Holocaust in Cinematography - Dissertation Example

? Elie Wiesel is the Nobel Peace Prize winner of 1986. His book en d “Night”, originally en d “Un di Velt Hot Geshvign” was published in 1956. The book was recently translated into French by Elie's wife, Marion Wiesel, in 2006. However, the English translation of the book has been released way back in 1960, translated by Stella Rodway. The novel is reminiscent of the experiences of the author after surviving and enduring torture during the holocaust. The author narrated his story of being at the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps with his father. Elie was the sole survivor of those camps and surprisingly enough, his narrations claim that even his father was able to survive an entire year of sheer torture. (Langer, 1975) Being moved from one language to another, particularly from German into English, then into French, is bound to change some of the meanings as well as lose some of them. Language is such an ambiguous concept that denotations are simply never sufficient in translating the exact intended meaning of the author. Authors utilize connotations of words in the language as they know it, however, the implied meaning may be lost to the translator. It is a fact that in research, there is only an average of approximately 80 percent of success in the translation of the meaning the original written works. Though the exact percentage of accuracy of the “Night” is not provided, there were some things that the author did not intend in the English version of the book. Rodway's use of words were a little too strong and graphic, bordering on crude, with her description of certain sensitive scenes in the book. The original work written by Elie used a little bit of Hebrew and German, wherein some of the definitions would have most probably been lost along the process of translation. There are implied meanings in a language that could be overlooked by a translator no matter how fluent or efficient they are. Records state that Elie have in fact used some Hebrew characters originating from ancient customs which necessitates even more expertise in translating his texts in order to perceive his true meaning. Throughout the book, particularly the English translation, there were some implications of objections to Christianity as a religion, as well as similar objections to Judaism. The main title of the book, “Night”, was made in reference to how Elie's family, and other Jews alike, used to pray to God to get the night over with a lot faster. The author wrote his frustrations and his inability to contemplate how a loving God can allow tragedies as such can happen. This version of the book has brought on outrage from the Jewish people as well as other groups. The first translation written by Stella Rodway received a both positive and negative reviews. However, the sales remained unaffected by the attention it did receive. In contrast to Anne Frank's diary, this book was received as a fiction rather than an actual chronological account of what has happened during the holocaust. The book was intensely personal, and some of the events did not quite tally with records of events that has occurred, which makes it an easy for critiques to question the validity of his stories. (Berenbaum, 1979) The book tackled life to death stories as it began with the foreboding doom by Moshe the Beadle, who was an escapee then to the stories of a prophet who was on the train to the camp and was only capable of having visions of fire. Certain analogies pertaining to how eyes filled with pain goes blank and all those eyes would be is two open wounds that are now just an abyss filled with expressions of terror. In one part of the book in particular, a story of a little boy who was hung to die with two grown men gripped a lot of readers in the past few decades that the book has been in publication. Again, condemning statements such as of how God, for all the flowery phrases used to describe him, can allow such cruelty and evil come upon his people was perceived as an insult by certain readers. Christianity, as it is, believes that Jews are the chosen people of God. Analogies and statements as such was received as an insult by many Jewish people and Christians alike. Hebrew societies have also taken insult to some of the statements and accounts found in the book. (Greenbert, 1979) The book have also exhibited certain inconsistencies that may be more on grammatical rather than content errors. For example, when he talked about how he and his father were trying to run again, one of the statement claims that his father said something about how his son did not notice how he no longer had any strength left to run with him, but the next line was saying “I was only fifteen years old”, and statement or thought of the person was also written in the first person, which makes it very ambiguous. Was it the father who was saying his son didn't notice him getting left behind or Elie really had a son at fifteen? Certain questions arise when words are translated verbatim. Some languages have transitional words used while other languages do not. Transitional words together with the correct use of first person, second person or third person narrative is a very basic writing rule. Errors in applying the right words to use in an essay alters the meaning of the mentioned literary work somehow. English for one utilizes a lot of words that are practically impossible to find an exact translation for in other languages, and frankly, words can not be translated verbatim, otherwise, the context will be different. The story also revolve around Elie's hope to constantly stay with his father as they were moving all throughout the camps which he did for the most part up until his father's up to the end of his father's life. In a way, he found more rearing and companionship from his father in the camps than he ever had when his dad was leading the affairs of the community and business. The story, looking at it in the view of his desire to protect his own is a concept that many can relate to and a feeling that most readers have been able to empathize with. (Berenbaum, 1979) The story, basically, was about the experiences of Elie as a mere fifteen year old boy who has survived the same but not quite similar monstrosities as Anne Frank did. However, Elie's novel was not written until he was around 30 years of age which entails that more than a decade has passed before his account has been written. The initial translation made by Marion Wiesel was criticized by many as very inconsistent with facts and chronological order appearing to have contradictions with the actual recorded histories. Many say that the passage of time has robbed the author of the actual sequence of events and much of the story were more on imaginary rather than fact. Haunting in its graphic simplicity, Elie Wiesel's Night has still be considered by many as a documentation of one of the most infamous crimes against humanity written in a startlingly personal way. The translation of Marion Wiesel was focused on the struggles of a fifteen year old to survive mixed with his in-depth questioning of faith and the new preface by the author wherein Wiesel seeks and with success adds greater pathos to his already deeply moving piece of history. One of the main reasons why the book has been classified as a literary fiction rather than a biography like Anne Frank's diary. The book is comprised of many tragedies but, it can be felt on a more personal level. (Roth, 1979) The author related their efforts to make the right decisions at the time robbed them of luck, and how, at the same time, sheer determination and will to survive has saved him and his father countless of times. Not going back to the hospital was plausibly the worst near-encounter of all, as their fate was then sealed on the deadly more than 40 mile run and then freezing train journey to Buchenwald. This was only a death march, and nothing more. Lack of food freezing temperatures and people were dropping one by one. Of the 200 people to get on the train, only twelve made it out alive, including Elie and his dad. (Cargas, 1976) Plenty of times, Elie has written in the book how felt he had failed his father, but in a fight for survival, he claimed that did all that he physically could. Several accounts were integrated throughout the book, which, has served the book in good stead as a documentation of what has happened during those times. (Cargas, 1976) There is also a deep psychological accounts related throughout the book. The thoughts of the author as he was trying to survive has been found very disturbing by many readers. Wiesel describes his own thoughts as he finds his psyche ablated to a survivalist mentality. In the wake of his own father's death, he recounted his inability to weep because of extreme fatigue and his admission to probably even be feeling relieved at his father's passing which entails he no longer has to care for him. (Fine, 1982) Wiesel described his religion with both uncertainty and anger. He talked about how, although he had been raised as a deeply observant Jew, he finds himself questioning God's motives and hating God for his faults in being able to stand back and watch the others are causing suffering to so many innocent people, but despite how his anger with God lingers, he still finds himself praying. Though many religious readers have found this element of the book very disturbing and to some, even offensive, other readers have been able to empathize with this emotions. (Stern, 1982) The second translation of the book written by Marion Wiesel was claimed to be an a incarnation of the book which, despite of such horrific events, Wiesel was found to often write about the disturbing interminable silence among his fellow prisoners. He emphasized that they are too tired to yell, to cry, or even to talk. He talked about the long bouts of silence as a cloud of death surrounds them. Out of the author's survival has emerged Night and many other publications. Reviews acknowledged that probably, the most dangerous ingredient in the Holocaust was silence. Wiesel, later on, wrote in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech that "Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."(Berenbaum, 1979) Critiques of the English translation claim that the words of the author carries more weight and impact. The English version which is only around 160 pages is a lot shorter than the first version, however, the compactness of the book seems to have evolved the book and made it even more effective to its readers. The translation did earn the author a Nobel Prize and has placed the book in the autobiographical book category rather than fiction. Even today, some teachers still include the book in their class readings. The main difference between the two translations is the usage of words in the book. The comprised English version was successful in obliterating parts of the book that were not too important, and as compared with the original, the first translation made it shorter and less dragging. With a shorter version, the author and his book reached broader acceptance as well as recognition from a wider scope. However, though the shorter version of the book did receive recognitions and exposure, the use of words were too gruff which many have found offensive. The 2006 translation written by Marion Wiesel was more subtle with the words she used, and treated scenes with more sensitivity which made the book more acceptable for a wider range of audience. References: Lawrence Lange. "The Holocaust and the Literary Imagination". New Haven/London. 1975 (book) Harry James Cargas. "Conversations with Elie Wiesel". 1976 (book) Harry James Cargas."Responses to Elie Wiesel: Critical Essays by Major Jewish and Christian Scholars." 1978 (journal). Ed. New York: Schocken Books, 2001 Alvin Rosenfeld and Irving Greenbert. "Confronting the Holocaust: The Impact of Elie Wiesel." Indiana University Press. 1979 (book) Michael Berenbaum. "The Vision of the Void: Theological Reflections on the Works of Elie Wiesel." Middletown, Connecticut, Wesleyan University Press. 1979 (book) John K. Roth. "A Consuming Fire: Encounters with Elie Wiesel." John Knox Press .1979 (book) Ellen S. Fine. "Legacy of Night: The Literary Universe of Elie Wiesel," State University of New York Press in Albany. 1982 (book) Ellen Norman Stern. "Elie Wiesel: Witness for Life." VKTAV Publishing House. 1982 (book) Rachel Donadio. “The Story of ‘Night’ ”. New York Times. January 20, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/books/review/Donadio-t.html A.R. Marth et. al. “Book reviews: Night, by Elie Wiesel”. Helium: Historical Literature. Accessed May 24, 2011. http://www.helium.com/knowledge/53100-book-reviews-night-by-elie-wiesel Read More