Research Paper On Night By Elie Wiesel

“The witness has forced himself to testify. For the youth of today, for the children who will be born tomorrow. ...” (xv). Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, wrote this when he was struggling with how to write his testimony of what he had went through as a young boy. After figuring out the right words, he created the memoir Night. This memoir covers the good, the bad, and, certainly, the ugly of his life throughout this time. During these “ugly times”, as described in Night, victims were demanded to participate in, and witness, many unimaginable acts that could be described by using the word appall. The word appall refers to being overwhelmed or filled with horror and fear, which is exactly what these people went through. These victims of the

“There was still some food left. But we never ate enough to satisfy our hunger. Our principle was to economize, to save for tomorrow. Tomorrow could be worse yet” (23). The idea of not having food for the next day is daunting, especially when their lives were previously abundant. It’s appalling and unbelievable for people to be treated in a manor like this, like animals. Although, not only is it terrifying to learn about what the victims had to endure during this horrendous time, but also what they had to witness. “Behind me, an old man fell to the ground. Nearby, an SS officer replaced his revolver in its holder” (30). This little snapshot of the book expresses what Elie Wiesel is seeing as he stands in the selection line at Auschwitz. Sadly, in this case, he is seeing an elderly man be shot. Elie and all other victims had to witness their neighbors, family, and strangers be shot right next to them, which is, most definitely, inhumane and appalling. For loved ones, or even strangers, to be shot out of the blue and pass away next to them is certainly terrifying and would scare