Elie Wiesel's Cruelty Night

Authors often use cruel and inhumane acts to develop a theme as well as to appeal to the readers emotions. Elie Wiesel uses cruelty in his memoir Night to emphasize the barbaric treatment towards the victims of the holocaust; in addition to, how cruelty develops his character throughout the story. For one thing at the beginning of the novel Elie is extremely religious, but after he arrives in the concentration camp he starts losing his faith. For example, “For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?” (Wiesel 33). The quote buttresses how Ellie was angry with God and even beginning to doubt

“ I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God, without man. Without love or mercy. I was nothing but ashes now..” (68). This quote proves Elie was becoming lonely and more independent. His faith in God no longer powered him. As Elie becomes distant with God his dad and him form a bond. ”I tightened my grip on my father's hand. The old, familiar fear: not to lose him…. I could have screamed in anger. To have lived and endured so much; was I going to let my father die now?” (104-105). Elie was scared to be alone when he believed his father was dead, and he states that he no longer had a reason to live. In other cases Because Elie believes his father is dead, he is relieved that he no longer has to worry about his father. He is then followed by regret. This shows that Elie was conflicted with himself as to what would ease his mind ; not being alone or not having to worry about anyone. Throughout the novel Night Elie entails the readers into what cruelty went on during the holocaust including most of his own accounts. He wants the world to know and never forget the genocide of 11 million innocent lives. In addition the reader can see how Elie grows up, starting from an innocent and extremely faithful 15 year old boy to an exhausted