Analysis of Man

He recalls memories of his wife and his deep love for her. He reflects, "In a position of utter desolation when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way - an honorable way - in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment" (49). He then goes on to explain that deepening one's spiritual life helped the prisoners with the emptiness and despair they felt. Remembering even the simplest of details and events can help one remember, "How beautiful the world could be!" (51). .
             Frankl writes that basic human needs - food, water, etc. - often motivated prisoners to use more risky problem-focused coping techniques. The inmates would often ban together to steal food, take on prison guards or even try to escape. They confided in each other for moral support and to help one another in times of need. Problem-focused techniques had to be used carefully because "the camp inmate was frightened of making decisions and taking any sort of initiative whatsoever. This was the result of a strong feeling that fate was one's master, and that one must not try to influence it in any way, but instead let it takes its own course" (66). Frankl explains that prisoners generally preferred to let fate make the choice for them. Some inmates eventually chose to give up on life. The overwhelming helplessness and loss of control made them feel hopeless. They were unaware of when they would be released, making life appear meaningless to them - "the outside life, that is, as much as he could see it, appeared to him almost as it might have to a dead man who looked at it from another world" (80). Frankl writes that instead of using the conditions at the camp as a test, some grew bitter and "preferred to close their eyes and live in the past" (80). .
             Fundamentally, it was important for the prisoners to have faith and keep a positive outlook on life.