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In the story “The Watch” by Elie Wiesel, the protagonist (ergo the author) was able to recover from extreme hardship, in this case the Holocaust, through a sentimental piece of his past and coming to terms with it. Following the prejudice against his family during the Second World War, Elie Wiesel lost everything, his family, house, and all his precious possessions. Yet despite all that, he returned to the remains of his past on a whim. For reconciliation, vergangenheitsbewältigung as a Jewish person and coming to terms with his past, Elie Wiesel says, “Could this thing, this object, be my gift, my pride?” (page 3) This watch, his former treasure and his precious chattel represents everything Elie was before the Holocaust. During the process of exhuming the watch Elie must come to terms with his new life, instead of chasing after his previous one. In this way “The Watch” teaches us how to recover from hardship via coming terms with your past and moving on. Although the protagonist faced discrimination and prejudice against everything he represents, when he steals the watch Elie realizes that he is no better than the people who stole everything from him, “I am overcome with violent remorse: I have just committed my first theft.” (page 4) This symbolizes him finally giving in and replacing the doubt that hounded him after the war with a feeling of resolution. In “The Watch”, Elie Wiesel teaches us that to recover from hardship one can create a new person from the ashes of prejudice, hate and grief by accepting sadness and moving on.
I did great on interpreting the book on a higher level than what was implied and organizing my paragraph in a thoughtful and concise manner.
Next time, I will improve by double-checking, further editing, and fixing typos in order to improve my mechanical issues and further relating my interpretations of the book with the question at hand in a way that feels less all over the place and more conclusive with evidence.