Liam Kelleher

Professor Young

11 April, 2017

College Writing Workshop

There are many differences and similarities between the holocaust and the novel Friendswood written by Rene Steike. People in both were emotionally and physically punished and abused. Willa was raped in the novel and the jewish community was prosecuted against, being discriminated by their peers who they have resided with throughout the majority of their lives. 

A significant similarity between Friendswood and the holocaust is that both had an antagonist and a protagonist. The antagonist being the Nazi killers and the rapist Cully, and the protagonist being the victims that they inflicted their hate on. The two took advantage of their subjects and made a skeptical of them both. The Nazi’s and Cully also tried to justify their punishment by saying that it wasn't their fault, attempting to put the victims to blame. 

There are also many differences between the novel Friendswood and the holocaust, the main one being that the jewish community was being attacked due to their religion. Willa expressed her religion throughout the book but that was not the reason that she was attacked. The Nazi’z not only punished the jewish people but they killed them by the thousands, Willa had been sodomized in the novel but she was not physically hurt other than that.