Identity and Opportunity

Paper Summary:

The paper shows how, in Khushwant Singh's "Train to Pakistan" and Primo Levi's "Survival in Auschwitz", characters' lives are changed solely by the events that surround them, of which they have no control. The paper highlights the common thread in both works that identity is the only key to status and opportunity, whether it is Jews in Auschwitz or a Sikh individual in Pakistan.

From the Paper:

"Within the personally charged works Train to Pakistan and Survival in Auschwitz there is a clear sense that circumstances rule the day and that characters' lives are changed by the events that surround them, of which they have no direct or indirect control. The most logical and obvious line in each work is that identity is the key to status and opportunity. Identity as a Jew or another undesirable "race" as well as national identity in the camp determines a great deal about the future and present life and treatment in Survival in Auschwitz while national, birth and religious identity is crucial to division and or protection in Train to Pakistan."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Levi, Primo, Survival in Auschwitz. New York: Touchstone, 1996.
• Singh, Khushwant, Train to Pakistan. New York, Grove Press, 1994.

More papers on Identity and Opportunity:

• Research Paper # 119621 : "Gender Identity and Equal Employment Opportunity"
• Persuasive Essay # 54039 : "Identity Cards"
• Term Paper # 118993 : "Equal Employment Opportunity Policies"

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