Reflection paper for public speaking PDF

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Practice paper for presentation. public speaking course...

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zhaop 1 Peining Zhao Professor Caleb Finegan 6/13/2019 Briar Rose Teachings on Holocaust Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (1993) covers a dark incident in the world’s history, the Holocaust. It recounts the painful ordeals subjected to people due to religious or sexual inclinations. The book portrays how Holocaust terrified many people physically and mentally and threatened to destroy human compassion. Religion and God, society’s contribution in perpetrating or preventing evil actions, human mistreatment, and human interdependency and unity are some of the teachings about the Holocaust from this book. The society played a significant role in the Holocaust. The success of the Holocaust was a result of some human beings doing nothing or enjoying when evils were being committed to fellow humans. For example, from the book, when Josef took a ride to town with a local man, the latter openly displayed his joy in seeing the Jews suffer. Besides, when Josef and other prisoners were taken to a labor camp, Sachenhausen, they were met by a crowd of scornful townspeople who wanted the prisoners to be killed. The book demonstrates that onlookers share an equal level of guilt to the committers. Therefore, it is the moral duty of society to stand against evil wherever possible. It should be noted that ignoring or encouraging evil no matter how small it appears can result in horrifying atrocities. Additionally, the book teaches how the Holocaust led to some people being viewed and treated as lesser humans. For instance, in the labor camp, Germans shut the windows and doors of Polish barracks; hence, many people suffocated to death. The Gypsies are also used as laboratory tests to portray the lethalness of aconitine nitrate. These actions lack normal human emotions and result in suffering of the victims. This mistreatment was committed by some people felt they were more superior to others.

zhaop 2 Religion and God is another teaching the book highlights about the Holocaust. Religion was one of the reasons that made many people become victims of the Holocaust. One may wonder why God permitted His people to undergo so much pain even though they believed in Him. In the book, Becca thinks how difficult it was to keep one’s faith after knowing all the evils that happened during the Holocaust. However, the fact that there were survivors, such as Becca’s grandmother, despite the horrific incidence shows that God still cared about His people. The novel also teaches about the power of unity and human interdependency. When the girl who would later become Becca’s grandmother was left at the mass grave to die, she was rescued by Avenger and his friends. If it were not for Avenger and his friends, she would have died. Besides, Josef and his comrades risked their lives by travelling in the woods to save other people. The Holocaust brought unity to Jews and other victims as they tried to free themselves from the evils caused by the Germans. Hence, the book shows that unity and interdependency among people from diverse backgrounds can minimize or eliminate social ills. In overall, Briar Rose teaches key lessons about the Holocaust. From the novel, one learns the importance of unity and human relations in minimizing the occurrence of immoral actions. Besides, people’s faith and beliefs are tested during the Holocaust, as shown in the book. It is important to tolerate and accept the differences in people’s ways of lives because intolerance was the leading cause of this wicked incidence....