Cultural Differences In Elie Wiesel's Night

Since the beginning of mankind, man has sought some form of a higher entity and a basis for humanity. Since the beginning, it has always been important to find a greater purpose for human life--to discover life’s meaning. Naturally, due to cultural differences, incongruities arose in man’s interpretation of how best to live and how best to be faithful, and eventually man focused more on those differences rather than the similar theme that was emphasized in each of the Holy Books: to love our neighbors and to love God, or whatever higher entity we chose to worship (Interview). As time progressed, these differences in opinion began to become forms of identification, and man began to use faith and religion to distinguish themselves from one another.
[to be cont.] Wiesel’s purposeful tone emphasizes the reality of religious hostility. The last sentences in Night, especially reflects the direct tone. “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left me” (Wiesel 115).
Wiesel’s directness allows almost no opportunity for different interpretations. By simply stating the focus and meaning of this particular experience, Wiesel offers the most realistic aspect. Without excessive detail and directly-stated emotions, Wiesel’s point is easy to grasp and less like a story. Wiesel draws attention to the horror of his appearance and the effects that such an experience had on him. Keeping a simple and clear tone allows Wiesel to teach a lesson to his audience. By withholding unnecessary detail, the focus and message is plain and unforgettable. Wiesel’s purposeful and direct tone also reflects his religious upbringing. The Bible and Talmud are structured around crisp, condensed sentences. Wiesel felt that although his experience defied imagination and language, it was still a story that needed to be told (source 2). The directness in which the story was told would force Wiesel’s audience to accept his story with no question. There is no added drama so the story is relayed as very factual. The lack of opinion contributes to Wiesel’s purpose in conveying his story not only as a lesson but as a real-life experience. Wiesel’s life purpose, post-Holocaust, has been to remember and honor the dead with his actions now. He acknowledges that religious hostility is still an issue and that as someone who has survived the hate enacted towards him because of religious differences, it is his duty to those of his religion who died to stand up for the human rights of those still living (source 9). Wiesel’s connection to those of the same religion has given his life purpose. He lives to remember those who died and to make sure that something like the Holocaust never happens again. That is his purpose. But the differences in purpose is what provoked religious hostility in the first place. The different religious ideologies and interpretations result in different values. And when individuals have different views and values, conflicts arise. Recently, the global religious hostility rate has increased. For one, religious minorities are targeted because they are perceived as threatening or offensive to the majority faith. Based on a study that included 198 countries and evaluated religious hostility rates especially between 2011 and 2012, terrorist violence that was religiously motivated occurred in close to one fifth of the countries. In 2012, cases of harassment, which included physical assaults, arrests, desecration of holy sites, discrimination, and intimidation were found to be present in 166 of the countries, a six year high. “Members of the world’s two largest religious groups--Christians and Muslims, who together comprise more than half of the global population--were harassed in the largest number of countries, 151 and 135, respectively” (source 4). Due to difference in opinion and the fear of another’s religious motivations, people are dying. Innocent people who are simply looking for something bigger for which to live are facing shame and humiliation for living according to their personal beliefs. but the most ironic part is that one of the most emphasized concepts in each of these religions is love. In comparison to the rest of the world, European countries have exceedingly high rates of religious hostility. Those in the Jewish community have been reported to have been harassed in 76% of countries in Europe, compared to 25% of the rest of the countries in the world. Muslims are said to have been harassed in 71% of European countries, compared to the 34% of other countries around the world (source 5). Today, people like to think that mankind has evolved past the fear of what is not understood. People like to believe that because there is more diversity, there is more tolerance, if not acceptance. But the hostility towards those who believe in different gods and those who worship differently is still a reality. Mankind has not evolved. The utopian idea that everyone has the right to practice their own religions without fearing ostracism, harassment, or hostility has not yet been attained. In Night, Wiesel also draws attention to the cause of religious hostility in his use of a neutral tone. Wiesel conveys his story as a narration to emphasize the nightmarish truth and the realistic reactions the Jews of Sighet faced. “The Germans were already in our town, the Fascists were already in power, the verdict was already out--and the Jews of Sighet were still smiling” (Wiesel 10). Wiesel’s lack of embellishment in detail conveys to the audience the attitude of denial and naivete. The suppressed emotion emphasizes the Jews’ reaction of disbelief. They could never have imagined such an experience as the Holocaust, especially as God’s “chosen ones.” The shock and the horror that overwhelmed the Jewish community is thence reflected as Wiesel tells of his experience as if he were watching something unreal unfold.
Its neutral tone is the language of a witness. By suppressing all emotion, analysis, and embellishment, it speaks of despair and cynicism. But it also forces the reader to fill in the feelings and judgement that Wiesel has silenced. The absence of causal connectives is symptomatic of the broken Covenant between God and His people. Stripped to the essence, Wiesel’s concise expression adheres closest to the truth. Reticence and understatement overrule sentimentality and repellant literalness, allowing the author to endure and the reader to believe. (source 1)
Wiesel’s use of silence over detail reflects the understatement of his experience. Oftentimes the Holocaust is described as beyond words because it was so horrifying. The Jewish community had been silenced, as they were overpowered and were unable to do anything. And, in a sense, the attempted termination of the Jewish community was due to the world’s silence and lack of involvement. Even today, the lack of involvement from the government has allowed religious hostility to flourish in certain countries like Syria and Nigeria. The unstable government and the collapse of government security structures in Iraq and Syria allowed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to gain control and see to eliminate anyone who disagreed with its radical interpretation of Islam. The ineffective government has indirectly allowed ISIL to execute, kidnap, rape, sell, and forcibly convert thousands of women and children on the grounds that they opposed ISIL’s religious ideology (source 6). In Nigeria, Boko Haram seeks to impose his religious and political beliefs throughout West Africa, targeting civilians, government officials, military forces, Christians, and Muslims (source 6). The Nigerian government, aware of Boko Haram’s threat to innocent people, has failed to even investigate cases of violence, much less prosecute and punish those responsible for the conflict. Even when security forces were stationed at posts, reports indicate that the soldiers fled and deserted when Boko Haram attacked them (source 6). The government is supposed to protect its people. It is established to ensure justice and keep peace among the nation’s citizens. so when such an institution is ineffective, those who were protected become vulnerable. Wiesel promised to fight injustice and oppression, acknowledging that action was the only way to make a difference. As a world superpower, the United States has a responsibility to step in and protect the people of Syria and Nigeria because if America does not step in, no country will. And in that scenario, it is almost fair to say that Americans gave consent to ISIL and Boko Haram to terrorize and control the Middle Eastern and West African region. Wiesel also employs voice to emphasize the will to life of those who are oppressed. As Night progresses, there were three stages of emotion that reflected Wiesel’s will to live. The first was confusion. When Wiesel first entered the camps, his need for direction from somebody who was more sure than he led him to lie about his age and profession, and he passed the first selection (Wiesel 30). Second, his doubt concerning whether or not he and his father should evacuate or stay at camp led him to risk the chance of liberation since he strongly believed that staying would result in immediate extermination (Wiesel 82). Lastly, Wiesel becomes emotionally immune. When Wiesel failed to cry when his father died, he was effectively dehumanizing himself (Wiesel 112). If he has allowed himself to feel the loss of his last family member, he would have lost all motivation to live because he would not have been strong enough, emotionally. Wiesel’s language relays an undertone of emotion because words are inadequate when trying to describe his experience. As old as language is, it fails to communicate the despair associated with the Holocaust (source 2). Although Wiesel’s emotions are indirect, his thoughts and actions are most powerful in that they show the reader his will to live. Wiesel does not tell his audience how to feel, so they must infer and imagine what it could have been like in his shoes.
` Today, the Syrian refugees have shown the world their will to live.
In a mass exodus, over a million Syrians have fled their homes in search of safety, but the escape from ISIL has its own risks to consider. “Even after escaping from predatory militias and vengeful military assaults, victims continue to be prey for criminals, sexual predators, sectarian vigilantes or allies of the Syrian government” (source 10). But the risks that these people take exemplify their strength in faith. Instead of relinquishing their faith, these people give up everything. Their religious identities give them something for which to fight. Throughout history, people have had to suffer when they chose to follow their own faith. And when people go through difficult times, they often lament to God or a higher entity because they have no control over their situations. That itself implies that there is a God or higher being to lament to
(Interview).
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