Elie Wiesel Spiritual Perspective

Everyone responds differently to life depending on their perspective; this is determined by whether it is a spiritual or a physical perspective. This affects how people react to dire situations. Will devastation cause a downward spiral in the wrong direction or will it inspire hope? The way an individual reacts is determined by what they “see”. Some see circumstances as overwhelming, while others allow those same circumstances to catapult them into great hope.
Spiritual and physical perspectives are two very different ways of looking at life. If you have more of a spiritual aspect then you would tend to lean more on faith. These people also are inspired by hope. Individuals that have a spiritual outlook will sometimes make their circumstances
The main character, Elie Wiesel, demonstrates a physical perspective. He was still in his young teens whenever he went through the brutality of the holocaust. His age had a huge impact on his perspective and on the way he processed everything that was happening. During the Holocaust all Elie, along with many other people, could think about was food. For example,“Whenever he could, he would “organize” a cauldron of soup for the young, for the weak, for all those who dreamed more of an extra portion of food than of liberty,” (Night 51). They weren’t just hungry; they were emaciated forms that slightly resembled men. Many of them immediately, some gradually, forgot about their religion and beliefs and focused on fighting others for their portions of food. Before the Holocaust Elie was very religious. His main goal in life had been to further advance in his studies of Kabbalah. For instance, “Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?”(Night 6). It was as if he couldn’t even imagine his life without praying. Hunger and devastation wiped his memory of his religion. He couldn’t comprehend that God would let all of these gruesome events take place. That is why he reacted in the manner that he did. To him everything he knew and had been in his life before seemed like a lie. Not knowing what to think anymore he let his body think for him. That is why in the book all he talks about is food and being famished. That is why instead of having a spiritual perspective he leans toward a physical