Dehumanization In Ellie Wiesel's Night
Spring. 1944. Thousands of Jews in the small, Hungarian town of Sighet are being deported from their homes and are ripped from any normal lives they have. Starvation, captivity, and indiscriminate beatings are now a constant reality in the lives of Jews across the continent. Award-winning journalist, Ellie Wiesel, emphasizes in his memoir, Night; that although some Jews did survive, they ever truly return from the flames. In the coming months, the Jews will realize that they have devolved to the same level of dehumanization that they are faced with. Even at the start of Wiesel’s journey, dehumanization is already becoming an ever-increasing aspect of his new life. During his first experience, Wiesel recalls, “The Hungarian police struck out
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After the prisoners endure months of cruel labor and the war is coming closer to home, the Jews are being moved to inland Germany. As Wiesel mentions, “The SS pushed us in, a hundred to a carriage, we were so thin!” (92). Over the next 10 days, Wiesel and the others are kept alive only by snow and bread with rations smaller than ever. The means for survival are so scarce, that the Jews even fight each other to the death within the cramped space of a cattle car only for a small piece of food. The train moves slowly, as stopping to rid the cars of the emaciated dead only become more frequent. Finally, the convoy arrives to Wiesel’s last destination in his horrifying experience. Unfortunately, the treatment and environment of the Jews continues to deteriorate the closer they get to the end of the war. This makes life for Wiesel all the harder, as his father now has contracted dysentery and is confined to the sick ward. Even in his final days, dehumanization is truly prevalent in Wiesel’s sick father. As described to Wiesel by the head of the block, “Here, there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends. Everyone lives and dies for himself alone” (105). This mindset carries on within the camp until Wiesel’s father’s eventual death. Without his father, Wiesel is left alone in the
After the prisoners endure months of cruel labor and the war is coming closer to home, the Jews are being moved to inland Germany. As Wiesel mentions, “The SS pushed us in, a hundred to a carriage, we were so thin!” (92). Over the next 10 days, Wiesel and the others are kept alive only by snow and bread with rations smaller than ever. The means for survival are so scarce, that the Jews even fight each other to the death within the cramped space of a cattle car only for a small piece of food. The train moves slowly, as stopping to rid the cars of the emaciated dead only become more frequent. Finally, the convoy arrives to Wiesel’s last destination in his horrifying experience. Unfortunately, the treatment and environment of the Jews continues to deteriorate the closer they get to the end of the war. This makes life for Wiesel all the harder, as his father now has contracted dysentery and is confined to the sick ward. Even in his final days, dehumanization is truly prevalent in Wiesel’s sick father. As described to Wiesel by the head of the block, “Here, there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends. Everyone lives and dies for himself alone” (105). This mindset carries on within the camp until Wiesel’s father’s eventual death. Without his father, Wiesel is left alone in the