"Man's Search For Meaning" Pages 3-41

    In Victor Frankl's novel, "Man's Search For Meaning", he discusses his days in Auschwitz and what kept him alive. Unlike most holocaust novels that single out the dark side of being in a concentration camp and the many deaths, Frankl recounts his ideas and passion that gave him the strength to survive. The novel starts off with this idea when Frankl states, "This story is not about the suffering and death of great heroes and martyrs...but with sacrifices, the crucifixion and the deaths of the great army of unknown and unrecorded victims."(Frankl, 3) The first part discusses the entrance into the camp and how life was like while Frankl was in the camp. When Frankl and the other thousands of prisoners arrived at the camp, they were split into two groups: the labor group, or the group that was sent to the gas chambers. 90% of people were sent to the latter due to illness, disability-even the slightest, or being a member of the elderly. After the first selection, Frankl recalls the moments in Auschwitz that became part of his daily life. Whether it was the cigarettes or the shoes, ordinary every day items became a matter of life or death for the prisoners in this camp. If their shoes were to small, they would have to work barefoot which many times would lead to hypothermia. Things that we as a society take for granted became a last source of hope for people. He ended this first section of reading by discussing the nature of the world and his "beloved" whom he missed dearly. While discussing his wife, Frankl stated an amazing quote which says, "The truth-that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which a man can inspire," which also gives insight as to what Frankl's meaning was to stay alive. (Page 37) The idea of his wife gave him inspiration to keep surviving day by day, and that is something to admire.
   This first part of "Man's Search for Meaning" had a lot of sad parts, but at the same time held some of the most inspirational quotes I have read in a long time. Frankl's thoughts on seeing nature while in the camp truly struck me as beautiful and profound. The idea of a sunset being able to distract the campers even for a split second made me realize how fortunate we are to live in an environment that allows us to treasure the nature that surrounds us. Rarely do you meet a person who would take time out of their day to watch a sunset, but after hearing Frankl's description of the beauty of the sunset, maybe society, including myself, should begin to take five minutes of our day and watch the sunset and admire its beauty. You never know when death is coming, so while we are alive, we must make the most of what we have.