Elie Wiesel, who wrote the memoir Night, and the protagonist of this novel are of the same name. In Night, Wiesel’s psychological journey is explored as the Holocaust makes him doubt God and exposes him to the worst aspects of human depravity. It is clear that Hitler and his allies attacked Jewish culture as well as Jewish men, women, and children during their fight. The reasons why the Holocaust devastated Jewish culture will be discussed using characters, character development, and symbolism. Wiesel's and the Jewish people's faith was shaken by Wiesel's sense of betrayal by God as a result of His inaction during the Holocaust. Wiesel's actions and ideas regarding his religion, an expression of his culture, are first documented in Night. Since …show more content…
In the sentence before that, Wiesel seems to be on the verge of losing faith. On page 42 of Night, Wiesel starts to question God. As he loses faith, the religious culture in which he has grown up will also be lost, which will be referred to as character development. Wiesel speaks spontaneously since he doesn't seem to be able to get over some of the horrible things that happened during the Holocaust. "Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust." (Wiesel, 45). Wiesel experiences more than anyone, much less a teenager, should ever have to go through.Wiesel is a devoted follower of God, and he continues to hold that belief, but he has doubts about God's authority. "Why would anyone in that position of power allow this to happen? Never shall I forget." Weiser starts thinking of leaving his religion's culture in pursuit of something more "fair" after witnessing escalating acts of violence and hatred against his people. He previously was a devout believer, but these tragedies and the injustice transform him into a "free man," which is a development in his character. In this example, the concept being emphasized is the fundamental topic of the book, which is to never forget. Wiesel's skepticism …show more content…
When describing something as a star with a raging fire that will burn out when horrible things happen, the author uses symbolism to give it a deeper meaning or a more vivid visual image. In their eyes, the gradually fading stars meant death. The sparks represented the loss of his religious culture. Throughout the long nights spent in concentration camps, on trains, and in the ghetto, Wiesel witnesses the Nazis' atrocities. Mr. Weisel's perception of time has shifted as the days and nights seem to stretch on indefinitely. "So much has happened within such a few hours that I had lost all sense of time." When had we left our houses? And the ghetto? And the train? Was it only a week? One night one single night" (34). The night shows how something so prevalent in life has the capability to take away from people and instill fear. The night had sapped everyone's desire to live another day as they witnessed strangers, friends, and family being slaughtered by the ruthless Nazis. As Elie's journey to find help continues, the nights pass and gradually consume his life and the lives of everyone else with gloom and despair. As a result, utilizing the night as a symbol to express the gloom
Night is just one of many memoirs written by Eliezer Wiesel, who survived the vicious and the infamous Holocaust during the calamitous WWII. The renowned legend Eliezer Wiese, including his book Night, showed a variety of different concepts as in his dauntlessness, intrepidity, and sanguineness for his desire to survive. During this period he faced many tribulations as in tyrannical hardships; he experienced many spiritual differences as well. He had to face many crucibles during his time in the Holocaust. Night is one big predicament which includes many lessons of life.
Elie Wiesel’s Night is an account of Wiesel’s life during the holocaust, during which he and his father were imprisoned in a concentration camp, initially Auschwitz, and later Buchenwald. Though the context of this piece may suggest it is strictly a historical memoir of Wiesel, the account is presented through complex literary techniques that produce a powerful and complex narrative which impacts the reader throughout. This testimony is given through the character of Eliezer, which is representative of Wiesel himself, with certain central themes present. The most prevalent theme presented by Night revolves around the way the holocaust challenges Eliezer’s faith in God, which Wiesel also likely experienced himself. For example, Eliezer begins
After the life changing experience in the concentration camps at Auschwitz, Wiesel has lost his devotion in his Creator. Having a great deal of faith in God for many years and then losing it in a matter of months is difficult. For Wiesel he questions God multiple times about his ways before he lets his religion go. Even after though he continues to let his
Wiesel succeeds in demonstrating that the Holocaust and the period of time which surrounded it “would be judged one day.” He composes his experiences into a heart rending memoir: from Night; believing that he needed to be the “bear witness.” The word “night” means the period of darkness in each twenty-four hours. The use of the metaphor night marks the end of most people’s normal lives. During 1933 all Jews, homosexuals, and Roma (Gypsies) were sent to concentration camps.
He was really deep into his culture. Wiesel was at an all time high when he was getting into his teens with his religion. The young Jew was on his way to becoming a son of God. This young man spent more time studying his religion than 25 of us today. “One day I asked my father to find me a
He spent countless days in misery. His faith in god started to weaken due to no result of anything getting better and lack of hope. One's belief can make a huge impact in one's life but once it falters, it leads to a dark path of loneliness, despair, and betrayal. In the beginning of the book, Night Wiesel described himself as a religious person
Joanne McCarthy has reinforced this concept in her Magill’s Choice: Holocaust Literature where she writes “Innocence died in the camps…the child of faith was journeying from mysticism to anger and doubt of God’s justice” (1), attributing Wiesel’s loss of faith to the death of his innocence. By doing so and making such a point, Wiesel provides the readers with a glimpse of the horrors of the holocaust, appealing to the reader’s pathos and getting them to empathize with the characters in his
Wiesel’s repeated use of questions imply the loss of confidence in his religion, meaning the loss of faith. Through using questions, the reader is allowed to infer answers to these questions that lead the reader to a more deeper and complex understanding of the confusion and complete loss of trust that Elizer develops from all of the death and torture of other Jewish people that he witnesses and endures. By using the motif of questions, Wiesel builds a deeper connection between the reader and Eliezer, and is able to better share his experience of his loss of
Wiesel uses his experiences during the Holocaust to show accountability, from not only himself but the lack of it from others. ¨Elie then watches an old man hide bread before he is attacked and killed by his own son. The son kills his father for the bread before several prisoners attack and kill him.¨ (Wiesel Night Chapter 7). Throughout the novel WIesel uses his experiences as a lesson. He uses his platform in order to teach wrong from right and help us learn and heal from the
Wiesel's loss of faith was brought on by the absence of God. This resulted in him questioning why it was God's will to allow Jews to suffer and die the way they had. Another portrayal of religious confliction within Wiesel was the statement of his faith being consumed by the flames along with the corpses of children (Wiesel 34). Therefore, he no longer believed God was the almighty savior everyone had set Him out to be or even present before them. To conclude, his experiences within Nazi confinement changed what he believed in and caused him to change how he thought and began questioning God because of the actions He allowed to take
In the novel, “Night” Elie Wiesel communicates with the readers his thoughts and experiences during the Holocaust. Wiesel describes his fight for survival and journey questioning god’s justice, wanting an answer to why he would allow all these deaths to occur. His first time subjected into the concentration camp he felt fear, and was warned about the chimneys where the bodies were burned and turned into ashes. Despite being warned by an inmate about Auschwitz he stayed optimistic telling himself a human can’t possibly be that cruel to another human.
Wiesel changes vastly throughout the book, whether it is his faith in God, his faith in living, or even the way his mind works. In the beginning of his memoir, Wiesel appeared to be faithful to God and the Jewish religion, but during his time in concentration camps, his faith in God wavered tremendously. Before his life was corrupted, he would praise God even when he was being transferred to Auschwitz, but after living in concentration camps, he began to feel rebellious against his own religion. In the book, Elie
Wiesel isn’t thankful for God being silent and feels nothing but anger towards him. To sum up, loss of faith is another theme in Night that shows
During the Holocaust many sat back and wondered how God could let such a terrible thing happen. One of these people was Elie Wiesel. Throughout the novel Wiesel has a hard time sticking, and believing in his beloved faith. At first he is obsessed with the thought of learning about his religion. As the Holocaust goes on he starts to question why God lets these things happen.
This passage shows the frustration that Weisel has towards God for forsaking him to such a horrible place, when God could easily fix such a problem if He was truly the omnipotent God. Wiesel’s stray from religion is an important contrast from Frankl’s strong grasp on religion. These two different mindsets during the Holocaust is an important fact to focus on, as it can be related to today. During times of trials and strife, some people grasp onto God and religion.