We The Dehumanization Of Henrietta By Elie Wiesel

In the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, the author demonstrates the harsh realities that many African Americans faced in the medical and scientific field during the mid 20th century. The author shows the unjust practices of this time period through interviews with the Lacks family and medical professionals. These harsh realities are proven when Skloot talks to Henrietta’s family. Henrietta’s husband, Day, explains how they took samples from Henrietta’s body without consent when Skloot writes, “Day clenched his remaining three teeth. "I didn't sign no papers," he said.

I was inspired by Night, an autobiographical novel by Elie Wiesel telling about his life during the Holocaust. Before the Holocaust took a grip on his life, Wiesel mentions his religious affiliation, a strong Jewish dedication even as a young child. He describes his unyielding desire to dedicate himself to the practices and knowledge of his religion. The question of humanity came to mind when the horrors of the Holocaust was beginning to destroy everything in his life, even his faith. At the height of his experiences, he denied his God.

Imagine a life where you had nothing to look forward to; everything you care for is either broken, stolen, or dead. Would you still fight for your life? Or would you give up? When Elie Wiesel’s life takes a turn for the worst in his novel, Night, he does not lose hope; he fights for his life against the Nazi’s and their dehumanation.

The Dehumanization of Jews Dehumanization is the process by which the Nazis gradually reduced the Jews to little more than things. In Night By, Elie Wiesel, Eliezer, his father, and the other Jews were dehumanized over time to they became nothing to the SS officers. In the first part of Night Moshe the Beadle was thrown onto the first load of cattle cars and sent off. ( Night pg. 6) “They stopped the cattle car that Moshe was on, and the officers made the Jews dig a big trench and then the shot and killed them.

Dehumanization during the Holocaust was the most condemnable factor as to how such cruel and inhumane acts could be brushed off as mere orders, brothers and sisters became feral towards one another, and how one’s body can become so isolated from the mind. It is difficult to imagine such horrid ideas as reality, much less as history, but Elie Wiesel describes all of these gruesome acts in Night, his autobiographical account of his experience during the Holocaust. The genocide of six million human beings is far from rational, and it seems like only monsters could be capable of such an act. The Nazi’s—however dificult it is to admit—are not monsters, but people, and a person can not kill one another with good conscience. In Night, one of Ellie’s

The author of Night, a novel documenting the horrible and inhumane events of the holocaust, Elie Wiesel expresses his experiences and observations in which he and his fellow Jews were dehumanized during Hitler's rule in the second world war. Wiesel's first experience of dehumanization, yet subtle to the community at the time was moving from their homes leaving belongings to a designated area called a ghetto, here they had to wait for their deportation, counted to make sure everyone was accounted for and separated from the rest of the world left in the dark to what was to come. The second was after being transferred to a concentration camp,where they were stripped of their human identity and reduced them to mere bodies that were forced to work

Wiesel also writes develops the theme of dehumanization in order to convey that the Nazi’s had consumed the feeling of humanity of the Jews. There were many acts that dehumanized the Jews which included starvation, beatings, murders, separation of families, theft of their belongings, and other things. Throughout the book, dehumanization grows and slowly exhausts the Jews until they have all sense of being human. After hearing about the bombing of the Buna factory, Wiesel writes, “We were not afraid. And yet, if a bomb had fallen on the blocks, it would have claimed hundreds of inmates’ lives.

Dehumanization is the process of depriving a person, or group of people, of their unalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. From the beginning of the Holocaust, the Jews were the target of inequitable treatment from their German and allied persecutors. They were segregated from other races, seen more like animals than people, and tormented a great deal. In 1944, Wiesel describes his first sight of German soldiers in Sighet; he insisted that despite the Jewish people’s expectations, “first impressions of the Germans were most reassuring.”

"Never shall I forget that night, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed...... Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself." The air filled with the smell of burning flesh that reminded Jews of the death. The gigantic flames were leaping up from a ditch that had devoured millions of souls.

The breaking of the human spirit is prevalent in all periods of history dating back to the beginning of time. There is an ongoing civil war of hatred that is prominent in humanity. Despite the obvious fact that all humans should have equal rights, people still deprive each other of these simple liberties. Such as during the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a horrific event where Nazis humiliated and tortured people of minorities, especially those that identify as Jewish.

Henrietta Lacks was a black tobacco farmer from the south who, in 1950, at the age of 30, she was diagnosed with aggressive cervical cancer. Lacks went to John’s Hopkins medical center for treatment for her cancer. In April of 1951, she underwent surgery to remove the larger tumor on her cervix. Henrietta Lacks, died three days following the surgery. Even though Henrietta Lacks died, her cells from the tumor have lived on and have made a major impact on the biomedical community.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of Henrietta, an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks, aided by journalist Rebecca Skloot. Deborah wanted to learn about her mother, and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, changing countless lives and the face of medicine forever. It is a story of medical arrogance and triumph, race, poverty and deep friendship between the unlikeliest people. There had been many books published about Henrietta’s cells, but nothing about Henrietta’s personality, experiences, feeling, life style etc.

Racism in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Imagine your mother, sister, wife, or cousin was diagnosed with cervical cancer and you believed the doctors were doing everything in their power to help her. Only later you discovered her cells were used for research without consent and she was not properly informed of the risks of her treatment due to her race. This story happened and is told by Rebecca Skloot in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Skloot use of narrative and her writing style enhances the understanding of the story. Henrietta Lacks was a young black woman who was diagnosed with cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital.

Night Essay Dehumanization is the process of depriving a person or group of positive human qualities. During the Holocaust, Jews were brutally treated by Nazis. In the memoir Night, written by Eliezer Wiesel, he, his family, and his fellow Jews are not considered human by the Nazis. Some examples of dehumanization of these Jews, are not having names, fighting for food like animals, and finally, separation from their family.

The story, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, explores the true story of a woman named Deborah and her journey to discover more information about her mother and what her cells did for humanity. Deborah’s mother, Henrietta, died of cancer and her cells, which were attained by inhumane means, contributed greatly to the scientific study of curing other diseases. Although, Henrietta’s death also had a great impact on Deborah due to the fact that Deborah had to face certain difficult situations. With her passing, Deborah was forced to live with a cousin of her mother, who abused her and had a husband who also verbally and sexually mistreated her. The abuse is prominently shown when Galen, the husband, screams at Henrietta, “Get back here till I finish with you, Dale!