Emily Gan Week 10 - The Power of Hope
In English 10H last year, we read Maus, a book the author dedicated to his parents, who survived the Holocaust. The author’s dad, Vladek, had lots of insight into how the camps were run and the tactics those in the camps used to survive. He explained how hope plays a role in the concentration camp survivors' chance of living.
My fellow peer Tony, also had a story to go with this idea. He said there was a Chinese man who was in a prison like a concentration camp. Every day he was forced to work from dawn to dusk, moving heavy objects with no breaks and little food. There was a fortune teller who would do palm readings and told the man that he would be let out of prison on May 14th. The man took that date to heart and persevered day after day of tortuous labor, counting the days until May 14th. He hoped and trusted that the fortune teller was correct. But when the say came, there was no sign of change. The man still worked through that day hoping maybe it was just delayed until night. Still, the man sat in the cold waiting for an angel to save him from this hell but still no one came. The next dawn, the man was found dead. There was no longer any hope in him.
I think it is fascinating how hope can be such a powerful force. This abstract idea has fueled people who are going through the hardest moments of their lives to continue living, to not give up just yet. This applies to not just prisoners of torture but also those who are tortured by themselves. The hope of feeling better and being free of whatever haunts you really powers the soul.
ReplyDeleteHello Emily! In my opinion, hope serves as a fundamental anchor amid life's complexities, allowing us to go on, even when everything else physically prevents us from taking action. Consider historical instances like the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, where individuals like Martin Luther King Jr. inspired hope for racial equality, despite the deeply ingrained systemic challenges. The perseverance of Nelson Mandela during the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa is another example, where hope played a pivotal role in the eventual dismantling of institutionalized segregation. These historical events underscore how hope becomes a driving force, enabling individuals to endure and propel societal change against formidable odds. It's this resilience anchored in hope that has often steered humanity through its darkest chapters, and continues to guide it today.
Hi Emily! Your analysis on the power of hope is really interesting to think about. The more I think about hope, the more I realize that the most successful people I know or have learned about have always had an abundance of hope. One example of this is the hardships of the famous CEO Elon Musk, who started his company SpaceX because of his dream to begin commercial space travel. Musk was inspired by astronauts and other aeronautics pioneers, such as Neil Armstrong. The people who inspired him gave him hope, and despite Armstrong’s disapproval of commercial space travel, which Musk admitted was hard for him to hear, he never gave up on his dream, leading to SpaceX becoming the 180 billion dollar company that it is today. Hope leads to optimism, and optimism often leads to success. Hope is also something that is often preached to little kids, using TV shows. An example of this is how Disney princesses, such as Tiana, Cinderella, and Aurora are all very hopeful characters, and they maintain their optimistic outlook on life throughout any hardships that they encounter. Hope is also a popular book theme, and lots of popular fictional series, such as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, all demonstrate how the main character uses hope and determination to defeat their enemies. Reading your blog has made me wonder whether the quality of a lot of people’s lives would improve if they had a more hopeful, optimistic outlook towards their life.
ReplyDeleteHello Emily!
ReplyDeleteAs you have described it, the power of hope is a truly impactful one. There are many hardships that one may face in their life and these hardships eventually build that person's personality. If one succumbs to the pressures of all the problems they have to face in life, they will come out as a weaker person. However, if they keep strong hope and persevere through the difficulties, they will become stronger and able to endure more things. Hope has the power to get people through the most sorrowful times. For example, if someone's loved one passes away and they have nothing to motivate them, if they hold on to the hope of a better future, they will have an easier time getting through the pain of the death of a loved one.