Survival and Morality
Heather Morris’s novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an examination of the lengths to which people are willing to go in order to survive harrowing experiences. Based on the true story of Lale’s time at the Nazi concentration camp known as Auschwitz-II Birkenau, the novel follows the young man’s attempt to stay alive throughout the Holocaust. One of the reasons Lale is ultimately able to escape death is because he becomes the camp’s Tätowierer…
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Faith, Love, and Optimism
The Tattooist of Auschwitz showcases the ways in which hope fuels resilience. This is made evident by the fact that many of Lale’s fellow prisoners turn to their religious faith in order to withstand the terrible treatment they endure at the hands of the Nazis. This belief in something greater than themselves helps them make it from one day to the next, but Lale finds himself unable to maintain his own Jewish beliefs in…
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Unity, Sacrifice, and Empathy
In The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris underlines the importance of unity in times of hardship. As a prisoner at Auschwitz, Lale fully depends upon his fellow prisoners, some of whom save his life several times. What’s more, the few uplifting moments he has in the camps come not from surviving as an individual, but from the connections he develops with other prisoners. However, he also fears division, recognizing that his privileged position as…
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Knowledge, Uncertainty, and Power
In The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris presents knowledge as a form of power, especially for people at the mercy of oppressive regimes. To illustrate the importance of knowledge, she shows the horror that accompanies the uncertainty surrounding what will happen to Lale and his fellow prisoners in Auschwitz. For Lale, some of this uncertainty is alleviated by the fact that he speaks multiple languages, enabling him to gather information from guards who assume…
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