Essay Questions

What is the danger of depression as discussed in the first part of the book The Emigrants?

The first part of the book introduces a depressed man who is struggling to adapt to his new environment. Dr. Henry is an immigrant to England and he is finding it hard to adapt. Back home, he separated from his wife and this is still haunting him. The memories of his native home are still fresh. Dr. Henry is dejected and he thinks the best solution is to kill himself. Consequently, hopelessness is a dangerous condition that should be handled with care because when mishandled it leads to death.

Why is Paul Bereyter inclined towards committing suicide?

Bereyter lives during the reign of the Nazi regime which is determined to eliminate all the Jews from existence. Bereyter is three-quarters German but he has Jewish roots. He is allowed to work for the Nazi regime despite having Jewish roots. Bereyter is working as a soldier and he witnesses how the Nazi soldiers are determined to kill the Jews. He cannot withstand working for the regime whose objective is to kill the Jews. Therefore, he decides to kill himself so that he cannot continue witnessing the atrocities of the Nazi regime against the regime.

What is the emblematic meaning of the Holocaust?

The Holocaust represents the inhuman treatment of the Jews during the Nazi regime in the Europe speaking countries. Most of the Jews were brutally murdered in the concentration camps. The properties of the Jews were confiscated and the Nazi ideologies played a major role in torturing the Jews