Dehumanization In Elie Wiesel's Night
The book Night is about the struggles of being in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. One of the main things recurring in the book to the Jewish people is the dehumanization they went through during this time. The dehumanization through Elie Wiesel, Elie’s father, and their fellow Jewish people during the time that they were imprisoned at Auschwitz. Actions or things the characters say really shows how much the Nazi’s tore the Jewish people down mentally and physically. Elie Wiesel was only 15 during the Holocaust when he was sent to a concentration camp with his mother father and sisters. Elie during his time at the a concentration camp, Auschwitz was dehumanized and mentally broken and lost hope. Elie when he was in the camp wasn’t
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Elie Wiesel. He “became A7713. After that [he] had no other name” (39). The Nazis at the time strip the Jewish people of their own names and refer to the as numbers. They would bring the Jewish people up in numbers and engrave a code into their arm, and that’s all they were while they were in Auschwitz, was a code. They weren’t considered people they were just the code that they were given. Jewish people were beaten for no reason or for the fact that their were exhausted in the Labor Yard and would attempt to take a break. Jewish people were mainly called by the code on their arms and whipped. Elie experienced whipping, “-Nothing but the strokes of the whip, ‘One… Two…’ he counted. He took his time between each stroke” (65). This was just normal for the Jewish people during the Holocaust to be dehumanized. Not only was Elie a character that was dehumanized during the book but his father was as well.
Elie’s father was with Elie a lot of the time of their stay at Auschwitz. Elie and his father were sent to the Labor Yard and were forced to work. The Jewish people that were sent to the Labor Yards were kept to alive just to work. If they stopped they were beaten, “Suddenly woken up from a heavy doze, he dealt my father such a clout he fell to the ground, crawling back to his place on all fours” (48). The Nazis beat the Jews for having human needs. The Nazis also starved the Jewish people and on occasion were given a small piece of bread to nibble on. The Jews were taught by the Nazis to work until they keeled over and died. The Jewish people were starved and torn apart mentally. They eventually begin to fight each other for what little food they got. Elie saw another father and son arguing and the father screaming, “Don’t you recognize me? I’m your father… You’re hurting me… You’re killing your father! I’ve got some bread… for you too… for you too” (96). Elie betrayed his own blood for the pure fact that he was hungry. Beats and attacks his father for the small piece of bread that his father was going to share with his son. The Jewish people were so dehumanized that they would betray their own
kin.
The Jewish people were dehumanized even from getting off the car at Auschwitz. They immediately had rifles pointed at them and heard, “Men to the left, women to the right” (27). The Jewish people were threatened even from the start. They were treated like animals at a slaughterhouse. They were herded into groups and sent down the line. Either they were going to live and sent to the Labor Yard. Or, they were sent to their death, and gassed with their siblings, children, and mothers. The people that were kept alive, were stripped of their clothing. “[Their] clothing had been left behind in the other block, and [they] had been promised other outfits. Toward midnight, [they] were told to run” (38). Not only were the Jewish people tortured and starved, but the Nazis at the time would do these things cruel, humiliating, and degrading things to the a Jews. Nazi’s did this purely to tear the Jewish people down mentally and dehumanize them.
In this book there is a ton of evidence to prove that Elie, Elie’s father, and fellow Jews were dehumanized by the Nazis. The Jewish people had no hope of being saved and were torn down mentally and physically. They were pulled out of their homes and forced to work non stop without food. Jewish people were beaten for purely being the Jewish. All of this supports the fact that the Jewish people were being dehumanized during the time of the Holocaust.
Elie Wiesel. He “became A7713. After that [he] had no other name” (39). The Nazis at the time strip the Jewish people of their own names and refer to the as numbers. They would bring the Jewish people up in numbers and engrave a code into their arm, and that’s all they were while they were in Auschwitz, was a code. They weren’t considered people they were just the code that they were given. Jewish people were beaten for no reason or for the fact that their were exhausted in the Labor Yard and would attempt to take a break. Jewish people were mainly called by the code on their arms and whipped. Elie experienced whipping, “-Nothing but the strokes of the whip, ‘One… Two…’ he counted. He took his time between each stroke” (65). This was just normal for the Jewish people during the Holocaust to be dehumanized. Not only was Elie a character that was dehumanized during the book but his father was as well.
Elie’s father was with Elie a lot of the time of their stay at Auschwitz. Elie and his father were sent to the Labor Yard and were forced to work. The Jewish people that were sent to the Labor Yards were kept to alive just to work. If they stopped they were beaten, “Suddenly woken up from a heavy doze, he dealt my father such a clout he fell to the ground, crawling back to his place on all fours” (48). The Nazis beat the Jews for having human needs. The Nazis also starved the Jewish people and on occasion were given a small piece of bread to nibble on. The Jews were taught by the Nazis to work until they keeled over and died. The Jewish people were starved and torn apart mentally. They eventually begin to fight each other for what little food they got. Elie saw another father and son arguing and the father screaming, “Don’t you recognize me? I’m your father… You’re hurting me… You’re killing your father! I’ve got some bread… for you too… for you too” (96). Elie betrayed his own blood for the pure fact that he was hungry. Beats and attacks his father for the small piece of bread that his father was going to share with his son. The Jewish people were so dehumanized that they would betray their own
kin.
The Jewish people were dehumanized even from getting off the car at Auschwitz. They immediately had rifles pointed at them and heard, “Men to the left, women to the right” (27). The Jewish people were threatened even from the start. They were treated like animals at a slaughterhouse. They were herded into groups and sent down the line. Either they were going to live and sent to the Labor Yard. Or, they were sent to their death, and gassed with their siblings, children, and mothers. The people that were kept alive, were stripped of their clothing. “[Their] clothing had been left behind in the other block, and [they] had been promised other outfits. Toward midnight, [they] were told to run” (38). Not only were the Jewish people tortured and starved, but the Nazis at the time would do these things cruel, humiliating, and degrading things to the a Jews. Nazi’s did this purely to tear the Jewish people down mentally and dehumanize them.
In this book there is a ton of evidence to prove that Elie, Elie’s father, and fellow Jews were dehumanized by the Nazis. The Jewish people had no hope of being saved and were torn down mentally and physically. They were pulled out of their homes and forced to work non stop without food. Jewish people were beaten for purely being the Jewish. All of this supports the fact that the Jewish people were being dehumanized during the time of the Holocaust.