Genocides test their victims not only physically, but also mentally and spiritually. This was observed during the Holocaust, where the “lucky” survivors at the concentration camps had to come to terms between their reality and their idea of faith. Author and survivor, Elie Wiesel, shows this in his memoir Night. Throughout the memoir, Wiesel shows that during these times of trouble, faith in humanity was more insidious than the faith in God. Even though times of great prosperity, or of great ruin, turn men to faith as a cure-all, events such as the Holocaust spiritually exhausted their victims into a state of losing faith. The idea of a benevolent and caring God is called into question when all His followers are slaughtered by the millions.
Losing the Faith? During difficult times, many people turn to their faith in order to help themselves deal with the situation that they are going through. However, difficult times may cause people to stray away from their faith or forget about their beliefs all together. In his novel, Night, Elie Wiesel describes in detail his time spent in a concentration camp.
Have you ever been through something traumatic or so life changing that you have doubt the truthness of your faith? Throughout Night, Elie Wiesel, the author shows several instances of his loss of religion throughout the book. Wiesel demonstrates his loss of faith through the experiences he has while in the Nazi concentration camps. Wiesel had many traumatic experiences while being held captive in the concentration camps. Those included his refusal to recite the Kaddish prayer for the dead.
The first internal conflict that the protagonist experiences as they encounter hopes is in “The Night.” Eliezer which is the protagonist has an internal conflict of worship. The most extraordinary thing Eliezer a victim of the Holocaust was able to retain hope in such dark times. Hope and optimism for a good resolution arguably kept a will to survive in the Jews, and that displayed such hope through his worship, trust in their family, and wishes to prevail. In reality, hope most likely died in most of the Holocaust victims, and perhaps a loss in hope led to many of the deaths.
Throughout history, humankind has been greatly affected by religion. It has brought people together, caused wars, and helped many people find themselves. Night, by Elie Wiesel, is a personal memoir about the author’s experience as a young Jewish boy during the Holocaust. At the mere age of fifteen he was taken from his home, placed in concentration camps, sent on death marches, and potentially had his whole life stripped from him. Throughout the memoir, Elie Wiesel uses Eliezer’s change in faith to show the importance and difficulty of maintaining faith through hardship by prioritizing Eliezer’s communication with his god over his interaction with those around him.
Faith is something that most have grown up with. In the novel “Night”, Elie Wiesel talks about his experiences during the Second World War. From living a normal life in the town of Sighet to being forced into concentration camps, Elie experiences a lot of change regarding his life and his identity. Throughout the novel, there are several instances where Elie’s faith is changed. In the novel “Night”, the idea of faith is presented as something that can be changed and shaped by events in one’s life.
Glaube in der Nacht “Losing faith in your own singularity is the start of wisdom, I suppose; also the first announcement of death.” - Peter Conrad This quote is trying to explain that if you stop having faith you have made an annihilation of the sanity you have. The quote is essentially saying if you say you don’t have faith, then your saying you have abrogate life. Night is about a journey between a young boy named Elie Wiesel, and the struggle to live throughout the holocaust. It takes place in the death camps until the teremintain camps was liberated, along with the help of the Red Cross at the very end of the Holocaust.
In the book, “Night,” written by Elie Wiesel wrote this book getting across the message that there needed to be a break in the silence. As humans, we value life and our existence is special. Therefore, when we watch so many lives get taken right in front of us the “normal” way to get over it is to be upsetting and find a way to grieve. As Eli saw many special lives get killed in front of him over time he tended to use the word numb. Over time a loss of faith occurred.
In the book Night, Elie Wiesel describes his struggles as a Jew in a concentration camp using a depressing and serious tone, meant to reflect the horrific conditions the Jews were forced to face and the theme that adversity can cause a loss in faith. From the time Elie first arrived at the camp and heard everyone saying prayers, to when the young pipel was hung, and even when the Jews had to make the long, arduous, trek to the other camp, the reader could see his faith dwindling as he continued to question where his God was and why he wasn’t helping the Jews. Not only was a lack of faith evident in Elie himself, but the other Jews around him, even the priests, were having trouble believing in their God. Elie’s disheartened and somber tone
The role religion plays in the Holocaust, along with the experiences of victims and the impact the event had on survivors is all evaluated in Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night. With regard to the role of religion, Wiesel conveys the importance of praying and having rituals, how religious leaders provided comfort, and resistance to Nazi persecution. In highlighting the gruesome experiences of victims, readers learn about everything from the deportation to ghettos, to death marches, and an innocent pipel being hung. The religious identity of survivors was scarred, leading to some people abandoning their faith and others having it strengthened. Perfectly illustrating the mindset of survivors, Qamar Rafiq states, “I am a victim of religious persecution, and this tragedy has changed my life forever.
Throughout the memoir, Elie’s faith towards God is tested, and by the end of the book his faith is reduced to almost nothing. In the beginning Elie follows all of the traditions of being a Jew but slowly loses his faith when he gets to the camp. Toward the middle Elie’s faith is really tested and is wearing down because he is fed up with God. At the end Elie wonders why he even believed in God and his faith is basically nonexistent.
“We are never defeated unless we give up on God” (Ronald Reagan).When no faith remains, it makes one a soulless man. Elie Wiesel uses Night to comment on the effects of the unforgettable experiences and grisly events that he has encountered during the Holocaust. Though Elie Wiesel was once a devoted Jew, when he experienced the gruesome treatments and witnessed the undeserved suffering in the concentration camps, he ultimately succumbed to the destruction of his faith and the ruination of his identity. Religion had always been an indispensable part of Elie Wiesel’s life, but the Holocaust prompted the faltering of his faith. Before his days at the concentration camps, Elie Wiesel was a fervently devout child who, unlike most kids , preferred
The Holocaust affects Jews in a way that seems unimaginable, and most of these effects seem to have been universal experiences; however, in the matter of faith, Jews in the concentration camp described in Elie Wiesel’s Night are affected differently and at different rates. The main character, Elie, loses his faith quickly after the sights he witnesses (as well as many others); other Jews hold on much longer and still pray in the face of total destruction. In the beginning, all of the Jews are more or less equally faithful in their God and religion.
After such a long time without help, these people will start to question their faith and eventually, they will rebel against it. In the memoir, Night by Elie Wiesel, a survivor of The Holocaust, Elie shows that faith is often lost in times of testing or trial. 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.
Faith can be very important in a person’s life, but it is often very difficult to hold on to during times of crises. It could help a person a great deal, or it could leave a person weak and in pieces once they lose it. Both Elie Wiesel and Marjane Satrapi experienced the loss of faith and the difficult times following. They described their experiences in their respective memoirs Night and Persepolis. Elie wrote about his experience in several concentration camps during the Holocaust, and the trauma that he both witnessed and felt during that time.
Within all of Elie Wiesel’s short novel, “Night”, numerous amounts of symbols represent the hopelessness of the Jews that readers witness as they understand the true pain and suffering experienced during the Holocaust. Faith plays a role in everyone’s life, whether that be one who is highly into their beliefs or not; Elie Wiesel is no exception. Faith is a symbol of strength and perseverance, but throughout Elie’s interminable labors within the camps, he put his faith into question. In Elie’s mind, he was becoming emotionally devastated and in turn giving up hope in his Lord. Within the words of Wiesel’s short novel, “Night”, Wiesel said, “. . .