Dehumanization In Elie Wiesel's Night
Dehumanization in Night
Night by Elie Wiesel is a memoir that documents the story of a young Jewish boy named Eliezer who was born in Sighet, Transylvania during World War II. The story begins in his hometown, where life is normal and calm before the storm. It quickly transitions into Nazi occupation, persecution, segregation in the form of ghettos, and eventually deportation to camps. As the Jewish people arrive at the camp known as Auschwitz, they are separated and many are immediately executed while the rest are sent off to work. The persecution does not simply end at hard work all day for the Jews, and as time goes on things become progressively worse for Eliezer. The Nazis rip and tear at the humanity of Eliezer throughout the book in …show more content…
The Nazis see that in order to destroy a man’s humanity, they need to destroy the mind, spirit, and then the body. One of the ways they do this is to constantly malnourish Eliezer. Bread and Soup became more important than anything because the Nazis starved Eliezer. Eliezer remarks, "At that moment in time, all that mattered to me was my daily bowl of soup, my crust of stale bread. The bread, the soup-- those were my entire life. I was nothing but a body" (52). Eliezer confirms in the last sentence that the Nazis had stripped him of his mind and spirit that this body is the only thing he has left. The Nazis do not let him keep his body either, they continue to keep him malnourished the rest of his time, and cause many other physical pains over the course of the coming weeks. Aside from starving Eliezer, they beat him senselessly on multiple occasions. Eliezer remembers, "One day when Idek was venting his fury, I happened to cross his path. He threw himself on me like a wild beast, beating me in the chest, on my head, throwing me to the ground and picking me up again, crushing me with ever more violent blows, until I was covered in blood" (53). The Nazis have no regard for the body or the pain of Eliezer. The Nazis persecute relentlessly, and are able to do so consistently without revolt or opposition. This is the final …show more content…
“Beyond Psychoanalysis: Elie Wiesel’s Night in Historical Perspective.” Modern Critical Interpretations: Elie Wiesel’s Night. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2001. 129-143. Print.
Fine, Ellen S. “Witness of the Night.” Modern Critical Interpretations: Elie Wiesel’s Night. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2001. 47-67. Print.
Friedman, Maurice. “Elie Wiesel: The Job of Auschwitz.” Responses to Elie Wiesel. Ed. Harry James Cargas. New York: Persea, 1978. 205-207. Print.
Halperin, Irving. “From Night to The Gates of the Forest.” Responses to Elie Wiesel. Ed. Harry James Cargas. New York: Persea, 1978. 50-56. Print.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Trans. Marion Wiesel. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006. Print.
---. Preface to the New Translation. Night by Elie Wiesel. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006. vii-xv. Print.
Winfrey, Oprah. “Oprah talks to Elie Wiesel.” O: The Oprah Magazine 1.5 (2000): 1-4.
Night by Elie Wiesel is a memoir that documents the story of a young Jewish boy named Eliezer who was born in Sighet, Transylvania during World War II. The story begins in his hometown, where life is normal and calm before the storm. It quickly transitions into Nazi occupation, persecution, segregation in the form of ghettos, and eventually deportation to camps. As the Jewish people arrive at the camp known as Auschwitz, they are separated and many are immediately executed while the rest are sent off to work. The persecution does not simply end at hard work all day for the Jews, and as time goes on things become progressively worse for Eliezer. The Nazis rip and tear at the humanity of Eliezer throughout the book in …show more content…
The Nazis see that in order to destroy a man’s humanity, they need to destroy the mind, spirit, and then the body. One of the ways they do this is to constantly malnourish Eliezer. Bread and Soup became more important than anything because the Nazis starved Eliezer. Eliezer remarks, "At that moment in time, all that mattered to me was my daily bowl of soup, my crust of stale bread. The bread, the soup-- those were my entire life. I was nothing but a body" (52). Eliezer confirms in the last sentence that the Nazis had stripped him of his mind and spirit that this body is the only thing he has left. The Nazis do not let him keep his body either, they continue to keep him malnourished the rest of his time, and cause many other physical pains over the course of the coming weeks. Aside from starving Eliezer, they beat him senselessly on multiple occasions. Eliezer remembers, "One day when Idek was venting his fury, I happened to cross his path. He threw himself on me like a wild beast, beating me in the chest, on my head, throwing me to the ground and picking me up again, crushing me with ever more violent blows, until I was covered in blood" (53). The Nazis have no regard for the body or the pain of Eliezer. The Nazis persecute relentlessly, and are able to do so consistently without revolt or opposition. This is the final …show more content…
“Beyond Psychoanalysis: Elie Wiesel’s Night in Historical Perspective.” Modern Critical Interpretations: Elie Wiesel’s Night. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2001. 129-143. Print.
Fine, Ellen S. “Witness of the Night.” Modern Critical Interpretations: Elie Wiesel’s Night. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2001. 47-67. Print.
Friedman, Maurice. “Elie Wiesel: The Job of Auschwitz.” Responses to Elie Wiesel. Ed. Harry James Cargas. New York: Persea, 1978. 205-207. Print.
Halperin, Irving. “From Night to The Gates of the Forest.” Responses to Elie Wiesel. Ed. Harry James Cargas. New York: Persea, 1978. 50-56. Print.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Trans. Marion Wiesel. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006. Print.
---. Preface to the New Translation. Night by Elie Wiesel. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006. vii-xv. Print.
Winfrey, Oprah. “Oprah talks to Elie Wiesel.” O: The Oprah Magazine 1.5 (2000): 1-4.