Examples Of Survival In Night By Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel’s Night, shows how hard it was to live and be a Jew during the time of the holocaust due to all the deaths, camps, and losses. Elie’s book shows readers what kind of events and actions were the cause of death of some prisoners and the thing that caused the survival of others. Throughout the book, many prisoners ended up giving up the hope to continue living, while others were able to find enough hope and love in family and friends to find a reason to hold on to life and try to survive. The weather, the selections, and family, were the three biggest things that costed some prisoners their lives and affected the will of others to live. Elie uses dialogue and examples of items and family members that the prisoners lost or were afraid to lose to show what caused some prisoners give up all hope of survival and why other prisoners were able to endure.

When Elie’s father is chosen in the first selection to stay behind, it is the first time he has experienced the loss of hope that he will survive. “‘Here, take this knife,’ he said. ‘I won’t need it anymore. You may find it useful. Also take this spoon. Don’t sell it. Quickly! Go ahead, take what I’m giving you!’ My inheritance… {...} ‘I am asking you… Take it, do as I ask you, my son. Time is running out. Do as your father asks you’”(Wiesel 75). During the first selection, Elie’s father is chosen to stay behind. His father knows that he is not as strong as he needs to be to survive the second selection and will most likely be killed before the day is up and before getting to seeing his son again, so he gives Elie the two most important things he owns. By doing this, Elie’s father is showing that he has given up hope that there is any chance for him to survive and wants Elie to know that he loves him and be prepared to never see him