Dehumanization may be a psychological method in which humans read each other as less than human without thinking about it. Prolonged conflict strains relationships and makes it difficult for humans to recognize and accept that they are part of a shared human community. Such conditions typically result in feelings of intense emotion and alienation. The psychological feeling can often spread among humans and they are usually seen as inferior or evil. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay We generally assume that most people believe that we as a whole enjoy basic human rights. Innocent people should not be killed or tortured because of different beliefs and/or skin color. They need to have their basic wants and needs met and to possess some freedom as well as create autonomous choices. In times of war, such as World War II, we as a society must protect innocent civilians. Even the guilty should receive humane punishment and not be subjected to any cruel or unusual social control. Common exclusion criteria include ideology, skin color, and social background. In general, we have a tendency to dehumanize those we do not understand and deprive them of their fundamental values and rights as human beings. This can raise cases that harm and exploit the "fundamental rights" of individuals. Imagine this, you haven't eaten anything in days. You are destitute and run incessantly for miles to come in the ever-increasing cold. You run so fast for so long that you start to feel nothing. This is a depiction of one of the horrendous encounters that the Jews had to observe during the Holocaust. This is how Elie Wiesel felt in Elie Wiesel's Night. Wiesel is a Jew during the Holocaust who is sent with his father to several extermination camps. He faces so many difficulties to the point that he regularly goes through his life. Throughout the night, there is much dehumanization in the form of starvation, ruthlessness and forced labor. Elie Wiesel regularly experienced hunger as a kind of dehumanization. Elie begins to starve when Elie and all the other people in the inhumane prisons are offered nothing to eat or drink. «We stayed in Gleiwitz for three days. Three days without food or drink” (Wiesel 91). Elie is shocked when one of the death camps he was sent to for a short period of time, gave him nothing to eat or drink, causing him to starve. After the annoying experience, Elie's stomach starves day after day. 'One day, as we stopped, a worker took a piece of bread from his backpack and threw it into a cart. There was a rush. Many starving men fought to the death for a couple of pieces. The German workers were enthusiastic about this exhibition” (Wiesel 97). This statement shows that, in light of the fact that the Jews were so ravenous, they were happy to sacrifice their lives, just for the opportunity to eat a little bread. Because of these encounters, Elie and other Jews developed the habit of starving and assured each other that once they were freed, the main thing they would do was eat. Another type of dehumanization Elie faces is ruthlessness. Elie encounters a considerable amount of savagery while in the death camps. “I only knew whiplash then” (Wiesel 55). Because Elie accidentally saw something he shouldn't have seen, he was rejected. Elie was placed on a box and given twenty-five lashes on his back which killed him. Elie's father was.
tags