree was vested with the ADC. It can be said in this regard that in certain respects, the statutory bodies are not different from other defendants so far as they liability under negligence is concerned. Therefore, the law provides that if the loss of the lament as being caused by the negligence of the public authority, for example by negligently causing the plaintiff to suffer physical injury or making a misleading statement to the plaintiff negligently, the statutory authority can be held liable in the same way as in case of any other defendant and the ordinary principles of the law of negligence can be applied. The emerging contemporary position regarding the liability of the statutory auth orities have negligence is that if the powers vested in the authority by the statute gives the authority a significant amount of control on the safety of the persons and the persons are in a vulnerable position, then a duty of care will be present on part of the authority towards these persons. Although, it will be a question of fact if the requisite degree of control and vulnerability is present in a particular case, it was decided by the court in Brodie v Singleton Shire Council that the highway authority was in a position where they had physical control on the object which was the source of harm suffered by the plaintiff. Therefore in the absence of immunity, the authority will have a duty of care towards the road users. Similarly, the liability of Warwick has to be decided regarding the death of Richard that was caused as a result of the accident that took place due to the negligence of Warwick. It has been stated by the High Court that the monetary cap that has been imposed by section 12(2) of the Civil Liability Act is not applicable to the claims that have been initiated under the Compensation to Relatives Act, 1897. As there is no reference to the deceased in section 12(2) the section should not be considered as limiting damages for the economic loss to the gross weekly earnings of the claimant. In this regard, it needs to be noted that Richard had a wife, Constance and two children aged 3 and 16. At the birth of their first child, Constance had given up her job and was taking care of the family. However after the death of Richard, Constance met her old boyfriend Hector who was a wealthy stockbroker and was taking very good care of the children. Under these circumstances, it needs to be decided if Warwick will be liable to pay compensation to Constance and Albert and Edward. In this regard, the law provides that the basis of compensation is not solatium or in other words, the damages awarded for damaged feelings or due to sentiments but these images are founded on the reimbursement for a monetary loss This is the approach approved in Australia regarding compensation and the law in Australia has been interpreted as applying only to the pecuniary loss that has been incurred by those members of the family of the deceased who were eligible to bring the claim. In most of the case s, the highest monetary loss is the forfeiture of income. Therefore it needs to be noted that the main source of pecuniary damage is the forfeiture of the net earnings of the deceased, present as well as the future. Therefore the foundation of calculation is the quantity of the wages or earnings of the deceased and out of this, the estimated amount required by the deceased for his personal and living expenses, has to be deducted. Therefore, the value of dependency not only includes expected maintenance but also savings. The law also provides that the domestic services provided by the deceased also have a economic value that can be assessed and the deprivation of service is also a pecuniary loss as is the lack of income. The extent of compensation that can be paid in a particular case has to be decided on the ground of the actual damages up until the time the damages are evaluated and the fiscal value of the support and services reasonably expected to be provided by the deceased in future. Application: Under these circumstances, it can be said that David does not satisfy the test described in Alcock. The reason is that he does not have a closed idea of love and affection with the victim of the accident. Moreover, he had not witnessed the accident himself or its immediate aftermath. In the same way, it can be said that the mother of the victim, Fiona also does not have a successful claim for the psychiatric injury suffered by her because although they can be presumed that she had a close tie of love and affection with the victim, being a mother but she had not witnessed the incident with her own unaided senses. In the present case also, Barry was driving on a country road and the responsibility for the road and the tree was of the ADC. At the same time, the Council was aware of the fact that the branches of trees falling off and hitting cars on the roads was a problem and the Council has also developed procedure for deciding the priority according to which the trees have to be cut down or pruned for reducing this risk. However the procedure for determining the priorities was adopted carelessly by the Council and if a careful process would have been adopted by the Council, the branch that hit Barry's car and injured him would have been removed earlier. In this way, it is clear that in the present case, Barry had suffered injury as a result of negligence on the part of the Armidale Development Council. Under these circumstances, it can be said that that he Barry has a claim under negligence against the Council. In the present case also, Richard was a qualified solicitor and was 35 years of age. He was looking after his wife, Constance and two children Edward and Albert. Therefore in this case even if the family had started to live with Hector who was taking good care of the family, still the amount of damages payable to Constance and the two children has to be decided on the basis of their income of Richard. Warwick will be liable to pay damages to Constance and Albert and Edward on the basis of the past as well as the expected future income of Richard. Conclusion In this case, it can be said that compensation cannot be awarded to David and Fiona for the psychiatric injury suffered by them. On the other hand, Armidale District Council is liable to pay damages to Barry for the injuries suffered by him when a branch of a tree fell on his car. Warwick will be liable to pay compensation to Constance and the children of Richard, Albert and Edward even if Hector is supporting them and taking good care of them. References Balkin RP and Davis JLR, 2013, Law of Torts (LexisNexis Butterworths, 5th ed.) Davies M and Malkin I, 2014, Focus:Torts (LexisNexis Butterworths, 7th ed). Lunney M Oliphant K, 2013, Tort Law: Text and Materials, Oxford University Press, 5thed. Luntz, H., Hambly, D., Burns, K., Dietrich, J. and Foster, N., 2012, Torts: Cases and Commentary (LexisNexis Butterworths, 7th ed. Mendelson, D, 2015, The New Law of Torts, Oxford University Press, 3rd ed. Richards B, De Zwart M, Ludlow K, 2013, Torts Law Principles, Thomson Reuters Sapideen, Vines Watson, 2012, Torts: Commentary and Materials (Thomson Reuters) Stewart, P Stuhmcke, 2012, Australian Principles of Tort Law (Federation Press, 3rd ed) Stickley A, 2013, Australian Torts Law, LexisNexis Butterworths, 3rd ed. Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire [1992] 1 AC 310 Barnett v Chelsea Kensington Hospital [1969] 1 QB 428 Behrens ors v Bertram Mills Circus Ltd. [1957] 2 QB 1 Brodie v Singleton Shire Council [2001] HCA 29 Caparo Industries plc v Dickman [1990] UKHL 2 Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) AC 562 Greatorex v Greatorex [2001] 1 WLR 1970 Hinz v Berry [1970] 2 QB 40 McFarlane v E. E. Caledonia [1994] 1 Lloyd's Rep 16 Page v Smith [1996] 1 AC 155 Reilly Anor v Merseyside Regional Health Authority [1994] EWCA Civ 30 Seymour v British Paints (Australia) Pty Ltd [1967] Qd R 227 Shaddock V Parramatta City Council (1981) ALR 385 W v Essex County Council [2000] 2 WLR 601 Wagon Mound no 1 [1961] AC 388 White Ors v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire [1998] 3 WLR 1509 Wyong Shire Council v Shirt [1980] HCA 12 Civil Liability Act, 2002

Internet Technology, Marketing, and Security

Advancement in technology and communication networks has changed how organizations market goods and services; the sales and marketing department are becoming computerized as a policy to attain competitiveness. The risk facing the globalized world is how to secure corporate and customer information; when using technology to market products and services, companies are able to reach a large number of target customers.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Internet Technology, Marketing, and Security specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Balancing effective marketing, sales, and communication with security is a major challenge; however marketing managers should make strategies that address such issues if they are to remain competitive and earn customer confidence (Kurtz, MacKenzie Kim, 2009). This paper discusses information security bleach at Apple Inc. and how the organisation reacted to the security lapse; it will also give recommendations on best policies to enhance information security. Apple history Apple is an international American company that designs, manufactures, markets, and sells consumer electronic commodities; the company is respected for its innovativeness in business processes and consumer products; some of the company’s products include electronics, the iTunes media browser, the iPhone , the iPad. Apple software includes the Mac OS X operating system, and computer softwareiPod, personal computers. The company has embraced online marketing; using the method, the company advertises, sells, and makes contracts with domestic and international companies/consumers using the site. Apples Official Website Evaluation Apple has an official website that can be accessed from different parts of the globe; the company sells and displays its products over the website: the following are some of the disclosures that can be found in the website: Product information From Apples website, a cus tomer can learn at a glance the products that the company is offering for sale; the color theme of the website is appealing to the user; when someone enters the site, the first indication that he gets is that the company sells quality phones, Iphones, and Ipods.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The photos portrays joy and of a child whose photo has been taken by the phone. At the top of the website, there is an icon that someone can use to get to the specific product that he would like to get from the company; the following are the list of products on the top icon: Store, Mac, Ipod, Iphone, Itune, Ipad and support. The above provisions offer a first of repeat user the chance to scroll and get to the specific materials wanted with ease. The websites ensures that they have disclosed as much as the customer would like to know. Corporation’s contact information To ass ist users of the site, the company has considered using some assistance from the company to guide the user through the site; the first area that a customer can get to learn more of the company is under stores. At this icon the customer can navigate himself through the site and have some of his issues handled. Other than the self-evaluation section; at the top of the site there is the icon support; when a user contracts/ opts to use this icon, he can be assisted through the website and making decision enhanced or assisted. At the bottom icon of the site, there is the contact icon; this icon gives users the companies addressed and the contacts of further assistance. With the icon someone can know the person and the place he should call for some enquiries. Customized products for customers Apple website displays the company’s products however much concentration is on the benefits and superiority that the product has over the improved version of the same or products made by other companies in the same industry (competitors). Very rarely do the website offer insight information on how the product had been made or the constituents of the product. The above move can be interpolated as a move to keep business secrets and manufacturing information secret from competitors. To the customers the company ensures it offers such quality information that can persuade them make a decision to buy from the company.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Internet Technology, Marketing, and Security specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Customer information at purchase When customers want to buy a product form the website, he is expected to fill a certain form that asks for some private information. The information is expected to be for the companies own consumption and all security and privacy actions/ elements are addressed. Customers are assured that the information they give is secure in the hand of the co mpany. Apples Internet marketing strategies and the competitive advantages its Website provides Apple is among world’s most respected effective online marketing strategy; the companies policy emphasis on creating customer awareness to the products, and services that the company sells. One of the major competitive advantage that the company has and rides on is its brand name strength; the company maintains a strong brand name that ensures it sells products with relatively low marketing and sales. When using the policy, the company uses the website to sell the products and introduce new markets to the market without much hassle as the case would be if it has a weak brand name. Global advancement in technology has changed how organizations reach their customers; the sales and marketing department are becoming computerized with advancement in technology. Strength of the companies online advertising is it’s qualified, experienced, creative, and innovating marketing and sale s department. The department is able to make responsive decisions that the company can use when posting its products in the internet. Different ages, continents, ethnicity, and cultural backgrounds are likely to use Apple’s website; when they use the site they need to have a standard site that will cater for their needs regardless of their social and political differences. The organizations marketing team has been able to capture this aspect and is offering customer responsive products. The third pillar that the company online/internet advertising has is the strength of its information, technology, and communication department. The department is robust and keeps updating the site to ensure that people get the right information at the right time. With such a department, the company is able to note any hindrances of the system and fix it before it inconveniences a customer. The company’s website has been developed after massive research and development campaigns, the com pany has a strong research and marketing department that advises the company accordingly.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The competitiveness of Apples website advertising/marking policy is vested on the structure, the representation, and the information that the site gives to potential customers. The site offers the most required information and ensures that customers are attended to in good time using the site (Kerin Peterson, 2009). Analyze and evaluate apple’s privacy / security policy and the corporation’s response to the security breach To protect customer information, Apple has an elaborate privacy policy; the policy aims at giving confidence to customers that the company has the capacity and will to protect their information. With the policy, the company ensures that all customer information is only used for internal consumption and no one point should the information be used for any other reason that the customer intended purpose. The policy holds the company accountable of the privacy of the customer information and any linkage from the system means that the company has bleache d the contact with the customer and the customer can take legal redress on the matter. Before giving ones information, the company website advises the customer on the extent that it will be held accountable of the information. Customer is also given the option of not giving some information if they think it’s private (Kurtz, 2010). Two method to improve privacy and Data security at Apple Inc. Although the efforts and success attained by Apple can be applauded, the company needs to do more on improving the privacy system. There have been some information leakages that have cost the company and victim customers. The following are two recommendations that the company can implement to improve its security situation: The company’s information, technology, and communication department should be kept on its toes to devise programs that will always be ahead of hackers. To have a good system, there is need for continuous improvement that can be attained through massive research and development. Another system that the company can implement is a hybrid data security system; under the system, every time customer’s information is accessed, either by legalised people or otherwise, the customer is alerted to authenticate the process. Such a system will give customer the power to trace the use of their information and give consent to the same; this will increase the company’s data security. References Kerin, R. A. , Peterson, R. A. (2009). Strategic Marketing Problems: Cases and Comments. London: Pearson Education. Kurtz, D. (2010). Contemporary business: 2011 custom edition. Hoboken: John Wiley Son. Kurtz, L., MacKenzie, F. , Kim, S. (2009). Contemporary Marketing. New York; Cengage Learning. This assessment on Internet Technology, Marketing, and Security was written and submitted by user D'KenNeraman1 to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on F Scott Fitzgerald

In James Baldwin’s story, Sonny’s Blues the author uses the main characters and subtle hints of racism to illustrate the theme. The theme simply stated is that after people grow up and go away from each other for a while that eventually people comeback to reunite with childhood friends and family. The story starts out with Sonny’s brother taking the subway, so that he can go to his teaching job at the high school. While teaching that day, he has this very uneasy feeling in his stomach. That very uneasy feeling in Sonny’s brother’s stomach is like a melting block of ice, similar to that cold, tingly, feeling somebody has all over his body. Sonny’s brother also is the narrator for the entire story. Then the story truly begins when, the author uses the literary technique of flashback to talk about how Sonny just got arrested for selling and using heroin. The story explains how Sonny uses his music to express how he feels. For example, if Sonny feels angry he writes lyrics for a song that represents his anger. Sonny was the perfect child in his father’s eyes. Sonny’s father wanted Sonny to become something more distinguished, than a jazz musician. Sonny followed his heart and became one anyway. The text implies that Sonny goes his own separate way from everyone else in his family; and that he is more passionate then prudent. Creole is the bass player that leads the jazz band of which Sonny is a member. This character is very unique because he gets to play the role of a fatherly figure. The purpose of the fatherly figure is to provide Sonny not only with guidance in his music but also with guidance in Sonny’s life. Creole tries hard to show to Sonnyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s brother that sometimes it is better to just let go even if it is difficult. The story progresses to when Sonny and Sonny’s brother are having a conversation about why Sonny chose to leave Harlem, New York. Sonny states that he left Harlem to get away from... Free Essays on F Scott Fitzgerald Free Essays on F Scott Fitzgerald In James Baldwin’s story, Sonny’s Blues the author uses the main characters and subtle hints of racism to illustrate the theme. The theme simply stated is that after people grow up and go away from each other for a while that eventually people comeback to reunite with childhood friends and family. The story starts out with Sonny’s brother taking the subway, so that he can go to his teaching job at the high school. While teaching that day, he has this very uneasy feeling in his stomach. That very uneasy feeling in Sonny’s brother’s stomach is like a melting block of ice, similar to that cold, tingly, feeling somebody has all over his body. Sonny’s brother also is the narrator for the entire story. Then the story truly begins when, the author uses the literary technique of flashback to talk about how Sonny just got arrested for selling and using heroin. The story explains how Sonny uses his music to express how he feels. For example, if Sonny feels angry he writes lyrics for a song that represents his anger. Sonny was the perfect child in his father’s eyes. Sonny’s father wanted Sonny to become something more distinguished, than a jazz musician. Sonny followed his heart and became one anyway. The text implies that Sonny goes his own separate way from everyone else in his family; and that he is more passionate then prudent. Creole is the bass player that leads the jazz band of which Sonny is a member. This character is very unique because he gets to play the role of a fatherly figure. The purpose of the fatherly figure is to provide Sonny not only with guidance in his music but also with guidance in Sonny’s life. Creole tries hard to show to Sonnyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s brother that sometimes it is better to just let go even if it is difficult. The story progresses to when Sonny and Sonny’s brother are having a conversation about why Sonny chose to leave Harlem, New York. Sonny states that he left Harlem to get away from...

How technology (textting) has affected our language How it affects the Research Paper

How technology (textting) has affected our language How it affects the way we process information - Research Paper Example 28-29) describes how spoken language and written language have traditionally been seen as entirely different variations, each with their own set of rules. He explains that speech is â€Å"time-bound, dynamic and transient†, and most often occurs in face to face situations where there is both the chance to use non-verbal means like facial expressions and gestures, and the opportunity for speakers to modify their output depending on reactions coming from the listener. Written language, on the other hand, is â€Å"space-bound, static and permanent† and it is more formal because the writer does not always the person or persons who will be reading it, and must make more effort to clarify the context and anticipate what the reader might be thinking. This traditional view of language sees spoken language as more suited to emotional expressions in a social context, and written language more suited to factual purposes such as recording information or learning about something. When we look at examples of spoken language it is clear that grammar rules are used less rigorously, and there is more tolerance of errors, contractions, imperfect sentence structures, for example someone might say Think it’ll work? and the answer might be No way! The full written version of these sentences would be Do you think it will work? and No, there is no way that this could work! or No, I can think of no way in which this would work! The subject of the sentence is obvious in the spoken context, and the tone of voice conveys that there is a question and answer routine going on here, whereas in a written text these elements need to be made clear for the reader. An interesting study by Barron (2000) looks at the way all language develops and changes as new technologies arrive, for example when manuscripts gave way to printing in fifteenth century England there was immediately a much greater volume of written material available, and also a need for standardization. (Barron, 2000, p.57)

How does the mainstream practice of journalism influence how conflict Essay

How does the mainstream practice of journalism influence how conflict is covered - Essay Example This was as a solution to previous excesses of the media that had either negative or no effects on conflict formation, escalation, solution and termination. However, like all new concepts, the newly born conflict sensitive media did not have a user manual and journalists and media houses had with them a new tool that they had no idea how to use. Government sponsored print and electronic media were the most common in those early days and, therefore, the public always heard what the governments wanted them to hear; mainly due to media control by their main sponsor, who was at the time the government. Governments used the media to downplay conflicts and conceal facts that they did not want their citizens to know, resulting in selective dissemination of crucial information. With the advent of strong civil society movements and the spread of capitalism, individuals and corporation got the rights to own and run media houses that were free from control by governments. However, this did not solve the problem with conflict sensitive journalism, as journalists in these media houses did not know how to implement the strategy (Lynch and McGoldrick 2005, p. 197). According to Lynch (2008, p. 186), conflict sensitive journalism is truly much evolved, and many media houses are using the tool to prevent or stop conflicts. However, the major force in how conflicts are reported is mainstream media houses, which pick on an approach to the reportage of a crime and other media houses follow suit. Approaches by mainstream media to reporting conflict falls into four principal categories; conflict-oriented coverage, truth-oriented coverage, people-oriented coverage, and solution-oriented coverage. If any the mainstream media decides to take any of these approaches, then other media houses have to follow suit for their coverage to have any relevance (Seow and Crispin 2005, p. 311). Conflict Oriented Coverage In this approach, media houses focus on the ignition of the conflict, factors that fuel it, factors that diminish it, and other factors that may sway the direction of the conflict without caring which direction the conflict takes. Media houses give the conflict airtime since they know that people are concerned about the happenings in the world, but instead of using this chance to alter the direction of the conflict in any way, the media prefer to watch in inaction. First, media focus on the conflict genesis, reporting about all the factors that resulted in the conflict. These factors include the parties on both ends of the conflict, and the disputed issue or issues, all in the name of keeping the public informed. This strategy exposes the commercial nature of mainstream media because despite which direction the conflict takes, media houses will reap the benefit from it since they do not take a stand against or for the conflict (Seow and Crispin 2005, p. 311). Another part of conflict oriented media coverage is that media houses offer real and imagined outcome s of conflicts, mostly with a bias to outcomes that are grim in nature. The media predicts and speculates about the conflicts, drawing parallels and creating links between these conflicts and historical events, and predicting the future based on the possible outcomes. This speculation and mixing of facts with opinions makes news material for both electronic broadcasting and printing, as reporters are

Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian Woman's Rights in Their Own Country Essay

Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian Woman's Rights in Their Own Country - Essay Example In most of the Islamic countries, women are not allowed to drive; this is for the sole reason that they are not supposed to be bare faced- they are expected to cover the parts of their body that are awrah (meant not to be seen) (Alsarraf 56). Following this situation, only the hand and the eyes are not considered awrah and are supposed to be concealed to the public. This has made the women who profess Islamic culture to avoid driving since with the cloak cloath called abaya and the face-veil, niqab it is impossible to engage in driving. Kuwait though has rescinded over this law and have let their women drive just like any other person without the discrimination of gender. It will be noted that most of the Islamic countries are hinged on patriarchal and men are the central authority in everything and are given first priority.Whereas in other Islamic countries there is strict regulation on the right of the women to vote in the elections, women in Kuwait enjoys the right to vote followi ng the repeal of the sections that barred women from such constitutional rights. Following the 2005 amendments, Kuwaiti women have the rights to equally vie for the elective position; parliamentary and local elections. Following the precedent set by the 2005 ruling, in 2009 the Kuwait’s constitutional court also ruled that the women, just like men could possess passport without the approval of their husbands. Initially, women were not allowed to get hold of the passport without the approval of their husbands.

Kiran Desais Inheritance of Loss

Kiran Desais Inheritance of Loss An Analysis of Kiran Desais Inheritance of Loss This second novel by Kiran Desai drips with the theme of colonial mentality of ignoring ones cultural roots and looking over the fence to seemingly greener pastures of other cultures. This is a story of exiles at home and abroad, of families broken and fixed, of love both bitter and bittersweet. Desais characters effectively depict varying kinds and levels of discontent at their own personhoods. It is a mix of pathetic illusions of being part of a culture that does not acknowledge them, hypocritical snubbing of ones own culture and journeying into knowing ones real self and true roots. Jemubhai Patel is an embittered judge, wounded by his past, which holds both hurtful and glorious memories. It is ironic how much love he can shower on an animal, his pet dog, while he regards other people with distrust. He has shut himself off from all human contact. Sai is the youthful granddaughter who somehow tames Patels otherwise dark persona with her feistiness and curiosity. She reminds him of himself when he was a youth. Sai is one person who gives hope that her grandfather will ultimately come out of the tough shell he has built around himself. Biju is the pathetic illegal worker disillusioned in America. He came there with great hopes and dreams but came home with a lot of frustrations and a renewed passion for his homeland. Gyan, Sais idealistic suitor is torn between his loyalty to his ethnic origins and his infatuation for his beautiful and intelligent tutee, Sai. The cook, Bijus father is the traditional, superstitious and chatty helper awed by the allures of modernization and is bent on his son to realize the American dream. It is through this cooks voice that the reader learns a parallel story about love and loss. Patels neighbors, Lola and Noni are Anglophiles who might be savvy readers of V.S. Naipaul but who are, perhaps, less aware of how fragile their own social standing isat least until a surge of unrest disturbs the region. The title of the book is so intriguing. When one hears of an inheritance, it is usually something so precious, so cherished that the next generation anticipates it to be bequeathed with pride and honor. Desais Inheritance of Loss truly reflects her adeptness for irony. True, the pathetic state of loss can be inherited and may be passed on to future generations, but how can anyone anticipate such a dreadful fate?   The story is delivered in such a compelling way that the reader understands the process of loss of cultural identity being passed on from the elders to the young. The book tells of different stories but anchors its base on Kalimpong in the at the foothills of Mount Kanchenjunga in the northern Himalayas, specifically in the decaying cottage named Cho Oyu, the household of Jemubhai Patel, who lives with his granddaughter, Sai and his beloved dog, Mutt. The once-magnificent home has vestiges of its splendor with its lacelike gates that hang from two stone pillars, high, gorgeous ceilings, windows that show a picturesque view of the mountains, Owing to neglect and apathy, its once beautiful wooden floors are rotted, mice run about freely, and extreme cold permeates everything. Termites are steadily chewing at the cottages wooden frame, furniture, and floors. Patel is not blind to its pathetic disintegration, and somehow embraces it. It may be reflective of how he feels inside. Patel is a retired judge from the prestigious Indian Civil Service, the British Empires old steel frame: a few hundred white civil servants who had administered the subcontinent with the help of a handful of Indians, recruited starting in 1879. Patel relishes his glory days and is embittered by a painful past and of being an Indian himself. The narrative shifts from this native setting to the grubby kitchens of New York restaurants where illegal foreigners hide from the authorities out to deport them to their countries of origin. Desai expertly presents ironies in vivid detail that at times, it seems hilarious. The strange and creative interplay of the image projected and the message delivered makes the readers ponder on the depth of the authors points. One example is the supposedly elitist upbringing of Sai, but in reality, she lives in poverty. She has never mastered her native tongue, as it is assumed by her grandfather, Patel to devalue her person. She projects the image of being a part of a rather genteel class, but at the end of the day, she literally sleeps under a table cloth!   Such a pity for a young lady to be surrounded by such manly mess! Another is the status of having a hired cook, but in truth, makes this employee live on meager wages and in a battered hut in the periphery of his masters house. Patel has lived a wretched family life filled with broken relationships inflicting cruelty to his wife, indirectly causing her death, and abandoning his daughter in a convent boarding school and then cutting her off when she marries a Parsi. He has likewise estranged himself from his parents, extended family and all the Patels when they gladly sent him off to Cambridge University, pinning their hopes on him for a better future. In England, he realized how inferior he and his compatriots were to the whites, and wanted desperately to be identified as one. He would put powder on his too brown skin to somehow attain a fairer complexion. As his Indian classmates celebrated their cultural roots, and fought for independence, Patel remained in awe of the English and abandoned his inferior race. Patel has chosen to live in Kalimpong not only because of its temperate climate but also to distance himself from the more tropical, mainstream India. He emulates the British who built cottages at the hill stations and give vent to their gardening skills. They also needed to be near bakeries that produced the cakes, breads and biscuits they need at tea time. Two elderly Indian ladies, very much like Patel in terms of their obsession with the English culture, take Sai under their wings to groom her to be a proper English lady. Lola, a widow, and her sister, Noni, live in a cottage they call Mon Ami, set apart by its own unique broccoli patch. They live like Englishwomen, listening to BBC on the radio at night, drinking cherry brandy. They read British novels from the nineteenth century, and not those of a younger breed, because they would like to keep their perception of England static. They avoid books written by Indian writers. Lola hoards English products every time she visits England every two years. She stocks up on Knorr packet soups, Oxo stock cubes and underwear from Marks and Spencer. She was ecstatic when her daughter, Pixie, officially became the wife of an Englishman. The sisters are conscious of their class perceive themselves as superior to their Anglophile neighbor Mrs. Sen, and affiliated with Father Booty of the Swiss dairy, which makes real cheese and not the processed ones eaten by most Indians. Young Sai, who is orphaned when her parents were killed in an accident in the Soviet Union, came to live with her grandfather when she was nine. His grandfather never knew she existed, as he banished his mother from his home when she married a man he did not approve of. Sai is very westernized and her grandfather tolerates it. She speaks broken Hindi, as she has been exposed to a fabricated English culture, brainwashed by the people around her that it is a far better one than the Indian roots she has sprung forth from. Sai is an avid reader. She immerses herself in literature that brings her to many worlds she has only journeyed in her rich imagination. She reads To Kill a Mockingbird, Cider with Rosie, Life with Father, and National Geographic. Desai says of her, She was inside the narrative and the narrative inside her, the pages going by so fast, her heart in her chest, she couldnt stop. Sai falls in love with her Nepalese Math and Science tutor, Gyan, a college student who was mutually attracted to her. Globalization, fundamentalism and sectarian and terrorist violence unravel Sais passion for Gyan. Her adolescent passion is intertwined with a sense of danger and tinged with both wonder and darkness. Unknown to both, their romance will greatly be affected by their differences in worldviews concerning their heritage. Another important character in the book is Biju, Sais friend and their cooks son. Biju, on the persistent machinations of his father, illegally entered the United States and does menial jobs in New York restaurants. Biju lives like a fugitive, fearing the INS to discover and deport him back to India. The book illustrates the sorry state of foreign immigrants who had flocked to the land of milk and honey seeking better lives than what they had in their own homelands. They accept the sufferings and abuse of their white superiors than facing the shame of going back home. All they need is to secure the elusive green card to ensure their prolonged stay in America. One can just imagine the stressed lives of these foreigners, exiled from their own countries and treated as low-lives. They desperately hold on to their idealistic perception of America, however stripped of their dignity and pride. Back home, they would have been treated more humanely, despite their poverty and sense of hopelessness. Instead of conquering another world outside the sphere of the familiar, they are enslaved by the whims and discriminatory treatment of the natives. This book eventually gives an unflattering view of the First World in the eyes of the inhabitants of the Third World. Biju encounters other Indians and gets surprised at how they totally adapt to the American culture. He is shocked to see Hindu Indians eating beef. He took on a sneering look. But they could afford not to notice.    It is this numbing hypocrisy that disillusions the underdogs like Biju those who completely turn away from their roots and fully embrace the culture of another, to the point of forsaking the long-held sanctity of their value systems. Bijus unfortunate life in America brings him to work for co-Indians who take advantage the illegal aliens desperation. These Indian restaurant owners cut the pay to a quarter of the minimum wage, reclaim the tips, keep an eye on the workers and drive them to work fifteen-,sixteen-, seventeen-hour donkey days.    It is pitiful to realize that illegals are treated like dirt, devoid of rights, and made to suffer for their sin of being in a place they should not be for want of a better life. This irony resounds through and through in Desais book. Desais vivid narratives bring to readers crisp images the effective contrast between rustic, lush Kalimpong in its natural glory and the ultra-sophistication of fast-paced New York -along with it, the description of the lives of the inhabitants of both settings. When Biju calls home from New York City, the reader can smell the humid air over the telephone line, and can picture the green-black lushness, the plumage of banana, the stark spear of the cactus, the delicate gestures of ferns; he could hear the croak trrrr whonk, wee wee butt ock butt ock of frogs in the spinach, the rising note welding imperceptibly with the evening. One can feel the emotions running through the characters, and it is palpable how one pines for anothers life. It also shows stark contrasts between two worlds that the readers have the luxury of shuttling to. Back in Kalimpong, the budding romance of Sai and Gyan is disrupted by Nepalese insurgency of which Gyan was a part of. The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) agitates for rights and justice for the majority Nepalese. Pushed by his loyalty to his culture, Gyan tips off GNLF guerillas about Sais grandfather, and they raid Patels estate, robbing him of his guns, properties and food supply. The rebels shake up the otherwise peaceful existence of the main characters. They feel as if they were living out action movies, being unleashed Bruce Lee fans. The intimidating strike lasted for days, with electricity and water cut off and roads blocked by the government to prevent food from coming into the area. Lola and Noni were left with no choice but to shelter the followers of the GNLF who in turn, take advantage of their kindness, as they ravage their carefully accumulated stock of cold meat and sausages, and squatting on their large, beautiful, bountiful garden. Pradhan, their leader, pirate-looking in his outfit, insults Lola when she complains to him about his people. His degratory remarks of implying Lola to be one of his many wives, as he distastefully run his malicious eyes on her adds insult to injury, as Lola is further spiraled downwards in her humiliation. Such an attack on their person and status brings them down to reality that indeed, they are Indians, no matter how estranged and foreign they wish to be. The envy of the Nepalese rebels drastically shatter their illusions of grandeur and the pathetic circumstance evens them all out as mere people instead of demi-gods. The story gets grimmer as Patels beloved dog, Mutt gets stolen, pushing his owner into depths of despair. A bloody encounter in the insurgency situation kills some people. Sai and Gyans love affair becomes reduced to recriminations, highlighted by Gyans spiel, Whats fair? Do you have any idea of the world? Do you bother to look? Do you have any understanding of how justice operates or, rather, does NOT operate?   Such verbalization from the youth wakes one up to realize that the world is not to be seen with rose-colored lenses. Sai learns that class envy and jealousy always overpower love. It is a totally human reaction. Upon hearing the unrest in his homeland, Biju comes home in the knowledge that his father needs him. Biju undergoes an illuminating transformation. His emotional connection to his father and the significant people in his life inspire him to appreciate his roots and enliven his loyalty to India. Enough is enough!   He has suffered enough in a foreign land, enslaved by whites, and worse, compatriots, who treat him so very badly. His spirit and pride beaten up, he ironically comes home as a whole person. He had shed the unbearable arrogance and shame of the immigrant. . . For the first time in God knows how long, his vision unblurred and he found he could see clearly.    He realizes that he can choose the kind of inheritance he can get in terms of keeping close to his roots, literally and figuratively. The same realizations were stumbled upon by the other characters in the story, knowingly or not. The wealth and gentility prided by sisters Lola and Noni and retired judge, Patel were the very things that exposed them, making them targets of rebels. Having been humble, low-key, and basically, being just themselves instead of desperately putting on the identity of a foreigner could have spared them form the unfortunate circumstance they got themselves into. All of a sudden, all that they had claimed innocent, fun, funny, not really to matter was proven wrong. It did matter, buying tinned ham roll in a rice and dal country; it did matter to live in a big house and sit beside a heater in the evening, even one that sparked and shocked; it did matter to fly to London and to return with chocolates filled with kirsch; it did matter that others could not. . . The wealth that seemed to protect them like a blanket was the very thing that left them exposed. They, amid extreme poverty, were bald ly richer, and the statistics of difference were being broadcast . . .they would pay the debt that should be shared with others over many generations. The book is effective in evoking painfully shelved emotions to come to surface. Everyone, at one time or another feels the pain of loss. As mentioned earlier, title itself makes one ponder if it can be inherited and passed down from one generation to the next as what was attempted by Patel to his granddaughter, Sai. The feeling of losing out on something merely by being born inferior was expertly shown in the book to be all-consuming to the characters. The inheritance of loss may have well been an inheritance of the mentality that colonizers of ages past were mightily superior. They, from the first world, are the first exposed to the boon of modernization, leaving the colonized to covet such sophistication. Attention is too focused on their adventures with the evolution of their culture, while native culture, with all its richness and beauty is ignored and concealed with shame. If only they can revisit it with fresh perspective, they would know that they possess wealth and class, not necessarily translated to monetary and material possessions, but more profoundly, a great contribution of culture, ideology and tradition. The Indian concept of Karma could have caught up with the hypocrites as a more passionate ethnic class shakes them up from their illusions. They are pulled down to the reality that ones wealth and pride is anothers poverty. It is a reality that living decently is difficult amidst all the injustices that exist around us. However, the fulfillment of being empowered to be ones own true self gives a liberating feeling and confidence to exist authentically. The reader is tempted to coach the characters into doing so, just so they can foresee a happy ending to their pathetic existence. It is no secret that one needs to hide behind some untruths to survive some delicate situations. However, being enmeshed with lies may have a debilitating effect on ones psyche. The illegal foreigners living like scurrying mice at the threat of being caught proves to be an example of such. How dreadful it is to continue living that way!   It is as if it is difficult to exhale, as one might fall into the trap of revealing his truths. Again, Desai plays with the readers mind when this happens the paradox of the truth not setting you free! and in fact, imprisoning you in the safety of lies!   However, this is a painful reality that needs to be accepted. Acknowledging ones origins helps an individual gain full understanding of oneself. It gives him a choice of either opening his arms to receive his inheritance of loss/ fulfillment or of politely declining and moving on with his chosen path. Kiran Desai may well be instrumental in poking at the consciences of inauthentic, hypocritical show-offs to shed their cloak of fabricated class and reveal their true selves. Painful though it may be, there is no substitute to honest living and upholding ones cultural values, which, in the first place, were customized in accordance with ones true roots.

Leonardo Da Vinci Essay -- essays research papers

"Leonardo da Vinci...oh yeah, that is the guy who painted the Mona Lisa!" That was all I knew about Leonardo da Vinci before I started this report. I knew that he lived during the Renaissance and that he was a very important man, but that is about it. There is so much more about Leonardo that he is known for, other than him being the painter of the famous Mona Lisa. Leonardo was a universal genius, (as said in "What Makes a Leonardo a Leonardo?" By: Richard MÃ ¼hlberger, Copyright: 1994) because he excelled in numerous areas of knowledge and contributed so much to the Renaissance. He was one of the great masters of the High Renaissance (as said in the following website: http://metalab.unc.edu/cgfa/vinci/vinci_bio.htm) who was a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, mathematician, geologist, astronomer and scientist. Birthplace and Childhood: Leonardo da Vinci was born at 10:30 PM on Saturday, April 15th, 1452. He was born in the small Tuscan town of Vinci, which is near Florence. Although, in another reference, it said that he was probably born in a farm house in Anchiano, which is about three miles away from Vinci. The family of Leonardo lived in this area since the 13th century. When Leonardo was born, Ser Piero, his father, was a twenty-five year old public notary. Also, when Leonardo was born, Ser Piero married his wife. He didn't marry Catarina, his mother, because she probably the daughter of a farmer. Leonardo was christened from the parson Peiro da Bartolomeo, in the Baptismal Chapel. He was baptized to the name Lionardo, not Leonardo. The chapel is inside the church of Vinci. According to a tax record, when Leonardo was five years old, he was living with his grandparents. Francesco, his uncle, probably taught him about nature though the wild countryside that surrounds Vinci. When Francesco died, about fifty years later, he willed his estate to Leonardo, which showed a sense of fondness to Leonardo. Apprenticeship: Leonardo lived in Vinci until 1466. Vinci is a small town, in the foot of Monte Albano, in the Tuscany in Italy. When he was fourteen, he moved to Florence, where he bagan an apprenticeship in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio. Verrocchio was the leading Florentine painter and sculptor of his day. The apprenticeship program provided all artistic training. He was introduced to many thing... ...tructure; for that, indeed, be it may, is a Devine thing. Leave it then to dwell in its work at its good pleasure, and let not your rage or malice destroy a life~for indeed, he who does not value it, does not himself deserve it." "Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigour of the mind." "Man is the model of the world." "Science is the captain, practice the soldier." "Painters who wish to represent the relief of things they paint must cover the service with a half-tint, then paint in the darkest shadows and lastly the main lights." "He who wishes to see how the soul inhabits the body should look to see how that body uses its daily surroundings. If the dwelling is dirty and neglected, the body will be kept by its soul in the same condition, dirty and neglected." "Nothing flows faster than the years, daughters of time." "When fortune comes, seize her firmly by the forelock, for, I tell you, she is bald at the back." "Avoid excessive study; it will give rise to a work destined to die with the workman."

V.Frankl – Man’s Search for Meaning

With more than 4 million copies in print in the English language alone, Man's Search for Meaning, the chilling yet inspirational story of Viktor Frankl's struggle to hold on to hope during his three years as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps, is a true classic. Beacon Press is now pleased to present a special gift edition of a work that was hailed in 1959 by Carl Rogers as†one of the outstanding contributions to psychological thought in the last fifty years. † Frankl's training as a psychiatrist informed every waking moment of his ordeal and allowed him a remarkable perspective on the psychology of survival.His assertion that â€Å"the will to meaning† is the basic motivation for human life has forever changed the way we understand our humanity in the face of suffering. Man's Search for Meaning AN INTRODUCTION TO LOGOTHERAPY Fourth Edition Viktor E. Frankl PART ONE TRANSLATED BY ILSE LASCH PREFACE BY GORDON W. ALLPORT BEACON PRESS TO THE MEMORY OF MY MOTHER, B eacon Press 25 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108-2892 www. beacon. org Beacon Press books are published under the auspices of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.  © 1959, 1962, 1984, 1992 by Viktor E.Frankl All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America First published in German in 1946 under the title Ein Psycholog erlebt das Konzentrationslager. Original English title was From Death-Camp to Existentialism. 05 04 03 02 01 Contents Preface by Gordon W. Allport 7 Preface to the 1992 Edition II PART ONE 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Experiences in a Concentration Camp 15 PART TWO Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Frankl, Viktor Emil. [Ein Psycholog erlebt das Konzentrationslager. English] Man's search for meaning: an introduction to logotherapy / Viktor E.Frankl; part one translated by Use Lasch; preface by Gordon W. Allport. — 4th ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 0-8070-1426-5 (cloth) 1. Frankl, Viktor Emil . 2. Holocaust, Jewish (1939—1945)— Personal narratives. 3. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)— Psychological aspects. 4. Psychologists—Austria—Biography. 5. Logotherapy. I. Title. D810J4F72713 1992 i5o. ig'5—dc2o 92-21055 Logotherapy in a Nutshell 101 POSTSCRIPT 1984 The Case for a Tragic Optimism 137 Selected English Language Bibliography of Logotherapy 155 About the AuthorPreface Dr. Frankl, author-psychiatrist, sometimes asks his pa ­ tients who suffer from a multitude of torments great and small, â€Å"Why do you not commit suicide? † From their an ­ swers he can often find the guide-line for his psychotherapy: in one life there is love for one's children to tie to; in another life, a talent to be used; in a third, perhaps only lingering memories worth preserving. To weave these slender threads of a broken life into a firm pattern of mean ­ ing and responsibility is the object and challenge of logotherapy, which is Dr.Frankl's o wn version of modern exis ­ tential analysis. In this book, Dr. Frankl explains the experience which led to his discovery of logotherapy. As a longtime prisoner in bestial concentration camps he found himself stripped to naked existence. His father, mother, brother, and his wife died in camps or were sent to the gas ovens, so that, except ­ ing for his sister, his entire family perished in these camps. How could he—every possession lost, every value destroyed, suffering from hunger, cold and brutality, hourly expecting extermination—how could he find life worth preserving?A psychiatrist who personally has faced such extremity is a psychiatrist worth listening to. He, if anyone, should be 8 Preface able to view our human condition wisely and with compassion. Dr. Frankl's words have a profoundly honest ring, for they rest on experiences too deep for deception. What he has to say gains in prestige because of his present position on the Medical Faculty of the Universit y of Vienna and because of the renown of the logotherapy clinics that today are springing up in many lands, patterned on his own famous Neurological Policlinic in Vienna.One cannot help but compare Viktor Frankl's approach to theory and therapy with the work of his predecessor, Sigmund Freud. Both physicians concern themselves primarily with the nature and cure of neuroses. Freud finds the root of these distressing disorders in the anxiety caused by conflicting and unconscious motives. Frankl distinguishes several forms of neurosis, and traces some of them (the noogenic neuroses) to the failure of the sufferer to find meaning and a sense of responsibility in his existence. Freud stresses frustration in the sexual life; Frankl, frustration in the â€Å"will-to-meaning. In Europe today there is a marked turning away from Freud and a widespread embracing of Preface 9 existential analysis, which takes several related forms—the school of logotherapy being one. It is characteristi c of Frankl's tolerant outlook that he does not repudiate Freud, but builds gladly on his contributions; nor does he quarrel with other forms of existential therapy, but welcomes kinship with them. The present narrative, brief though it is, is artfully constructed and gripping. On two occasions I have read it through at a single sitting, unable to break away from its spell.Somewhere beyond the midpoint of the story Dr. Frankl introduces his own philosophy of logotherapy. He introduces it so gently into the continuing narrative that only after finishing the book does the reader realize that here is an essay of profound depth, and not just one more brutal tale of concentration camps. From this autobiographical fragment the reader learns much. He learns what a human being does when he suddenly realizes he has â€Å"nothing to lose except his so ridiculously naked life. † Frankl's description of the mixed flow of emotion and apathy is arresting.First to the rescue comes a cold de tached curiosity concerning one's fate. Swiftly, too, come strategies to preserve the remnants of one's life, though the chances of surviving are slight. Hunger, humiliation, fear and deep anger at injustice are rendered tolerable by closely guarded images of beloved persons, by religion, by a grim sense of humor, and even by glimpses of the healing beauties of nature—a tree or a sunset. But these moments of comfort do not establish the will to live unless they help the prisoner make larger sense out of his apparently senseless suffering.It is here that we encounter the central theme of existentialism: to live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering. If there is a purpose in life at all, there must be a purpose in suffer ­ ing and in dying. But no man can tell another what this purpose is. Each must find out for himself, and must accept t h e responsibility that his answer prescribes. If he succeeds he will continue to grow in spite of all indignities. Frankl is fond of quoting Nietzsche, â€Å"He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how. In the concentration camp every circumstance conspires to make the prisoner lose his hold. All the familiar goals in life are snatched away. What alone remains is â€Å"the last of human freedoms†Ã¢â‚¬â€the ability to â€Å"choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances. † This ultimate freedom, recognized by the ancient Stoics as well as by modern existentialists, takes on vivid significance in Frankl's story. The prisoners were only average men, but some, at least, by choosing to be â€Å"worthy of their suffering† proved man's capacity to rise above his outward fate. As a psychotherapist, the author, of course, wants to 0 Preface know how men can be helped to achieve this distinctively human capacity. How can one awaken in a patient the feeling that he is responsible to life for something, however grim his circumstances may be? Frankl gives us a moving a ccount of one collective therapeutic session he held with his fellow prisoners. At the publisher's request Dr. Frankl has added a state ­ ment of the basic tenets of logotherapy as well as a bibliog ­ raphy. Up to now most of the publications of this â€Å"Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy† (the predecessors being the Freudian and Adlerian Schools) have been chiefly in German.The reader will therefore welcome Dr. Frankl's supplement to his personal narrative. Unlike many European existentialists, Frankl is neither pessimistic nor antireligious. On the contrary, for a writer who faces fully the ubiquity of suffering and the forces of evil, he takes a surprisingly hopeful view of man's capacity to transcend his predicament and discover an adequate guiding truth. I recommend this little book heartily, for it is a gem of dramatic narrative, focused upon the deepest of human problems.It has literary and philosophical merit and pro ­ vides a compelling introduction to th e most significant psychological movement of our day. GORDON W. ALLPORT Preface to the 1992 Edition This book has now lived to see nearly one hundred print ­ ings in English—in addition to having been published in twenty-one other languages. And the English editions alone have sold more than three million copies. These are the dry facts, and they may well be the reason why reporters of American newspapers and particularly of American TV stations more often than not start their in ­ terviews, after listing these facts, by exclaiming: â€Å"Dr.Frankl, your book has become a true bestseller—how do you feel about such a success? † Whereupon I react by reporting that in the first place I do not at all see in the bestseller status of my book an achievement and accomplishment on my part but rather an expression of the misery of our time: if hun ­ dreds of thousands of people reach out for a book whose very title promises to deal with the question of a meaning to life, it must be a question that burns under their fingernails.To be sure, something else may have contributed to the impact of the book: its second, theoretical part (â€Å"Logother ­ apy in a Nutshell†) boils down, as it were, to the lesson one may distill from the first part, the autobiographical account (â€Å"Experiences in a Concentration Camp†), whereas Part One 11 Gordon W. Allport, formerly a professor of psychology at Harvard University, was one of the foremost writers and teachers in the field in this hemisphere. He was author of a large number of original works on psychology and was the editor of the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology.It is chiefly through the pioneering work of Professor All ­ port that Dr. Frankl's momentous theory was introduced to this country; moreover, it is to his credit that the interest shown here in logotherapy is growing by leaps and bounds. 12 Preface to the 1992 Edition Preface to the 1992 Edition 13 serves as the ex istential validation of my theories. Thus, both parts mutually support their credibility. I had none of this in mind when I wrote the book in 1945. And I did so within nine successive days and with the firm determination that the book should be published anonymously.In fact, the first printing of the original German version does not show my name on the cover, though at the last moment, just before the book's initial publication, I did finally give in to my friends who had urged me to let it be published with my name at least on the title page. At first, however, it had been written with the absolute conviction that, as an anonymous opus, it could never earn its author literary fame. I had wanted simply to convey to the reader by way of a concrete example that life holds a potential meaning under any conditions, even the most miserable ones.And I thought that if the point were demonstrated in a situation as extreme as that in a concentration camp, my book might gain a hearing. I ther efore felt responsible for writing down what I had gone through, for I thought it might be helpful to people who are prone to despair. And so it is both strange and remarkable to me that— among some dozens of books I have authored—precisely this one, which I had intended to be published anonymously so that it could never build up any reputation on the part of the author, did become a success.Again and again I therefore admonish my students both in Europe and in America: â€Å"Don't aim at success—the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience comman ds you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of our knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run—in the long run, I say! —success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it. † The reader may ask me why I did not try to escape what was in store for me after Hitler had occupied Austria. Let me answer by recalling the following story. Shortly before the United States entered World War II, I received an invitation to come to the American Consulate in Vienna to pick up my immigration visa. My old parents were overjoyed because they expected that I would soon be allowed to leave Austria. I suddenly hesitated, however.The question beset me: could I really afford to leave my parents alone to face their fate, to be sent, sooner or later, to a concentration camp, or even to a so-called extermination camp? Where did my responsibility lie? Should I foster my brain child, logotherapy, by emigrating to fertile soil where I could write my books? Or should I concentrate on my duties as a real child, the child of my parents who had to do whatever he could to protect them? I pondered the problem this way and that but could not arrive at a solution; this was the type of dilemma that made one wish for â€Å"a hint from Heaven,† as the phrase goes.It was then that I noticed a piece of marble lying on a table at home. When I asked my father about it, he explained that he had found it on the site where the National Socialists had burned down the largest Viennese synagogue. He had taken the piece home because it was a part of the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. One gilded Hebrew letter was engraved on the piece; my father explained that this letter stood for one of the Commandments. Eagerly I asked, â€Å"Which one is it? † He answered, â€Å"Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land. At that moment I decided to stay with my father and my mother upon the l and, and to let the American visa lapse VIKTOR E. FRANKL Vienna, 1992. PART ONE Experiences in a Concentration Camp THIS BOOK DOES NOT CLAIM TO BE an account of facts and events but of personal experiences, experiences which millions of prisoners have suffered time and again. It is the inside story of a concentration camp, told by one of its survivors. This tale is not concerned with the great horrors, which have already been described often enough (though less often believed), but with the multitude of small torments.In other words, it will try to answer this question: How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner? Most of the events described here did not take place in the large and famous camps, but in the small ones where most of the real extermination took place. This story is not about the suffering and death of great heroes and martyrs, nor is it about the prominent Capos—prisoners who acted as trustees, having special priv ileges—or well-known pris ­ oners.Thus it is not so much concerned with the sufferings of the mighty, but with the sacrifices, the crucifixion and the deaths of the great army of unknown and unrecorded victims. It was these common prisoners, who bore no dis ­ tinguishing marks on their sleeves, whom the Capos really despised. While these ordinary prisoners had little or noth- 18 Man's Search for Meaning Experiences in a Concentration Camp 19 ing to eat, the Capos were never hungry; in fact many of the Capos fared better in the camp than they had in their entire lives.Often they were harder on the prisoners than were the guards, and beat them more cruelly than the SS men did. These Capos, of course, were chosen only from those prisoners whose characters promised to make them suitable for such procedures, and if they did not comply with what was expected of them, they were immediately demoted. They soon became much like the SS men and the camp wardens and may be judged on a similar psychologi ­ cal basis. It is easy for the outsider to get the wrong conception of camp life, a conception mingled with sentiment and pity.Little does he know of the hard fight for existence which raged among the prisoners. This was an unrelenting strug ­ gle for daily bread and for life itself, for one's own sake or for that of a good friend. Let us take the case of a transport which was officially announced to transfer a certain number of prisoners to an ­ other camp; but it was a fairly safe guess that its final destination would be the gas chambers. A selection of sick or feeble prisoners incapable of work would be sent to one of the big central camps which were fitted with gas chambers and crematoriums.The selection process was the signal for a free fight among all the prisoners, or of group against group. All that mattered was that one's own name and that of one's friend were crossed off the list of victims, though everyone knew that for each man saved another v ictim had to be found. A definite number of prisoners had to go with each transport. It did not really matter which, since each of them was nothing but a number. On their admission to the camp (at least this was the method in Auschwitz) all their docu- ments had been taken from them, together with their other possessions.Each prisoner, therefore, had had an oppor ­ tunity to claim a fictitious name or profession; and for vari ­ ous reasons many did this. The authorities were interested only in the captives' numbers. These numbers were often tattooed on their skin, and also had to be sewn to a certain spot on the trousers, jacket, or coat. Any guard who wanted to make a charge against a prisoner just glanced at his number (and how we dreaded such glances! ); he never asked for his name. To return to the convoy about to depart. There was nei ­ ther time nor desire to consider moral or ethical issues.Every man was controlled by one thought only: to keep himself alive for the fami ly waiting for him at home, and to save his friends. With no hesitation, therefore, he would arrange for another prisoner, another â€Å"number,† to take his place in the transport. As I have already mentioned, the process of selecting Capos was a negative one; only the most brutal of the pris ­ oners were chosen for this job (although there were some happy exceptions). But apart from the selection of Capos which was undertaken by the SS, there was a sort of selfselecting process going on the whole time among all of the prisoners.On the average, only those prisoners could keep alive who, after years of trekking from camp to camp, had lost all scruples in their fight for existence; they were pre ­ pared to use every means, honest and otherwise, even brutal force, theft, and betrayal of their friends, in order to save themselves. We who have come back, by the aid of many lucky chances or miracles—whatever one may choose to call them—we know: the best of us did not return. Many factual accounts about concentration camps are al ­ ready on record. Here, facts will be significant only as far as 20 Man's Search for MeaningExperiences in a Concentration Camp 21 they are part of a man's experiences. It is the exact nature of these experiences that the following essay will attempt to describe. For those who have been inmates in a camp, it will attempt to explain their experiences in the light of present-day knowledge. And for those who have never been inside, it may help them to comprehend, and above all to understand, the experiences of that only too small per ­ centage of prisoners who survived and who now find life very difficult. These former prisoners often say, â€Å"We dislike talking about our experiences.No explanations are needed for those who have been inside, and the others will under ­ stand neither how we felt then nor how we feel now. † To attempt a methodical presentation of the subject is very difficult, as psycholo gy requires a certain scientific de ­ tachment. But does a man who makes his observations while he himself is a prisoner possess the necessary detach ­ ment? Such detachment is granted to the outsider, but he is too far removed to make any statements of real value. Only the man inside knows. His judgments may not be objective; his evaluations may be out of proportion.This is inevita ­ ble. An attempt must be made to avoid any personal bias, and that is the real difficulty of a book of this kind. At times it will be necessary to have the courage to tell of very in ­ timate experiences. I had intended to write this book anonymously, using my prison number only. But when the manuscript was completed, I saw that as an anonymous publication it would lose half its value, and that I must have the courage to state my convictions openly. I therefore refrained from deleting any of the passages, in spite of an intense dislike of exhibitionism.I shall leave it to others to distill the c ontents of this book into dry theories. These might become a contribution to the psychology of prison life, which was investigated after the First World War, and which acquainted us with the syndrome of â€Å"barbed wire sickness. † We are indebted to the Second World War for enriching our knowledge of the â€Å"psychopathology of the masses,† (if I may quote a varia ­ tion of the well-known phrase and title of a book by LeBon), for the war gave us the war of nerves and it gave us the concentration camp.As this story is about my experiences as an ordinary pris ­ oner, it is important that I mention, not without pride, that I was not employed as a psychiatrist in camp, or even as a doctor, except for the last few weeks. A few of my colleagues were lucky enough to be employed in poorly heated first-aid posts applying bandages made of scraps of waste paper. But I was Number 119,104, and most of the time I was digging and laying tracks for railway lines. At one time, m y job was to dig a tunnel, without help, for a water main under a road.This feat did not go unrewarded; just before Christ ­ mas 1944, I was presented with a gift of so-called â€Å"premium coupons. † These were issued by the construction firm to which we were practically sold as slaves: the firm paid the camp authorities a fixed price per day, per prisoner. The coupons cost the firm fifty pfennigs each and could be ex ­ changed for six cigarettes, often weeks later, although they sometimes lost their validity. I became the proud owner of a token worth twelve cigarettes. But more important, the cig ­ arettes could be exchanged for twelve soups, and twelve soups were often a very real respite from starvation.The privilege of actually smoking cigarettes was reserved for the Capo, who had his assured quota of weekly coupons; or possibly for a prisoner who worked as a foreman in a warehouse or workshop and received a few cigarettes in exchange for doing dangerous jobs. The only exceptions to this were those who had lost the will to live and wanted to â€Å"enjoy† their last days. Thus, when we saw a comrade smoking his own cigarettes, we knew he had given up faith 22 Man's Search for Meaning Experiences in a Concentration Camp 23 n his strength to carry on, and, once lost, the will to live seldom returned. When one examines the vast amount of material which has been amassed as the result of many prisoners' observa ­ tions and experiences, three phases of the inmate's mental reactions to camp life become apparent: the period follow ­ ing his admission; the period when he is well entrenched in camp routine; and the period following his release and liberation. The symptom that characterizes the first phase is shock. Under certain conditions shock may even precede the pris ­ oner's formal admission to the camp.I shall give as an ex ­ ample the circumstances of my own admission. Fifteen hundred persons had been traveling by train for several days and nights: there were eighty people in each coach. All had to lie on top of their luggage, the few rem ­ nants of their personal possessions. The carriages were so full that only the top parts of the windows were free to let in the grey of dawn. Everyone expected the train to head for some munitions factory, in which we would be em ­ ployed as forced labor. We did not know whether we were still in Silesia or already in Poland.The engine's whistle had an uncanny sound, like a cry for help sent out in com ­ miseration for the unhappy load which it was destined to lead into perdition. Then the train shunted, obviously nearing a main station. Suddenly a cry broke from the ranks of the anxious passengers, â€Å"There is a sign, Auschwitz! † Everyone's heart missed a beat at that moment. Auschwitz—the very name stood for all that was horrible: gas chambers, crematoriums, massacres. Slowly, almost hesi ­ tatingly, the train moved on as if it wanted to spare its passengers the dreadful realization as long as possible: Auschwitz!With the progressive dawn, the outlines of an immense camp became visible: long stretches of several rows of barbed wire fences; watch towers; search lights; and long columns of ragged human figures, grey in the greyness of dawn, trekking along the straight desolate roads, to what destination we did not know. There were isolated shouts and whistles of command. We did not know their meaning. My imagination led me to see gallows with people dangling on them. I was horrified, but this was just as well, because step by step we had to become accustomed to a terrible and immense horror.Eventually we moved into the station. The initial silence was interrupted by shouted commands. We were to hear those rough, shrill tones from then on, over and over again in all the camps. Their sound was almost like the last cry of a victim, and yet there was a difference. It had a rasping hoarseness, as if it came from the throat of a man who had to keep shouting like that, a man who was being murdered again and again. The carriage doors were flung open and a small detachment of prisoners stormed inside. They wore striped uniforms, their heads were shaved, but they looked well fed.They spoke in every possible European tongue, and all with a certain amount of humor, which sounded grotesque under the circumstances. Like a drowning man clutching a straw, my inborn optimism (which has often controlled my feelings even in the most desperate situa ­ tions) clung to this thought: These prisoners look quite well, they seem to be in good spirits and even laugh. Who knows? I might manage to share their favorable position. In psychiatry there is a certain condition known as â€Å"delu ­ sion of reprieve. † The condemned man, immediately before his execution, gets the illusion that he might be reprieved at the very last minute.We, too, clung to shreds of hope and believed to the last moment that it would not be so ba d. Just the sight of the red cheeks and round faces of 24 Man's Search for Meaning Experiences in a Concentration Camp 25 those prisoners was a great encouragement. Little did we know then that they formed a specially chosen elite, who for years had been the receiving squad for new transports as they rolled into the station day after day. They took charge of the new arrivals and their luggage, including scarce items and smuggled jewelry. Auschwitz must have been a strange spot in this Europe of the last years of the war.There must have been unique treasures of gold and silver, platinum and diamonds, not only in the huge storehouses but also in the hands of the SS. Fifteen hundred captives were cooped up in a shed built to accommodate probably two hundred at the most. We were cold and hungry and there was not enough room for everyone to squat on the bare ground, let alone to lie down. One five-ounce piece of bread was our only food in four days. Yet I heard the senior prisoners in ch arge of the shed bargain with one member of the receiving party about a tie-pin made of platinum and diamonds. Most of the profits would eventually be traded for liquor—schnapps.I do not remember any more just how many thousands of marks were needed to purchase the quantity of schnapps required for a â€Å"gay evening,† but I do know that those long-term prisoners needed schnapps. Under such conditions, who could blame them for trying to dope themselves? There was another group of prisoners who got liquor supplied in al ­ most unlimited quantities by the SS: these were the men who were employed in the gas chambers and crematoriums, and who knew very well that one day they would be re ­ lieved by a new shift of men, and that they would have to leave their enforced role of executioner and become victims themselves.Nearly everyone in our transport lived under the illusion that he would be reprieved, that everything would yet be well. We did not realize the meaning beh ind the scene that was to follow presently. We were told to leave our luggage in the train and to fall into two lines—women on one side, men on the other—in order to file past a senior SS officer. Surprisingly enough, I had the courage to hide my haver ­ sack under my coat. My line filed past the officer, man by man. I realized that it would be dangerous if the officer spotted my bag.He would at least knock me down; I knew that from previous experience. Instinctively, I straightened on approaching the officer, so that he would not notice my heavy load. Then I was face to face with him. He was a tall man who looked slim and fit in his spotless uniform. What a contrast to us, who were untidy and grimy after our long journey! He had assumed an attitude of careless ease, supporting his right elbow with his left hand. His right hand was lifted, and with the forefinger of that hand he pointed very leisurely to the right or to the left.None of us had the slightest idea of t he sinister meaning behind that little movement of a man's finger, pointing now to the right and now to the left, but far more frequently to the left. It was my turn. Somebody whispered to me that to be sent to the right side would mean work, the way to the left being for the sick and those incapable of work, who would be sent to a special camp. I just waited for things to take their course, the first of many such times to come. My haver ­ sack weighed me down a bit to the left, but I made an effort to walk upright.The SS man looked me over, appeared to hesitate, then put both his hands on my shoulders. I tried very hard to look smart, and he turned my shoulders very slowly until I faced right, and I moved over to that side. The significance of the finger game was explained to us in the evening. It was the first selection, the first verdict made on our existence or non-existence. For the great ma ­ jority of our transport, about 90 per cent, it meant death. Their sentence was ca rried out within the next few hours. Those who were sent to the left were marched from the station straight to the crematorium.This building, as I was 26 Man's Search for Meaning Experiences in a Concentration Camp 27 told by someone who worked there, had the word â€Å"bath† written over its doors in several European languages. On entering, each prisoner was handed a piece of soap, and then but mercifully I do not need to describe the events which followed. Many accounts have been written about this horror. We who were saved, the minority of our transport, found out the truth in the evening. I inquired from prisoners who had been there for some time where my colleague and friend P had been sent. â€Å"Was he sent to the left side? â€Å"Yes,† I replied. â€Å"Then you can see him there,† I was told. â€Å"Where? † A hand pointed to the chimney a few hundred yards off, which was sending a column of flame up into the grey sky of Poland. It dissolved into a sinister cloud of smoke. â€Å"That's where your friend is, floating up to Heaven,† was the answer. But I still did not understand until the truth was explained to me in plain words. But I am telling things out of their turn. From a psycho ­ logical point of view, we had a long, long way in front of us from the break of that dawn at the station until our first night's rest at the camp.Escorted by SS guards with loaded guns, we were made to run from the station, past electrically charged barbed wire, through the camp, to the cleansing station; for those of us who had passed the first selection, this was a real bath. Again our illusion of reprieve found confirmation. The SS men seemed almost charming. Soon we found out their rea ­ son. They were nice to us as long as they saw watches on our wrists and could persuade us in well-meaning tones to hand them over. Would we not have to hand over all our possessions anyway, and hy should not that relatively nice person have the watch? Maybe one day he would do one a good turn. We waited in a shed which seemed to be the anteroom to the disinfecting chamber. SS men appeared and spread out blankets into which we had to throw all our possessions, all our watches and jewelry. There were still naive prisoners among us who asked, to the amusement of the more sea ­ soned ones who were there as helpers, if they could not keep a wedding ring, a medal or a good-luck piece. No one could yet grasp the fact that everything would be taken away.I tried to take one of the old prisoners into my confi ­ dence. Approaching him furtively, I pointed to the roll of paper in the inner pocket of my coat and said, â€Å"Look, this is the manuscript of a scientific book. I know what you will say; that I should be grateful to escape with my life, that that should be all I can expect of fate. But I cannot help myself. I must keep this manuscript at all costs; it contains my life's work. Do you understand that? † Yes, he was beginning to understand.A grin spread slowly over his face, first piteous, then more amused, mock ­ ing, insulting, until he bellowed one word at me in answer to my question, a word that was ever present in the vocabu ­ lary of the camp inmates: â€Å"Shit! † At that moment I saw the plain truth and did what marked the culminating point of the first phase of my psychological reaction: I struck out my whole former life. Suddenly there was a stir among my fellow travelers, who had been standing about with pale, frightened faces, help ­ lessly debating. Again we heard the hoarsely shouted com ­ mands. We were driven with blows into the immediate anteroom of the bath.There we assembled around an SS man who waited until we had all arrived. Then he said, â€Å"I will give you two minutes, and I shall time you by my watch. In these two minutes you will get fully undressed 28 Man's Search for Meaning Experiences in a Concentration Camp 29 and drop everything on the floor wh ere you are standing. You will take nothing with you except your shoes, your belt or suspenders, and possibly a truss. I am starting to count— now! † With unthinkable haste, people tore off their clothes. As the time grew shorter, they became increasingly nervous and pulled clumsily at their underwear, belts and shoe ­ laces.Then we heard the first sounds of whipping; leather straps beating down on naked bodies. Next we were herded into another room to be shaved: not only our heads were shorn, but not a hair was left on our entire bodies. Then on to the showers, where we lined up again. We hardly recognized each other; but with great relief some people noted that real water dripped from the sprays. While we were waiting for the shower, our nakedness was brought home to us: we really had nothing now except our bare bodies—even minus hair; all we possessed, literally, was our naked existence.What else remained for us as a material link with our former lives? For me there were my glasses and my belt; the latter I had to exchange later on for a piece of bread. There was an extra bit of excitement in store for the owners of trusses. In the evening the senior prisoner in charge of our hut welcomed us with a speech in which he gave us his word of honor that he would hang, personally, â€Å"from that beam†Ã¢â‚¬â€he pointed to it—any per ­ son who had sewn money or precious stones into his truss. Proudly he explained that as a senior inhabitant the camp laws entitled him to do so. Where our shoes were concerned, matters were not so simple.Although we were supposed to keep them, those who had fairly decent pairs had to give them up after all and were given in exchange shoes that did not fit. In for real trouble were those prisoners who had followed the ap- parently well-meant advice (given in the anteroom) of the senior prisoners and had shortened their jackboots by cut ­ ting the tops off, then smearing soap on the cut edges to hide the sabotage. The SS men seemed to have waited for just that. All suspected of this crime had to go into a small adjoining room. After a time we again heard the lashings of the strap, and the screams of tortured men.This time it lasted for quite a while. Thus the illusions some of us still held were destroyed one by one, and then, quite unexpectedly, most of us were overcome by a grim sense of humor. We knew that we had nothing to lose except our so ridiculously naked lives. When the showers started to run, we all tried very hard to make fun, both about ourselves and about each other. After all, real water did flow from the spraysl Apart from that strange kind of humor, another sensa ­ tion seized us: curiosity. I have experienced this kind of curiosity before, as a fundamental reaction toward certain strange circumstances.When my life was once endangered by a climbing accident, I felt only one sensation at the critical moment: curiosity, curiosity as to whether I should come out of it alive or with a fractured skull or some other injuries. Cold curiosity predominated even in Auschwitz, some ­ how detaching the mind from its surroundings, which came to be regarded with a kind of objectivity. At that time one cultivated this state of mind as a means of protection. We were anxious to know what would happen next; and what would be the consequence, for example, of our standing in the open air, in the chill of late autumn, stark naked, and still wet from the showers.In the next few days our curi ­ osity evolved into surprise; surprise that we did not catch cold. There were many similar surprises in store for new ar- 30 Man's Search for Meaning Experiences in a Concentration Camp 31 rivals. The medical men among us learned first of all: â€Å"Textbooks tell lies! † Somewhere it is said that man cannot exist without sleep for more than a stated number of hours. Quite wrongl I had been convinced that there were certain things I just could not do: I c ould not sleep without this or I could not live with that or the other.The first night in Auschwitz we slept in beds which were constructed in tiers. On each tier (measuring about six-and-a-half to eight feet) slept nine men, directly on the boards. Two blankets were shared by each nine men. We could, of course, lie only on our sides, crowded and huddled against each other, which had some advantages because of the bitter cold. Though it was forbidden to take shoes up to the bunks, some people did use them secretly as pillows in spite of the fact that they were caked with mud. Otherwise one's head had to rest on the crook of an almost dislocated arm.And yet sleep came and brought oblivion and relief from pain for a few hours. I would like to mention a few similar surprises on how much we could endure: we were unable to clean our teeth, and yet, in spite of that and a severe vitamin deficiency, we had healthier gums than ever before. We had to wear the same shirts for half a year, unt il they had lost all ap ­ pearance of being shirts. For days we were unable to wash, even partially, because of frozen water-pipes, and yet the sores and abrasions on hands which were dirty from work in the soil did not suppurate (that is, unless there was frost ­ bite).Or for instance, a light sleeper, who used to be dis ­ turbed by the slightest noise in the next room, now found himself lying pressed against a comrade who snored loudly a few inches from his ear and yet slept quite soundly through the noise. If someone now asked of us the truth of Dostoevski's statement that flatly defines man as a being who can get used to anything, we would reply, â€Å"Yes, a man can get used to anything, but do not ask us how. † But our psychological investigations have not taken us that far yet; neither had we prisoners reached that point. We were still in the first phase of our psychological reactions.The thought of suicide was entertained by nearly every ­ one, if only for a b rief time. It was born of the hopelessness of the situation, the constant danger of death looming over us daily and hourly, and the closeness of the deaths suffered by many of the others. From personal convictions which will be mentioned later, I made myself a firm promise, on my first evening in camp, that I would not â€Å"run into the wire. † This was a phrase used in camp to describe the most popular method of suicide—touching the electrically charged barbed-wire fence. It was not entirely difficult for me to make this decision.There was little point in commit ­ ting suicide, since, for the average inmate, life expectation, calculating objectively and counting all likely chances, was very poor. He could not with any assurance expect to be among the small percentage of men who survived all the selections. The prisoner of Auschwitz, in the first phase of shock, did not fear death. Even the gas chambers lost their horrors for him after the first few days—afte r all, they spared him the act of committing suicide. Friends whom I have met later have told me that I was not one of those whom the shock of admission greatly de ­ pressed.I only smiled, and quite sincerely, when the follow ­ ing episode occurred the morning after our first night in Auschwitz. In spite of strict orders not to leave our â€Å"blocks,† a colleague of mine, who had arrived in Auschwitz several weeks previously, smuggled himself into our hut. He wanted to calm and comfort us and tell us a few things. He had become so thin that at first we did not recognize him. With a show of good humor and a Devil-may-care attitude he gave us a few hurried tips: â€Å"Don't be afraid! Don't fear the selections! Dr.M (the SS medical chief) has a soft spot for doctors. † (This was wrong; my friend's kindly 32 Man's Search for Meaning words were misleading. One prisoner, the doctor of a block, of huts and a man of some sixty years, told me how he had entreated Dr. M to let off his son, who was destined for gas. Dr. M coldly refused. ) â€Å"But one thing I beg of you†; he continued, â€Å"shave daily, if at all possible, even if you have to use a piece of glass to do it . . . even if you have to give your last piece of bread for it. You will look younger and the scraping will make your cheeks look ruddier.If you want to stay alive, there is only one way: look fit for work. If you even limp, because, let us say, you have a small blister on your heel, and an SS man spots this, he will wave you aside and the next day you are sure to be gassed. Do you know what we mean by a ‘Moslem'? A man who looks miserable, down and out, sick and emaciated, and who cannot manage hard physical labor any longer . . . that is a ‘Moslem. ‘ Sooner or later, usually sooner, every ‘Moslem' goes to the gas chambers. Therefore, remember: shave, stand and walk smartly; then you need not be afraid of gas.All of you standing here, even if you h ave only been here twenty-four hours, you need not fear gas, except perhaps you. † And then he pointed to me and said, â€Å"I hope you don't mind my telling you frankly. † To the others he repeated, â€Å"Of all of you he is the only one who must fear the next selection. So, don't worry! † And I smiled. I am now convinced that anyone in my place on that day would have done the same. Experiences in a Concentration Camp I think it was Lessing who once said, â€Å"There are things which must cause you to lose your reason or you have none to lose. An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior. Even we psychiatrists expect the reactions of a man to an abnormal situation, such as being com ­ mitted to an asylum, to be abnormal in proportion to the degree of his normality. The reaction of a man to his admission to a concentration camp also represents an abnormal state of mind, but judged objectively it is a normal and, as will be shown later, typi cal reaction to the given circumstances. These reactions, as I have described them, began to change in a few days.The prisoner passed from the first to the second phase; the phase of relative apathy, in which he achieved a kind of emotional death. Apart from the already described reactions, the newly arrived prisoner experienced the tortures of other most painful emotions, all of which he tried to deaden. First of all, there was his boundless longing for his home and his family. This often could become so acute that he felt himself consumed by longing. Then there was disgust; disgust with all the ugliness which surrounded him, even in its mere external forms.Most of the prisoners were given a uniform of rags which would have made a scarecrow elegant by comparison. Between the huts in the camp lay pure filth, and the more one worked to clear it away, the more one had to come in contact with it. It was a favorite practice to detail a new arrival to a work group whose job was to clean the latrines and remove the sewage. If, as usually happened, some of the excrement splashed into his face during its transport over bumpy fields, any sign of disgust by the prisoner or any attempt to wipe off the filth would only be punished with a blow from a Capo.And thus the mortification of normal reactions was hastened. At first the prisoner looked away if he saw the punishment parades of another group; he could not bear to see fellow prisoners march up and down for hours in the mire, their movements directed by blows. Days or weeks later things changed. Early in the morning, when it was still dark, the prisoner stood in front of the gate with his detachment, ready to march. He heard a scream and saw how 34 Man's Search for Meaning Experiences in a Concentration Camp 35 comrade was knocked down, pulled to his feet again, and knocked down once more—and why? He was feverish but had reported to sick-bay at an improper time. He was being punished for this irregular attempt t o be relieved of his duties. But the prisoner who had passed into the second stage of his psychological reactions did not avert his eyes any more. By then his feelings were blunted, and he watched un ­ moved. Another example: he found himself waiting at sick ­ bay, hoping to be granted two days of light work inside the camp because of injuries or perhaps edema or fever.He stood unmoved while a twelve-year-old boy was carried in who had been forced to stand at attention for hours in the snow or to work outside with bare feet because there were no shoes for him in the camp. His toes had become frost ­ bitten, and the doctor on duty picked off the black gan ­ grenous stumps with tweezers, one by one. Disgust, horror and pity are emotions that our spectator could not really feel any more. The sufferers, the dying and the dead, be ­ came such commonplace sights to him after a few weeks of camp life that they could not move him any more.I spent some time in a hut for typhus pati ents who ran very high temperatures and were often delirious, many of them moribund. After one of them had just died, I watched without any emotional upset the scene that followed, which was repeated over and over again with each death. One by one the prisoners approached the still warm body. One grabbed the remains of a messy meal of potatoes; another decided that the corpse's wooden shoes were an improve ­ ment on his own, and exchanged them. A third man did the same with the dead man's coat, and another was glad to be able to secure some—just imagine! —genuine string.All this I watched with unconcern. Eventually I asked the â€Å"nurse† to remove the body. When he decided to do so, he took the corpse by its legs, allowing it to drop into the small corridor between the two rows of boards which were the beds for the fifty typhus patients, and dragged it across the bumpy earthen floor toward the door. The two steps which led up into the open air always constit uted a prob ­ lem for us, since we were exhausted from a chronic lack of food. After a few months' stay in the camp we could not walk up those steps, which were each about six inches high, without putting our hands on the door jambs to pull our ­ selves up.The man with the corpse approached the steps. Wearily he dragged himself up. Then the body: first the feet, then the trunk, and finally—with an uncanny rattling noise— the head of the corpse bumped up the two steps. My place was on the opposite side of the hut, next to the small, sole window, which was built near the floor. While my cold hands clasped a bowl of hot soup from which I sipped greedily, I happened to look out the window. The corpse which had just been removed stared in at me with glazed eyes. Two hours before I had spoken to that man.Now I continued sipping my soup. If my lack of emotion had not surprised me from the standpoint of professional interest, I would not remember this incident now, because there was so little feeling in ­ volved in it. Apathy, the blunting of the emotions and the feeling that one could not care any more, were the symptoms arising during the second stage of the prisoner's psychological re ­ actions, and which eventually made him insensitive to daily and hourly beatings. By means of this insensibility the pris ­ oner soon surrounded himself with a very necessary protec ­ tive shell. 6 Man's Search for Meaning Experiences in a Concentration Camp 37 Beatings occurred on the slightest provocation, sometimes for no reason at all. For example, bread was rationed out at our work site and we had to line up for it. Once, the man behind me stood off a little to one side and that lack of symmetry displeased the SS guard. I did not know what was going on in the line behind me, nor in the mind of the SS guard, but suddenly I received two sharp blows on my head. Only then did I spot the guard at my side who was using his stick.At such a moment it is not the physical pain which hurts the most (and this applies to adults as much as to punished children); it is the mental agony caused by the injustice, the unreasonableness of it all. Strangely enough, a blow which does not even find its mark can, under certain circumstances, hurt more than one that finds its mark. Once I was standing on a railway track in a snowstorm. In spite of the weather our party had to keep on working. I worked quite hard at mending the track with gravel, since that was the only way to keep warm. For only one moment I paused to get my breath and to lean on my shovel.Unfortunately the guard turned around just then and thought I was loafing. The pain he caused me was not from any insults or any blows. That guard did not think it worth his while to say anything, not even a swear word, to the ragged, emaciated figure standing before him, which probably reminded him only vaguely of a human form. Instead, he playfully picked up a stone and threw it at me. That, to me, se emed the way to attract the attention of a beast, to call a domestic animal back to its job, a creature with which you have so little in common that you do not even punish it.The most painful part of beatings is the insult which they imply. At one time we had to carry some long, heavy girders over icy tracks. If one man slipped, he endangered not only himself but all the others who carried the same girder. An old friend of mine had a congenitally dislocated hip. He was glad to be capable of working in spite of it, since the physically disabled were almost certainly sent to death when a selection took place. He limped over the track with an especially heavy girder, and seemed about to fall and drag the others with him. As yet, I was not carrying a girder so I jumped to his assistance without stopping to think.I was immediately hit on the back, rudely repri ­ manded and ordered to return to my place. A few minutes previously the same guard who struck me had told us deprecatingly tha t we â€Å"pigs† lacked the spirit of comrade ­ ship. Another time, in a forest, with the temperature at 2 °F, we began to dig up the topsoil, which was frozen hard, in order to lay water pipes. By then I had grown rather weak physi ­ cally. Along came a foreman with chubby rosy cheeks. His face definitely reminded me of a pig's head. I noticed that he wore lovely warm gloves in that bitter cold. For a time he watched me silently.I felt that trouble was brewing, for in front of me lay the mound of earth which showed exactly how much I had dug. Then he began: â€Å"You pig, I have been watching you the whole time! I'll teach you to work, yet! Wait till you dig dirt with your teeth—you'll die like an animal! In two days I'll finish you off! You've never done a stroke of work in your life. What were you, swine? A businessman? † I was past caring. But I had to take his threat of killing me seriously, so I straightened up and looked him directly in the eye. â⠂¬Å"I was a doctor—a specialist. † â€Å"What? A doctor?I bet you got a lot of money out of people. † â€Å"As it happens, I did most of my work for no money at all, in clinics for the poor. † But, now, I had said too much. He threw himself on me and knocked me down, shouting like a madman. I can no longer remember what he shouted. I want to show with this apparently trivial story that 38 Man's Search for Meaning Experiences in a Concentration Camp 39 there are moments when indignation can rouse even a seemingly hardened prisoner—indignation not about cruelty or pain, but about the insult connected with it. That time blood rushed to my head because I had to listen o a man judge my life who had so little idea of it, a man (I must confess: the following remark, which I made to my fellow-prisoners after the scene, afforded me childish relief) â€Å"who looked so vulgar and brutal that the nurse in the outpatient ward in my hospital would not even have admitted him to the waiting room. † Fortunately the Capo in my working party was obligated to me; he had taken a liking to me because I listened to his love stories and matrimonial troubles, which he poured out during the long marches to our work site. I had made an impression on him with my diagnosis of his character and with my psychotherapeutic advice.After that he was grate ­ ful, and this had already been of value to me. On several previous occasions he had reserved a place for me next to him in one of the first five rows of our detachment, which usually consisted of two hundred and eighty men. That favor was important. We had to line up early in the morn ­ ing while it was still dark. Everybody was afraid of being late and of having to stand in the back rows. If men were required for an unpleasant and disliked job, the senior Capo appeared and usually collected the men he needed from the back rows.These men had to march away to an ­ other, especially dreaded kind of work under the command of strange guards. Occasionally the senior Capo chose men from the first five rows, just to catch those who tried to be clever. All protests and entreaties were silenced by a few well-aimed kicks, and the chosen victims were chased to the meeting place with shouts and blows. However, as long as my Capo felt the need of pouring out his heart, this could not happen to me. I had a guaranteed place of honor next to him. But there was another advan- tage, too. Like nearly all the camp inmates I was suffering from edema.My legs were so swollen and the skin on them so tightly stretched that I could scarcely bend my knees. I had to leave my shoes unlaced in order to make them fit my swollen feet. There would not have been space for socks even if I had had any. So my partly bare feet were always wet and my shoes always full of snow. This, of course, caused frostbite and chilblains. Every single step became real torture. Clumps of ice formed on our shoes during our m arches over snow-covered fields. Over and again men slipped and those following behind stumbled on top of them. Then the column would stop for a moment, but not for long.One of the guards soon took action and worked over the men with the butt of his rifle to make them get up quickly. The more to the front of the column you were, the less often you were disturbed by having to stop and then to make up for lost time by running on your painful feet. I was very happy to be the personally appointed physician to His Honor the Capo, and to march in the first row at an even pace. As an additional payment for my services, I could be sure that as long as soup was being dealt out at lunchtime at our work site, he would, when my turn came, dip the ladle right to the bottom of the vat and fish out a few peas.This Capo, a former army officer, even had the courage to whisper to the foreman, whom I had quarreled with, that he knew me to be an unusually good worker. That didn't help matters, but he n evertheless managed to save my life (one of the many times it was to be saved). The day after the epi ­ sode with the foreman he smuggled me into another work party. There were foremen who felt sorry for us and who did their best to ease our situation, at least at the building site. 40 Man's Search for Meaning Experiences in a Concentration Camp 41But even they kept on reminding us that an ordinary laborer did several times as much work as we did, and in a shorter time. But they did see reason if they were told that a normal workman did not live on 10-1/2 ounces of bread (theoretically—actually we often had less) and 1-3/4 pints of thin soup per day; that a normal laborer did not live under the mental stress we had to submit to, not having news of our families, who had either been sent to another camp or gassed right away; that a normal workman was not threat ­ ened by death continuously, daily and hourly.I even al ­ lowed myself to say once to a kindly foreman, â€Å" If you could learn from me how to do a brain operation in as short a time as I am learning this road work from you, I would have great respect for you. † And he grinned. Apathy, the main symptom of the second phase, was a necessary mechanism of self-defense. Reality dimmed, and all efforts and all emotions were centered on one task: pre ­ serving one's own life and that of the other fellow. It was typical to hear the prisoners, while they were being herded back to camp from their work sites in the evening, sigh with relief and say, â€Å"Well, another day is over. It can be readily understood that such a state of strain, coupled with the constant necessity of concentrating on the task of staying alive, forced the prisoner's inner life down to a primitive level. Several of my colleagues in camp who were trained in psychoanalysis often spoke of a â€Å"regression† in the camp inmate—a retreat to a more primitive form of mental life. His wishes and desires became obvious in his dreams. What did the prisoner dream about most frequently? Of bread, cake, cigarettes, and nice warm baths.The lack of having these simple desires satisfied led him to seek wishfulfillment in dreams. Whether these dreams did any good is another matter; the dreamer had to wake from them to the reality of camp life, and to the terrible contrast between that and his dream illusions. I shall never forget how I was roused one night by the groans of a fellow prisoner, who threw himself about in his sleep, obviously having a horrible nightmare. Since I had always been especially sorry for people who suffered from fearful dreams or deliria, I wanted to wake the poor man.Suddenly I drew back the hand which was ready to shake him, frightened at the thing I was about to do. At that moment I became intensely conscious of the fact that no dream, no matter how horrible, could be as bad as the reality of the camp which surrounded us, and to which I was about to recall him. Because of the high degree of undernourishment which the prisoners suffered, it was natural that the desire for food was the major primitive instinct around which mental life centered. Let us observe the majority of prisoners when they happened to work near each other and were, for once, not closely watched.They would immediately start discuss ­ ing food. One fellow would ask another working next to him in the ditch what his favorite dishes were. Then they would exchange recipes and plan the menu for the day when they would have a reunion—the day in a distant future when they would be liberated and returned home. They would go on and on, picturing it all in detail, until suddenly a warning was passed down the trench, usually in the form of a special password or number: â€Å"The guard is coming. † I always regarded the discussions about food as danger ­ ous.Is it not wrong to provoke the organism with such detailed and affective pictures of delicacies when it has somehow m anaged to adapt itself to extremely small rations 42 Man's Search for Meaning Experiences in a Concentration Camp 43 and low calories? Though it may afford momentary psycho ­ logical relief, it is an illusion which phy