‘Faith in Humanity’ Essay Prompt
“Why? Why did we walk like meek sheep to the
slaughterhouse? Why did we not fight back? What had
we to lose? Nothing but our lives. Why did we not run
away and hide? We might have had a chance to survive.
Why did we walk deliberately and obediently into their
clutches? I know why. Because we had faith in humanity.
Because we did not really think that human beings were
capable of committing such crimes.”
--From All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein
Using the novel, All But My Life and the movie Escape from Sobibor,
write an essay in which you compare and contrast the reactions of the
prisoners to the conditions and the environment in which they
survived.
Minimal requirements:
 Introduce topic, sources and thesis
 Make comparisons with specific support
 Make contradictions with specific support
 Conclusion
Your paper should be written in MLA format, typed or in black/blue
pen. Rough draft is to be in class on Wednesday, February 8, 2012.
This is due on February 10, 2012.
Grading:
MLA Format
_____/5
Introduction
_____/5
Comparisons
_____/10
Contradictions
_____/10
Conclusion
_____/5
Grammar/Spelling
_____/10
(each mistake is a loss of one point)