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Symbolism In Night By Elie Wiesel

680 Words3 Pages

Before I begin discussing about the symbolism in Night, I want to point out the importance of symbolism in any form of storytelling, and even in reality. In a way, symbolism is what makes ordinary objects or symbols into meaning. Symbolism can make anything as powerful as actual words. In that sense, symbolism creates the story being read. I believe a story can become more powerful and more touching if there is a very symbolic object or symbol involved. Readers can also reflect their own symbolism and emotions onto the story, which makes it more interesting. Now, I will be discussing three symbolic ideas in Night. First will be the word night itself, the second will be the various ways “corpses” are mentioned, and the last will be fire. Night is considered the …show more content…

It was mentioned in a literal sense sometimes, and it was mentioned in a metaphoric sense at other times. In one of the meal scenes, it is said that their soup tastes like corpses. In a way that is saying the soup tastes extremely bad, and it also means that the people eating the soup could only think of dead bodies. The air must’ve smelt like corpses as well for the soup to taste like it. When Elie looked at himself in the mirror for the first time in a while, he did not see himself as he remembered it. After living with other people who slowly decayed due to the conditions of the camps, he could’ve thought that he wasn’t decaying at badly as the others were. The corpse he sees in the mirror could also have reminded him of the dead bodies he saw, and what physical toll the camps took on his body. Lastly, his belief died. The reason these families were in the camps was because of their belief. It seems very illogical for their god to allow this to happen. Elie also truly felt his belief die out when he saw baby corpses in the ditch. Babies are completely innocent while adults are not, that is why he questioned his god, then turned away from

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