In the beginning of the memoir, religion and God were a very important part of Elie’s life. He devoted a large portion of his time to religious studies, and praying and it is such a natural part of his life that he couldn’t really explain why it was so essential
‘Isnt it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back. Everything is different’ Quote by C.S Lewis
In such a cruel place such as the one they were in, it is deemed to be impossible. Even though Elie’s connection to God was strong, it was still broken. So many traumatic events happened at the camp, it is almost impossible to keep track of them all. Being forced to witness all these horrible things everyday, with no sign of God made Elie question if there even is one. If there was a God he’d be trying to help the innocent Jews escape or at least something, and if he was not then should he even be regarded as one, was Elie’s view on the whole situation. As time carried on, Eliezer’s faith and connection to God died. It was too much for him to believe that his once-beloved God had abandoned them. “Blessed be God’s name? Why, but why would I bless him? ... Because he caused thousands of children to burn in his mass graves? … Praised be thy holy name, for having chosen us to be slaughtered on the thine altar?” (Wiesel 67), This quote expresses Elie’s hatred for God’s lack of action on the whole
At the concentration camp, at night some of the other prisoners would talk of God and how He works in mysterious ways. They believed that they were being tested of their faith. Elie had a much different view of God after all he has been through because he "...was not denying His existence, but I doubted his absolute justice"(45). Elie still thought that God existed, but now he did not think God had power over everything. He believed if God had power over everything, then he would have prevented all the evil things that the Nazis did to the Jews and his family. God loves all of his children, and he wouldn't want evil things to happen to them. If He had the power to, He would have stopped the horrors Elie was facing. Elie is truly starting to question his faith and the power of
One example of Elie losing his faith is when he was questioning his belief in God. "I suffer hell in my soul and my flesh. I also have eyes and I see what is being done here. Where is God 's mercy? Where 's God? How can I believe, how can anyone believe in this God of Mercy? (77)." Elie was losing his faith in God. He was suffering and he was wondering where God was at this time as he was suffering. If God truly did exist, then why would He let this happen? Was he trying to test
Distractions are used to overcome traumatic events, to motivate survival. The story of Night by Elie Wiesel depicts his journey, beginning from a free life in Sighet, Transylvania during World War II. He, along with his family and the other Jews of Sighet are placed in ghettos then transported to concentration camps. Separated from his mother and sister, Elie strives to find a way to survive alongside his father. He recounts his experiences under Nazi German oppression from his imprisonment in Auschwitz to his liberation in Buchenwald. Elie survives the Holocaust through a battle of conscience – first believing in God, then resisting his faith in God, and ultimately replacing his faith with obligation to his father.
It is a common assumption among numerous people in the world that the Holocaust never existed. In fact, almost fifty percent of the world population never even heard of the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel helped people around the world learn about the Holocaust through his book “Night.” He wanted people to see the bravery, courage, and guilt of the Jews through his book. “Night” shows the horrific and malicious acts in the German concentration camps during the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel successfully created a clever plot consisting of dialogue, introspection and dynamic characters to make his story realistic and compelling. Elie WIesel changed the protagonist Eliezer, an observant Jewish youngster, that strived to delve deeper into the mythical traditions of his religion, changed to a person that questions God’s greatness, a disloyal son and a person that only seeks personal gain.
The Night is a story about war. A war that is way too different from the war that happened in different countries around the world. The challenge to the warrior and the sufferings of the noncombat. A terse, merciless testimonial, the book serves as a harsh reflection on war. The work serves as an example of a devastating effect of evil on innocence. The Holocaust served as an event that has disrupted both human history and the life story of God. Night is one of only a few books that gives us the understanding about the Holocaust. The Holocaust’s significance is for the human understanding of man’s relationship to God. However. Night is not an example of the death of God theology. Wiesel claimed that the covenant was broken so he talked to God
Faith is such an important part of life. It is the drive, the motive to live, to breathe, to feel. When faith is lost, so is the reason to exist; life is lost in oblivion. Faith is a truly powerful weapon and as the story of Eliezer 's life during the Holocaust is played out through this book, a first-hand perspective is gained of what someone can do to cause questioning of faith and how people respond, whether by strengthening faith or losing it entirely. Eliezer is hit with every hard trial imaginable within a year of his life and eventually withers and hardens into this completely new person than the boy he was when he first stepped into that cattle car expelling him from Sighet, his home, and life. When everything familiar is taken, doubt
Elie, once so faithful, is one of the first to lose faith in God due to the horrific sights he sees. After witnessing the bodies of Jewish children being burned, Wiesel writes, “Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever” (34). He quite understandably has begun to doubt that his God is with him following the sight of the supposedly chosen people’s bodies being unceremoniously burned. Elie, though, was perhaps not a member of the masses with this belief; in fact, some men were able to hold on to their beliefs despite these horrendous sights. Also near the middle of the book, Wiesel reflects on the faith of other Jews in the face of these events, saying that “some of the men spoke of God: His mysterious ways, the sins of the Jewish people, and the redemption to come. As for me, I had ceased to pray...I was not denying His existence, but I doubted His absolute justice” (45). It is apparent here that the effect of the Holocaust on the Jewish people’s faith was delayed on some level. Elie refuses to pray to the God that apparently abandoned him. This is personified when he says he doubts that God has absolute justice. Others remain faithful and retain the hope that He is on their side, explaining these happenstances as an example of God’s mysterious ways. While this may as well be the case, Elie stops praying, believing that he has been abandoned. He finds no hope of redemption in the Talmud like
Belief and Faith is a “double-edged sword” to the jews, it cuts both ways. It keeps them alive, and at the same time makes them oblivious, and leads to their suffering. Over time, Elie’s belief in god, diminishes and eventually he questions God’s existence extensively and at point, Elie is infuriated that even though they are being tormented and enslaved, the Jews will still pray to god, and thank him, “If god did exist, why would he let u go through all the pain and suffering (33). This is a major point in the ongoing theme of faith and belief, because for once he is infuriated with the thought of religion in a time of suffering. Throughout the book, with the nazis ultimate goal is to break the jews and make dehumanize them and if anything, their goal is take and diminish their belief. The torturing and suffering caused is what widdles down the belief, and this present throughout the novel. Only the strong and the ones who have most faith would survive, yet at the same time, if they didn’t originally have faith, they could’ve avoided the concentration camps
“I ran off to look for my father. And at the same time I was afraid of having to wish him a Happy New Year when I no longer believed in it,” (Wiesel, 75). Earlier, Elie talks about how he felt powerful and stronger than God himself, now that he was free from the Almighty. He also talks about how he felt alone but strong. Later, he shows retaliation against God. He seems to find any possible way to fight against. “But further, there was no longer any reason why I should fast. I no longer accepted God’s silence. As I swallowed my bowl of soup, I saw in the gesture an act of rebellion and protest against Him,” (Wiesel, 76). As the book progressed, Elie found every possible way to fight against God or his retired religion. Using diction and syntax, Elie connects the reader easier with saying, “I was the accuser, God the accused,” (Wiesel, 75). It was sad to see his love and faith for many years, just vanish at the snap of
Imagine believing so strongly in something and then being let down, or thinking that you were wrong even to believe. In Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie felt as though he had lost his religion and belief in God. We learned how strong his beliefs were when he says,“I believed profoundly. During the day I studied the Talmud, and at night I ran to the synagogue to weep of the destruction of the Temple,” (Wiesel, 14). But then he experiences the hardships of the Holocaust and it abruptly changed him. In the book Night, the main theme is religious belief, shown when Elie talks about the his strong religion and belief as a boy, his disconnection from religion, and the inhumane actions the Nazis caused.
“Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope. If dreams reflect the past, hope summons the future.” This was written by Elie Wiesel. He published a book describing life during World War 2. During the holocaust, Elie is a young boy who is taken to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp.Throughout NIght, the main character, Elie experienced horrible events causing his loss of faith, emotional changes, and desire of death.
In chapters 4 to 6 in the novel, “Night”, Elie Wiesel and his father continue to suffer in the grasp of the Germans. Eventually, all the Jews are moved to a new work camp, Buna, where they are overworked and undernourished, and resort to killing each other for pieces of bread.