<p>Hi guys, I hope I'm posting this in the right section, because I want an essay to be graded, but it is NOT a college app essay, just an ordinary one. And I'm sorry about the topic if it offends anyone, its just the last one that I got passed back, and I think it would best reflect my current writing level.</p>
<p>The thing is, I have an English teacher that grades not only really harshly, but I believe, in a very biased manner as well. Although I may be just disillusioning myself (heh), I'd like to think that my writing is better than the grade she gives me. (Which I think was a 33/50, or 66%) So if anyone is willing to take a look at it, that would be great!</p>
<p>(And if it is truly as bad as it is, I'd like some constructive criticism as to how I should improve it =D.)</p>
<p>I don't remember the exact prompt, but it was an assignment after reading the book Night by Elie Wiesel. We were to research about the Holocaust and explain why students should learn about the Holocaust and read Night.</p>
<p>Oh BTW, the class I'm taking is English 10 Honors. So here goes:</p>
<pre><code>The Holocaust occurred in the time between 1933 and the end of World War II in 1945, and killed more than 6 million Jews through gas chambers, fire pits, starvation, and cold. It was a cruel and harrowing experience that no one, especially the survivors, wanted to remember. The horrors of the Holocaust had muted the victims; they did not want to re-open the old wounds that had so painfully and slowly healed. But after ten years, Elie Wiesel, a survivor, finally decided to break the silence. He published his autobiography, Night, chronicling his experience in the concentration camp as a Jewish prisoner. Even when it was published, the novel received much controversy and criticism, and it almost did not make it to the printing press because no publisher wanted to print such a tender, controversial issue. Although it has garnered much more praise and respect over the following years, the novel still has not become a classic, common book read by everyone, due to its sensitive and politically attached subject matter. However, despite having occurred nearly seventy years ago, a mass genocide is just as possible anywhere today if the people are not educated in the past. Therefore the youth today should read Night by Elie Wiesel and learn about the Holocaust to see the evil in the atrocities committed by the Nazis, not only to become wiser and more educated in such matters than the past generation, but to prevent it from ever happening again, and to learn basic virtues of faith, determination and perseverance.
Elie Wiesel’s novel allows one to see the Holocaust through the eyes of a single Jewish prisoner. Wiesel did not want pity or sympathy for his situation, nor did he want money or fortune from his literature. In his interview, he states that his ultimate purpose in writing his novel, Night, was simply to tell what happened by bearing witness. He provided an unbiased but still emotional account of his time imprisoned, chronicling crimes committed by Jewish prisoners and the Nazi soldiers alike. By doing this; by not excessively slandering the Gestapo or the SS, and not exaggerating the morality of the Jews, he provides an extremely accurate story of his experience. This allows the reader to see everything in its natural, uninfluenced state, and he or she is free to make his or her own conclusions. By having an impartial view on the matter, students are not chained to stereotypes and are freer in forming and accepting new opinions. This is important because having an open mind applies to everything, everywhere; not all the Germans were entirely evil, and some Jews still treated others with contempt and violence.
Secondly, by educating the future generation in the suffering and pain created by this type of irrational, prejudiced persecution, the students of tomorrow will be much more careful in avoiding a second Holocaust. The biggest reason the mass exterminations met little resistance during World War II was because no one believed such inhumane acts were possible. The victims that knew were silenced by their oppressors, the Jews not yet captured did not realize their situation until it was too late, and the unaffected did not care or were caught in the influence of the Nazis. By reading and learning about the Holocaust today, the future generation will have an advantage that the past generation did not have – knowledge. Students will be able to step into the shoes of the victims, and develop an understanding of the Jews’ situation, and see the consequences in negligence and ignorance. They will harbor a sense of duty and responsibility in preventing history from repeating itself. The leaders of tomorrow will be able to see these types of fascist ideals in their germinating, developing state and stamp it out, making sure it will never grow to the point it reached in the Holocaust.
Finally, Night also teaches a valuable lesson that can be applied to anyone’s life. For example, during the selection process, Akiba Drumer gives up on his life and is sent to the gas chambers, while Elie holds on to his sliver of hope because of his father, and is not selected to be taken away. Through Elie Wiesel’s personal experience, he has shown that even in a time of darkness and distress, one must have determination, perseverance, and above all, faith. The book teaches students that the mentality of never giving up will be rewarded. Additionally, Eliezer shows that his love and compassion for his father kept him alive. By having someone to care for, Elie Wiesel had a purpose in life, and a reason to live. This teaches that one should never lose purpose, because it takes away their interest in anything, and leaves them pessimistic. By allowing students to read the novel, they gain experience in enriching their own lives.
Everything considered, although the Holocaust and the literature surrounding it may seem to have sensitive matter unsuitable for young students, but it is vastly outweighed by the knowledge it imparts on the reader. If more students read books such as Night, they would have greater understanding of the suffering of the Jews, and will not allow such an event to repeat itself. Additionally, they would be able to gain practical advice from the individual survivors the same way they can learn from anyone else. Hopefully, with more people knowledgeable in the Holocaust, the world tomorrow may be a peaceful, unprejudiced place.
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<p>Thats it. Thanks in advance, everyone!</p>