Essay, Research Paper: Do You Have A Voice

Would you just stand by, as Nazis soldiers kidnapped your neighbors just because they were different? If you would, you have no voice and you need to develop one. Many people had neighbors who were taken away and killed by the Nazis. They just stood there, let it happen and did not utter a word. In the book, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by, Mark Twain, it shows the development of a young boy, and he does develop a voice. The main character, Huckleberry Finn, is a white, southern boy expected to believe in what everyone else believes in. He does not want to be like everyone else and he changes. If you develop, or have a voice, you can make a difference.
During the story, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck plays a trick on Jim. Jim is Huck s runaway slave friend. So, as the story goes, Huck plays a trick on Jim and Jim thinks that Huck is dead. When Jim finally realizes that Huck is not dead, he gets really angry at Huck. Jim says, Dat truck dah is trash; en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren s em makes em ashamed. That line, from the story, is basically saying that Huck is trash for doing that to Jim. Then fifteen minutes later Huck goes into Jim s wigwam and apologizes. This is showing that Huck does have a voice because any other white person from the south would not apologize to a slave. The slaves were thought of as being lower than any white person and Huck was showing that a slave as equal to him or even better than him because he went and apologized to Jim. By doing this Huck was different and developed a voice because if he had no voice he would have gotten angry with Jim for calling him trash and Huck would not have apologized.
The article, that accompanied my writing assignment, is about a man named Elie Wiesel. Wiesel is a Holocaust survivor, he is an author, has won the Noble Peace Prize, and most important of all, Wiesel has a voice. Egil Aarvik, chairman of the Norwegian Noble Committee, said, Wiesel s mission is not to gain the world s sympathy for the victims or the survivors. His aim is to awaken our conscience. With Wiesel s focus on getting us to realize what happened during the Holocaust, he has made a voice for himself. He is trying to teach other people about this terrible monstrosity, so that no one could make that mistake again. Wiesel is making a difference, the difference he is making is getting people to realize the terrible things that are happening each and every day. In a letter, Wiesel wrote, Have you seen pictures of emaciated children in Somalia? Look at them. If they don t move you to rage or compassion, look at them again. He is trying to get the American people to wake up and see what is going on around the world and that with a little help we can make a difference. He is a man that has a true and strong voice. Wiesel is not afraid to speak his mind and tell the truth, he is not one to sugarcoat the truth, so it goes down easier, he tells it like it is.
To have a voice is a quality that one should be happy to have, and if you do not have a voice, you should try, and make yourself heard. If the world were filled with people that had no voices, the world would be a very dull and useless place. Nothing would ever get done and no one would have an opinion about anything. If you have a voice use it. Do not just sit back and let others make decisions for you, speak up and be heard. If you develop, or have a voice, you can make a difference.