Elie Wiesel Night Quotes

When humans are faced with repressive situations, they tend to lose hope and as a result, they fall into the hands of their intimidators out of fear. In the memoir Night, taking place during the holocaust, Elie Wiesel recounts his experience of Nazi abuse and the few individuals fighting to escape Nazi persecution while maintaining their humanity. Ultimately, Elie argues that despite existing in a world of oppression, certain individuals defy their identity as victims and, instead, take part in acts of resistance that display what is left of their humanity. In the face of imminent death, a condemned prisoner whom Elie describes is still able to wage a protest through the form of expressing the free will and passing on hope to those around

The Lageraltese starts reading the verdict, “According to the law…prisoner number…is condemned to death. Let this be a warning and example to all prisoners.’ Nobody moved… The thousands of people who died daily in Auschwitz and Birkenau, in the crematoria, no longer troubled me. But this boy, leaning against the gallows, upset me dearly.” (Wiesel, 62) What is so distressing about this quote is the way the Lageraltese refers to the condemned young man when they begin reciting his ruling- as a number rather than a genuine person with an identity. Even though Elie witnesses thousands of deaths every day, this specific killing left a lasting impression on him because the victim was a young boy who still had a lot of life left to live but was tragically taken from him. Elie may have a personal connection with this young man, as they are probably similar in age, have experienced

After marching in thick snow and cold winds for miles, all of the Jews pile on top of each other in the barrack of Gleiwitz due to exhaustion. As Elie fights for air, he hears a familiar voice. “Mercy!’...I myself was crushed under the weight of other bodies. I had difficulty breathing. I dug my nails into unknown faces. I was biting my way through, searching for air. No one cried out… ‘Are you alright, Juliek?’... ‘All right…All right…Not too much air…Tired…My feet are swollen…It's good to rest, but my violin…’” (93) Because the prisoners lack essentials for survival, their survival instincts have taken over and they will do anything to get a breath of air. Even though the prisoner's rest area is very limited, hundreds of individuals are piled on top of each other. Although the Jews are being hurt physically, many are also being hurt mentally as they are reluctantly and painfully turning on each other as their self-preservation comes on. Turning against one another causes Jewish tensions to increase and divides the community's principles and ideals. It just goes to demonstrate how inhumane the Nazis were. While the prisoners in this barrack are being pushed to their limits and are on the inch of their lives, Juliek longs for his violin valuing his identity and passion. All of the prisoners are squashed on top of each other when Juliek starts playing a