Life Is Beautiful

Prompt: Based on the Holocaust literature and poetry we have read, what connections can be made between Life is Beautiful and our reading?  What events, scenes, or situations are similar or different? What is similar or different about the mood or tone of the pieces?

There are many connections that can be made between my butterfly poem, and the book Night.  In connection to my poem, the children actually do play with each other.  We saw that in the film, the children who were permitted to live got to play with the other children who were permitted to live.  Not only that, they were provided with adequate food.  In connection with Night, the children who were too young, or adults who were too old, were almost immediately sent to the gas chambers.  Also, if anyone did anything at all wrong, they were either shot, or brutally beaten.

There are a bit of similarities and difference between the readings and the film.  One similarity to the poem was that the children who are still alive all play with each other.  Once they go through the selections of course.  Another one is when Dora wants to get on the train, but does not get selected because she is not Jewish.  The same things goes in my poem because the boys father is not with them because he probably is not Jewish.  A difference is that in the book Night the children are able to play and eat ok food.  In Night, when Wiesel says that he is 16 during the selection, they send him to work almost straight away.

What is similar about the movie to the poem or Night?  Well there are not many when it comes to Night.  While this movie is happy and humorous, Night is sad, and rather depressing.  Guido is happy with his son, and wants to protect him by any means necessary.  Elie's father would do the same thing, but he would not go out of his way like Guido did.  Partially because Elie is old enough to know what is going on.   There are a few similarities between my butterfly poem and this movie.  The children are allowed to play with each other, and they do have gatherings with everyone.  Just like in the poem.