A Clockwork Orange.

So, for my second book I chose A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. My initial reaction = impossible to read. After I read the first page I was having second thoughts about continuing the novel, but from what i've heard from those who already read it, you get used to it. It's interesting how Burgess makes the reader figure out his unique language. Personally, half the fun about reading the book is figuring out what the words mean via context; however, for those of you who are reading and want a shortcut you can click here for a glossary of the terms.

Before I get into what I think of the book so far, I want to share a few thoughts even before I began reading it. Mr. Bernardi, the oddest teacher i've ever had, actually told me the movie version of the book was really good. He failed to mention that the majority of people find the movie disturbing beyond all belief. The video below was a user review on the movie. It's funny how she goes, "It is the most messed up movie." She continues to review the movie and ends with, "it's a fascinatingly weird movie." Although movies have a tendency of being very different from the novels the are based on, i'm curious to how the movie took the book and created such a disturbing movie. I want to know what was in the book that inspired the movie makers to portray it in such a way. Furthermore, the cover of our books create an interesting image. Its the bottom half of person apparently screaming, with the top half in flames. Although it's probably just an aesthetic tool for marketing, It has to have some meaning in the book. As i continue to read i'm just excited to see what goes on. Ken, who sits in front of me in English highly recommended the novel; however, i'm 54 pages into it and all i've encountered were meaningless acts of violence. So far Alex and his droogs beating up on people. When i read the part when they go into the cottage and find the book, "a clockwork orange" I expected something wild, but I didn't. I guess the book develops more as it goes on. I'm starting to understand the society they live in, where the young are able to roam freely abusing their elders. Personally, coming from a strict Korean household, abuse and even simple disrespect for elders is intolerable. As for a novel goes, i'm enjoying reading it. It's very different from what I would expect to read for school. By the way, sorry for the quality and ads in the video. Yahoo video is awful.

The Psychology of a Holocaust Survivor (Wiesenthal)

Unfortunately due to my poor work ethic and lack of concentration it looks like I'm going to finish the assignment after break. I'd actually rather not blog about this; however due to the requirements of the class I must include something relevant to the marvelously dull novel, The Sunflower. By the way that picture to the left is Simon Wiesenthal in deeeeep thought, thinking about his past trauma.

Alright so if you already don't know, I'm having a hard time deciding what I would have done in Simon Wiesenthal's place. I can't relate to his story because I'm not Jewish, but I can imagine the psychological battle he must have fought. After searching on Google for the psychological effects of the holocaust amongst holocaust survivors I came across this article. It seems that almost all of the holocaust survivors have had a negative psychological impact on their lives, much like how Simon Wiesenthal went had emotional trauma. One of the conclusions for the research conducted on Holocaust survivors is stated in this quote,

"Not surprisingly, the overall effect of the Holocaust on survivors was physically and mentally damaging, not only leaving every survivor with scars (e.g., Brink, 1994) but transmitting posttraumatic effects even to many second- (e.g., Bar-On, 1994; Robinson & Winnik, 1981) and third-generation individuals (e.g., Rosenthal, 1998)."

No one I know personally has gone through such physical and mental damage. The article mentions that there are so many factors that impede researchers from successfully understanding a survivor's mental damage (Lomranz). It's hard to imagine what Wiesenthal went through after he had kept silent during the SS officer's confession. He probably visualized the moment hundreds of times in his head for a long time, questioning if his actions were the right thing to do; eventually he wrote his book to ask a broader audience. I believe what motivated him to write the Sunflower was his constant battle against his conscience. A portion of the article is title "Holocaust Survivors and Cultural Dimensions," and mentions how research has been influenced by culture. Although the article mentions the research aspect of Holocaust survivors and not individual experiences, the title of the segment can be related to Wiesenthal's experience. Culture forgave the Germans for their crimes but Wiesenthal is confounded if he made the right decision. Overall the psychology of Wiesenthal as a Holocaust survivor is extremely complex and difficult to understand even if you have the highest degree in Psychology. Mad confusing.

I surprisingly finished The Sunflower

You might not want to read this post if you had not read The Sunflower.

The Sunflower, written by Simon Wiesenthal, comes in two parts. As of 2nd period today I finished reading the first part of the novel, which is the story of Wiesenthal’s experience hearing the horrific confession of a dying SS soldier. The second part is 53 responses by various men and women. At the end of the first part, Simon Wiesenthal asks the reader a question, “You, who have just read this sad and tragic episode in my life, can mentally change places with me and ask yourself the crucial question, ‘What would I have done’” (Wiesenthal 98). Referring back to my last post I wondered what I would have done even before I read what he went through. Now that I do know the mental and physical struggle Wiesenthal went through, I can say that i would not have been able to keep complete silence when a man who took part in the heinous crimes against your people seeks absolution; Wiesenthal’s patience with the SS soldier is admirable for not losing his tempter, but cruel for not fulfilling a dying man’s last request. What Wiesenthal should have asked the reader is, do you think he was cruel to the SS man.

Regardless of what society may dictate, Wiesenthal made the right choice not to forgive the dying SS man, but he should have spoken to the man. By keeping complete silence, the SS man had no reference or feedback to give him the satisfaction of repentance. Forgiveness isn’t something to give out as easily as it may seem. It’s difficult for me to place myself in his shoes because I cannot relate to the horrors Jewish people endured during the Holocaust. While writing this post I came across this article written by Kelley Sawyer. In the article she states, “This is a difficult and complex question. There are so many things to consider in terms of diverse beliefs and opinions. None of us can say with complete certainty how we would respond if put into the same situation. It is difficult to answer the question from half a century away, not having gone through the tortures that Simon and his peers did.” (Sawyer) It seems to me that I’m not the only one having a hard time to answer Wiesenthal’s question. As of right now, reading only what Simon Wiesenthal wrote I conclude that if I were in his position, I would have not forgiven him as he did, but not in complete silence. I would have told the SS man off and wanted no part of his confession; however, once I read the 53 responses include in the novel perhaps my opinion will sway.