Ellen Tan                                                                                    January 30, 2004

Com 15.5 A

Olivier, Olivier and Europa, Europa

        When one looks at life, it seems as if only some life-events portray that it is a struggle to survive.  However, a person, in any situation he/she may be in, is actually always on his last breath.  This thought is inspired by the drowning scene at the beginning of Europa, Europe.  Not only does this message apply to Europa as its theme, but also to Olivier, Olivier.  Both men are pushed into their actions by the force of need, the need to survive.  

Olivier (the teenager) and Perel both lied to many people but the consequences of their actions are at two extremes.  Perel cared only for himself.  He turned against his race and country by pretending to be a German and a non-Jew that caused many people’s lives.  He is like the drowning person at the start who betrayed and pushed his savior downward. His loyalty is to himself.  He pretends to be a German because Germany is in control, making him a parasite in the camp of the Germans.  When he is having difficulty with his real identity, he still stays with them; but when he sees that the Jews are gaining superiority, in a flick of a finger, he turns his back on them, who made him into “somebody” (close to a hero), and runs towards the Jews, now claiming that he is a Jew.  If the Jews were not winning, he would definitely not be run towards them.  He is selfish and a coward who has no principles and convictions.  He fights for nothing.  If he were just not handsome and lucky, he would surely have died at the very start of the war.  Therefore, I say that Perel is not a hero.  He does not have any worthwhile purpose in life that gives meaning to his whole personality.  By a meaningful purpose, I do not mean the goal to survive, but a strong passion characteristic of heroes, a cause outside of him that governs or guides the course of his life.  There is nothing noble in him that merits him to be called a hero.  He is only an opportunist taking advantage of chances and getting lucky in life.

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In Perel’s struggle for survival through treachery, he still cannot cheat himself and escape from who he really is, that is why his past hunts him in his dreams.  One theory about what dreams are is that they are a reflection of a person’s true desires.  In light of this, the dinner scene with his family shows his longing for the comfort and freedom he had in which he did not have to be cautious all the time.  This longing is explicitly shown by his announcing to the household that he is home.  And to fully realize the gravity by ...

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