Proudly Bearing Elders' Scars

  Proudly Bearing Elders’ Scars, Their Skin Says ‘Never Forget’ by Jodi Rudoren, explains how some people are getting the same tattoos their relatives received from the Nazis as a way to remember the Holocaust. The author appeals to the emotional side of his audience by using personal quotes and by adding loving images of the family members bearing the same tattoos. The article opens with the story of one specific family but then broadens to discuss different families and various opinions of this phenomenon. The story that opens the article captures the audience with a narrative that is both heartwarming and disturbing. The author makes it clear that the numbers young people and adults are getting tattooed on their forearms are not merely tattoos but represent something extremely important to them. He comments that the children and grandchildren of the survivors have “taken the step of memorializing the darkest days of history on their own bodies.” The author presents different perspectives of this tattooing, as some survivors believe that getting the tattoos trivializes evil and also turns people into numbers as the Nazis attempted to do. The author uses quotations instead of simply stating the different sides; this ensures more accuracy, as well as bringing a first-hand perspective to the article. His personal view of the controversy is not apparent.

From: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/01/world/middleeast/with-tattoos-young-israelis-bear-holocaust-scars-of-relatives.html?_r=0