I finished reading Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl after my dad gifted me a copy of the book*. The historical account of the holocaust was haunting, but the broader message hangs in my mind most clearly. This book gave me the tools to identify some of my own experiences which I previously had no way of describing.
Prisoners in the concentration camps would only survive if they were hopeful and had aspirations beyond survival. Frankl wished to publish his manuscript and one of his subjects, a pianist, only survived because he wished to perform his composition in an orchestra hall. Purpose grants us the ability to endure terrible things.
Suffering, no matter how miniscule, expands to consume someone in their entirety. People in ‘Hell on Earth’ have a limited capacity to suffer, since they attenuate after a while. With a limited perspective, the pain is comparable to something more mundane.
The book didn’t really cover what happens to people after they were freed, whether or not they return to a similar state before imprisonment. Frankl did describe an initial joy upon being released, and a new found appreciation for the natural world. Another comrade of his became spiteful, exacting punishment on others as he had experienced. He felt justified because of how he was treated. Contrasting Frankl with his comrade, the book might posit an argument towards people having a natural predisposition for spiteful or gracious behavior. I’m uncertain if the new thankfulness ever subsided, whether or not life returned to the same perceived drudgery as before captivity. Obviously internment in a concentration camp is a life-altering experience and will permanently mark someone, but I was curious if people would take their lives for granted again after freedom.
There’s grounds for a deeper rhetorical analysis between this book and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and a broader comparison between Russian and European cultural attitudes about incarceration.
*This was one of the few books he’s gifted me that he’s also read. The possibility to share the book’s experience made me more eager to read Man’s Search for Meaning.