The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku Analysis Essay Example

The Happiest Man on Earth is an autobiography written by Eddie Jaku and published on the 28th of July 2020, the year he turned 100. It follows his life story from the day he left boarding school to the year 2020. The autobiography discusses themes such as empathy, friendship, resilience and kindness and how Eddie shows them throughout his lifetime. Eddie uses these qualities to maintain a positive and happy outlook on his life after living through one of the most torturous times in history.

Throughout his life, Eddie Jaku was a very empathetic person. Even during the difficult periods of his time, he managed to look in the faces of his oppressors and see that they could have been just as afraid and damaged as he was. 

This is shown time and time again throughout his time in the concentration camps as he looked into the eyes of the Nazis and saw some humanity left within them, “Do I hate that man? No, I do not hate anyone. He was just as weak and probably scared as I was. He let his fear overtake his morals. And I know that for every cruel person in the world, there is a kind one.” (Eddie Jaku, 2020, Chapter 8, pg. 105.) This quote demonstrates that after being shot by a polish man when asking for help he did not let the reactions from that man cause Eddie any hatred towards him. Eddie knew and understood the lengths that the Nazis had gone to in order to elicit fear from civilians of the Jewish people and knew that the man was just afraid. He was able to empathise with this stranger who had caused him harm and understand the reasoning for his actions, which allowed Eddie to continue living with a good mindset and positive outlook on those around him.

Another key theme discussed in Eddie's autobiography is Friendship. Throughout Eddie’s life, he faced many dangers and struggles, but it seemed that every time a new problem arose Eddie had a friend by his side to support him through it. The most notable is Eddie’s best friend Kurt, he was by Eddie’s side for a great portion of their lives and was with him through almost all his time within the concentration camps. Many times, throughout the book Eddie states that Kurt not only supported him but also saved his life “But I survived because I owed it to my friend Kurt to survive, to live another day so that I might see him again. Having even one good friend meant that the world takes on new meaning, having one good friend can be your entire world.” (Eddie Jaku, 2020, Chapter 6, pg. 84) This quote emphasises the effects friendship had on Eddie’s life and how having one good friend pushed him to survive. Eddie relied on Kurt’s support to continue living, without Kurt there Eddie may have faltered and died many times had Kurt not been there to remind him what it feels like to be alive and what it feels like to live. This friendship showed Eddie how good life could be even in the cruellest of situations.

In the same way, Eddie relied on friendship and empathy he also relied on his resilience. At many moments in Eddie’s life, he needed to be resilient and needed to be able to quickly come back from a bad situation with the same positive outlook he entered it with. Eddie used his resilience to fight for others, to endure an awful situation in which he knew others could not, and this mentality is what allowed Eddie to survive and make friends. “One day, he was making his rounds and came across six elderly Hungarian men warming their hands by a burning barrel of petroleum coke. We had to do this sometimes as we had no gloves, and it grew too cold for our fingers to function. He wrote their numbers down to be whipped. I knew they would not survive, but that I could – I had been whipped before – so I yelled at him to have me whipped instead.” (Eddie Jaku, 2020, Chapter 8, pg. 100.) This quote demonstrates how Eddie attempted to be resilient to help others escape a situation he knew they would not be able to survive but he would. Although he was not able to save those men, he was even more determined than previously to survive the awful circumstances he was put through with honour and dignity. The resilience Eddie used in this situation pushed him to continue surviving and to continue with resilience.

The hardest times in Eddie’s life are also the times when he showed the most kindness to others. Throughout Eddie’s entire story he is constantly faced with hardships and struggles but, in each of these situations, Eddie displays the utmost kindness to those around him. Eddie relied on his fellow Jewish prisoners to work together and pull through, in the same way, he relied on citizens outside of the prisons to help him in his times of need, yet when someone was not helpful or chose to leave him to the Nazi’s rather than help him, he was never angry or upset. Eddie was kind to everyone he met because he chose to see the best in every person rather than allow the atrocities, they committed cause him to lose his faith in humanity. “I never lost sight of what it was to be civilised. I knew there would be no point in surviving if I had to become an evil man to do it. I never hurt another prisoner, I never stole another man’s bread, and I did all I could to help my fellow man.” (Eddie Jaku, 2020, Chapter 8, pg. 101) In this quote Eddie discusses how he treated others within the concentration camps, he believed there was no point in surviving if he needed to become evil to do so. Eddie never stole, he never hurt anyone, and he never went out of his way to ensure someone else would be injured and not him. Eddie lived a life full of integrity and kindness and in doing so secured his well-being by knowing he never caused harm to another.

To conclude Eddie used empathy, friendship, resilience and kindness to uphold and maintain a positive and happy outlook on his life. Although Eddie faced many struggles during his lifetime, he used these key characteristics to not only survive but live through one of the most ruthless periods in history. From this, he was able to move on after the war had ended and made a life for himself, a happy one with a wife, children and grandchildren. Eddie used his experiences to educate about what he had endured and lived a positive, happy life.