Fanatics: Will They Ever Come To Their Senses?

Fanatics: Will They Ever Come to Their Senses?

In Elie Wiesel's essay titled "How Can We Understand Their Hatred?" Wiesel asks a very important question, "After the horrors of the last century, how can fanaticism still hold strong today, and will it ever completely end?" The essay goes on to explain how our last century was ravaged with intellectual and physical hatred, for example when Stalin used terror just as Hitler used death to oppress people (Wiesel 172). Wiesel wonders why, after the tragedy on September 11, 2001, fanaticism still holds sway.

At the beginning of his essay, Wiesel states that fanaticism has been around longer than all of the other words that end in "ism" and debates whether fanaticism will ever really disappear. He goes on to describe a true fanatic's actions and thoughts. This article was written in 2002 and was published in the April 7, 2002 issue of Parade magazine. Elie Wiesel, now a passionate spokesman for compassionate understanding and human rights, was captured at the age of 16 and sent to Auschwitz and was liberated in April 1945. He also wrote Night, a very powerful book describing his experiences in the concentration camp. Wiesel was appointed chair of the Presidential Commission of the Holocaust and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Achievement in 1985. He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for his speaking and various writings.

In "How Can We Understand Their Hatred?" the clear reason for Wiesel to write this piece is to analyze the ideas of fanatics and fanaticism as a whole. Beginning in the first paragraph, he describes the background of fanaticism and how in the ancient times fanatics were more linked to religious experience. The act of fanaticism was entertaining to the people then, but today it carries a bad connotation. Fanaticism is appealing because it makes the fanatic feel less alone (Wiesel 173). In the next few paragraphs, Wiesel describes the fanatic in major detail, identifying the fanatic as a stubborn, but simple being. Wiesel closes his article describing the most effective way to stop fanaticism which is memory. Memory may be our most powerful weapon against fanaticism (Wiesel 174).

This essay does a great job analyzing the main questions and topics of the text. For example, Wiesel describes in full, absolute detail everything about a fanatic's actions and thoughts, which help the reader to understand the topic better. The way he asks questions in his text is interesting yet surprising because you don't see that in essays very often. It is effective to write the way Wiesel wrote this piece because the reader then knows what the author's main questions are and what exactly he is trying to figure out. The author used the perfect details to describe