Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl Book Analysis Example

In his accounts of what happened in the camps, while reading people can see how he struggled, and fought for his life in many ways. Victor talks about the hardships he went through, but mostly the struggle he saw others have to pursue. The book he writes is about the hollocaust and the terrible events that took place during it. He mainly focuses on the concentration camps he was in. The reason I am writing about this still today is because the hollocaust was a horrific experience that took place in Germany during world war II, and doesn't deserve to be forgotten by anyone. In Victor's book, you can truly see how terrible it really was. There are many details about Survival, Strength and resilience that I will talk about more.

Victor talks about his experiences with food, and rations; explaining that they were only provided with a scoop of soup a day and small piece of bread, for the lunch of the work day. The work day was tiring and even one step out of line, and they were beaten by the guard. These harsh conditions along with the frigid weather, and extreme situations they had to work with, left them exhausted, and extremely hungry. Meaning this small piece of bread barely pierced their immense hunger, but non the less it was something that gave them hope, and a small bit of rest. Walking back to their camp, some didn't even have shoes on the snowy, rocky ground. When they would arrive they were usually sent back to their rest houses, until they were gotten up for their 1 scoop of soup, sometimes even begging the cook to scoop towards the bottom of the pot for a bit of peas; instead of just the watery broth at the top. Victor would account many times on how he would go to bed extremely hungry, and walk past the mirror on wash day, and look at himself as just a skeleton with skin clung to his febil bones. He was able to exchange some cigarettes for 12 soups he had obtained, after completing hard and dangerous tasks. “No man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honesty whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same.” This quote was about a cook guard who would serve each prisoner easily, with no favors to a friend, and would even avert his gaze from the prisoners, to show his kindness to the whole situation. 

Later on in his book, he talks about the tests he would go through to decide if he would live or be sent to the crematorium. He explains how many would do anything to live, and that would sometimes mean putting someone else in their place, or even one of their friends. Something Victor says kept him alive was befriending some of the SS soldiers that were more light of heart, just to save himself from that test. He talks about on many accounts how this saved his life multiple times. One being clapping at one of the guards/ upperclassman poetry even when it was not great. This specific guard even talked about how good of a worker Victor was while pouring him a generous amount of soup. Victor felt that this experience in particular saved his life from the crematorium.

During the book Victor explains the stages of mindset the prisoners go through, and how their entire view on life changes drastically, leaving only one worry; and it was about their own lives. During the first stage he talks about how some of the prisoners were unhopeful and this is the time period where the most suicides would take place, due to a lack of hope, and an increase in dread. After the first stage comes the second, where there would be an increase in joking behavior, and a sense of dread, but it would become more and more light hearted the more the prisoners would joke about it. After this stage was the third stage where prisoners would begin to lose all hope and only focused on keeping themselves alive, even if it meant sacrificing a friend to do it. “In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.” This quote expresses how the prisoners felt about keeping their own lives even if it meant sacrificing their friend. This stage was a total loss of emotion for the prisoners, and caused them to blatantly do things without a care in the world. “An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior.”This quote is supposed to show that just because the prisoners are acting strangely to a horrible situation, it isn't their fault, because what is considered a natural response would not make sense in a situation like theirs.

Later on, nearing the end of the 1st part of the book, Victor finds himself thinking more and more about his wife, even if she might be dead. This thought is in his head when he is pressured into working hard and missurable conditions. “Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him. By his love he is enabled to see the essential traits and features in the beloved person; and even more, he sees that which is potential in him, which is not yet actualized but yet ought to be actualized. Furthermore, by his love, the loving person enables the beloved person to actualize these potentialities. By making him aware of what he can be and of what he should become, he makes these potentialities come true.” In this quote it shows how much his wife meant to him, and it encouraged him to continue on even when he was physically exhausted. He even goes on later to tell his house mate before he is sent to take care of others in a different camp, that if he doesn't make it back; and his friend sees his wife if he gets out, to tell her that he talked about her nonstop, and that she was his everything, and meant the world to him. Even if they were only married for a short time. His room mate memorized all of his words.

In conclusion, Victor tells of many experiences of survival, strength, and resilience, in his book, but you can really see how he survived, by using his intellect to help him along the way, and when all hope was lost, he never gave up. In this book you can really connect with what he talks about and how he felt at that time. I loved reading this book, it taught me a lot, and I feel I learned a lot as well.