StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Susan Griffin Our Secret (Summary) - Book Report/Review Example

Cite this document
Summary
The premise of Susan Griffin's book 'Our Secret' is that all of us are connected to each one by our memories of the past as well as the coming future. It has been called a disorderly history where the lives of men in power is used as an example to showcase the vice of power and how it is abused by those who possess it…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.5% of users find it useful
Susan Griffin Our Secret (Summary)
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Susan Griffin Our Secret (Summary)"

Download file to see previous pages

This abuse may be physical, psychological or as in this work, it is the abuse of power. Susan Griffin delves into the life of the Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler, to explore the distinct relation between childhood experiences and environment which shapes an individual’s life and personality. The author feels that when we acknowledge our past life experiences we are made aware of our inner self and thereby are also led on the path of change. Griffin’s search for her identity, repressed by her own grandmother, makes her delve deep into Himmler’s identity, hoping that she may stumble upon some clue to her identity which is locked in her past.

Most readers of Susan Griffin are left puzzled after reading the book, since it does not seem to have a clear story or an objective to reveal. Her account of Himmler’s life though redeems her novel, because of the extensive study of this man, who was one of the most important components of the Nazi death factories. The novel starts with Griffin describing a nucleus, which is the centre of human existence and likens it to Himmler’s father, who is at the core of Himmler’s identity. Himmler’s father was a strict disciplinarian who did not hesitate to mete out corporal punishment on him and his siblings.

Himmler, who came from this same seed, was bound to have some of this violent strain in him, because “all the… cells have identical DNA” (391). . With infinite precision and mechanical methods, Himmler sorted out the inferiors from all around him and sent them to be snuffed out in the gas chambers of his Secret Service. Griffin's other thread in the story combines the analogy of a rocket with humans. Once a rocket is built and launched, its inherent mechanism will disallow any change in course and purpose.

The rocket is made for destruction and that is what it will do, much like Leo, the other subject of Griffin's keen observation. Leo's life was built around the tales of torture related by his brother, a torturer in the dreaded SS. Soon Leo had assimilated these torture stories and looked up to the soldiers, "their strengths, their ideals, their willingness to do violence." (pg. 383) Without his knowledge, he was turning into a beast, who during the Korean War became the torturer for the US government, just like his idealized brother before him.

But in Leo's case, at the end of the war he was forced into an "ordinary" life and has no clue of what he was supposed to do or become. Instead, he become a criminal and killed a man. Like the rockets, which have a pre-determined course and an inability to stop the destruction for which they are created Himmler and Leo too were set in the path of destruction of society and their fellow beings. Their programming was the result of their childhood experiences and stories told to them, while in the process of destruction they lost their own selves.

Susan Griffin's book on "Our Secret" is almost a study in psychology, because it deals with the minds of people, how they react to different circumstances and why some people commit acts of great violence. The era during the Second World War forms the basis of all her study.

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Susan Griffin Our Secret (Summary) Book Report/Review”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1523573-susan-griffin-our-secret-summary
(Susan Griffin Our Secret (Summary) Book Report/Review)
https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1523573-susan-griffin-our-secret-summary.
“Susan Griffin Our Secret (Summary) Book Report/Review”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1523573-susan-griffin-our-secret-summary.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Susan Griffin Our Secret (Summary)

Investment Portfolio for the Susan Griffin

In the paper “Investment Portfolio for the susan griffin,” the author analyzes the development of the investment portfolio for the owner and the CEO of the company.... hellip; The study will use the provided information concerning susan griffin's assets and needs to follow a five steps investment process in developing a business portfolio.... The first crucial step is to determine the target size of griffin's portfolio.... Then it would be vital for griffin to determine the appropriate asset allocation....
3 Pages (750 words) Case Study

Freewrite in the Style of Susan Griffins Our Secret

The paper "Freewrite in the Style of Susan Griffins our secret" highlights that many people do not know what virtue is, but the author knows what virtuosity and goodness are.... When we have no ounce of strength left, love is our guarantor.... If I have the soul of a Jew I will never truly understand how we can look at disasters like Haiti and not be one of the people who constitute $396 M in donations to our darker brothers and sisters living on one-half of an island in the Caribbean....
7 Pages (1750 words) Scholarship Essay

Summary and Reactions to the book Black Like Me, Author - John Howard Griffin

The divide between blacks and whites, though, has been the most historically violent relationship in America and it is this relationship that is the subject of John griffin's book Black Like Me.... In the book, griffin explains how he came up with his idea to try living like a black man for a while as a means of trying to understand how their lives are affected by racism and prejudice in the 1959-1960 South.... There are so many experiences in the various chapters that it is impossible to list them all, but griffin, in his journeys, discovers that the problem of racism isn't just with the ignorant white people of the countryside, but that it rests more squarely on the shoulders of the educated white men that continue to create laws that make it possible for racism to continue....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

What do you stand for

John Edgar Wideman's “our Time” tells a compelling story about his brother Robby and the obscurities and poor choices he had in life which led him to the ultimate consequence of his actions, being locked up forever in prison for murdering his best friend.... The exploration of themes emphasized in a literary work can help an individual develop a sense of opinion on noteworthy topics....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Summary 1 page about movie called (secret)

The secret summary The movie d as “The Secret” was made available for the eyes of the public during the period of 2006 and soon after it made its initial entrance; it became quite popular especially for the ideas that are portrayed in the movie (Harrington, 2006).... The movie titled as “The secret” was made available for the eyes of the public during the period of 2006 and soon after it made its initial entrance; it became quite popular especially for the ideas that are portrayed in the movie (Harrington, 2006)....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Griffin's Influence on Australian Architecture

This coursework "griffin's Influence on Australian Architecture" presents the effect that the Griffins had in the establishment of Australian architecture.... The presence of Walter griffin in Australia further presented many opportunities for the modernism that they wanted to implement in their architecture.... griffin has introduced Australia after he wins the competition for the design of Canberra City.... griffin presented his architecture based on his interpretation of the future and his works stood out as unique....
11 Pages (2750 words) Coursework

The Griffins, Robin Boyd and Edmond and Corrigan: Different Architectural Trajectories

The author of the paper "The Griffins, Robin Boyd, and Edmond and Corrigan: Different Architectural Trajectories" will begin with the statement that Australian architecture was previously influenced by British designs as a result of the fact that most of the continent was a British colony.... nbsp;… The unique climate in Australia and culture have however influenced the development of a new Australian architecture....
10 Pages (2500 words) Term Paper

The Shattering of the Young Man Dreams

… The paper "The Life of Dr Griffins Stuart" is an outstanding example of an essay on biographies.... Dr Griffins had only managed to click 27 before he went to be with the lord.... This was seen to be the main setback to both the close friends and families that thought that the deceased should have lived longer to enjoy the fruits of her education....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us