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Night By Elie Wiesel: Character Analysis

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Night by Elie Wiesel shows when humans are put in horrible situations, the acts of selfishness greatly increase. The book shows that when humans are in crisis like the Holocaust everyone is desperate to survive, so they will do anything they can to get their basic needs. The people forgot who they are as human, and how it made Elie and others act differently towards each other. Elie Wiesel, and everyone who he meets along the way want to survive this, at times they forget why they want to live. But no one wants to get defeated by the Germans. The want to survive drives this selfishness forward. Everyone who was going through this crisis feared dying. After Elie’s father gets beat for asking about a bathroom, Elie asks himself, “What had happened …show more content…

Selfishness makes people forget who you are, and it makes people act differently, forget they're human nature. Selfiness takes away integrity, and self control. It drives the chaos further down, to where it is already so horrible. Elie shared the story of how on the train the Germans threw one piece of bread onto the wagon which lead to disaster, “In the wagon where the bread had landed, a battle had ensured. Men were hurling themselves against each other, trampling, tearing at and mauling each other. Beasts of prey unleashed, animal hate in their eyes.” Elie would of stood up for his father, but he was afraid that he would get hurt or killed too. Elie does feel terrible about not even blinking. The want of survival was more important to him, then standing up for his father because of the fear that soaked in him. No one has anymore self control from keeping themselves from not to use violence. After Elie’s father dies, Elie is a little bit glad because the responsibility is off him, “And deep inside me, if I could have searched the recesses of my feeble conscience, I might have found something like: Free at last!?” Elie will certainly miss his father because they were very close. Yet part of Elie is glad to have the stress and responsibility off him. Elie is a little bit selfish in this, that he does not care that his father is dead, but he is a little bit relieved. Elie has lost his integrity, he is glad he has to take care of one

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But I was out of tears. And deep inside me, if I could have searched the recesses of my feeble conscience, I might have found something like: Free at last!” This story told by Elie demonstrates how though Elie was somewhat upset, the first thought that occupied his mind was that there would be one less hungry stomach, and one less mouth to feed. This greatly shows that although Elie wanted to mourn over his father, his current mindset of self preservation and instinct would not allow

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