Day Elie Wiesel Analysis

Day, by Elie Wiesel, is a story about a journalist who has survived the holocaust and now lives in New York. He and his girlfriend Kathleen are in an in-depth conversation on their way to a movie. When crossing the street, tragedy occurs, he is struck by a taxi and is barely alive. As the ambulance arrived at the first hospital, he was turned away, but luckily at the second hospital, Dr. Paul Russel was willing to help him. Being in and out of consciousness, the only memory he can recall is being struck by a taxi, as he does not know the severity of his injuries. Kathleen rushed to be by his side and Dr. Russel advises her to hold out hope and pray. As the prominent Dr. Russel puts it, “In that case, there are good reasons not to lose hope.
Love is worth as much as prayer. Sometimes more.” (243) Basically, Dr. Russel is saying, that if Kathleen’s love is strong enough it will bring him back from the brink of death. She needs to find strength and courage for both of them in this dire situation. There are many fascinating sides to this nameless character that Elie Wiesel writes about in Day. On one hand, he is serious, to the point of cold and slightly sadistic. On the other hand, he loves Kathleen, and is afraid that if he shows his true emotions, then it would mean that he truly is alive. There is an underlying anger that he’s not dealing with regarding the holocaust and tends to distance himself from any who ask. This shows that he is truly terrified to show his true self to anyone for that would show his vulnerability.