Elie Wiesel's Night
Night
In Night, Elie Wiesel used his words to describe his experiences in a way that evoked many emotions for me; those being upset, horrified, and outraged.
To begin with, being upset (distraught) was one of the various emotions I felt while reading this memoir. Wiesel’s depiction of his first night in Birkenau was especially painful to read; his repetition of the phrase “Never shall I forget” is surely something I will never forget. He mentions flames he saw, the horrifying silence, the depravity of his desire to live, and his dwindling relationship with God (Wiesel, 52). Equally upsetting was when Elie was struggling to keep himself and his father awake when they were in the abandoned village, because sleep meant death in their case. He wanted so badly to sleep, but he knew the truth; in the words of Elie, “But deep inside, I knew that to sleep meant to die.” (Wiesel, …show more content…
107). Similarly, I was also deeply upset when Juliek played his beloved violin in the midst of such tragedy. As Wiesel stated, it was as if his soul had become his bow, and he was playing his life (Wiesel, 113).
At the same time, I was horrified to read all the atrocities Wiesel and all the others endured. For instance, it was sickening when Idek, the Kapo, beat Elie’s father with an iron bar simply because he wasn’t working hard enough. The image Wiesel created, comparing his father to an old tree struck by lightning that was broken in two, was utterly horrifying (Wiesel, 72). Likewise, I was disgusted when Elie saw Idek doing certain things he shouldn’t have, and was punished by being whipped twenty-five times. According to him, only the first lash hurt; and when it was over, he said, “I had not realized it, but I had fainted.” (Wiesel, 76). Lastly, I was disturbed when countless corpses were just lying around in the cattle cars and were thrown out like they were nothing; the living were so desperate to have more room they volunteered to “throw out all the dead” (Wiesel, 117). During this journey on the train, only twelve out of the hundred survived; everyone else, every corpse, were thrown in an empty field, like a sack of flour. (Wiesel, 117).
Furthermore, I was outraged as I read Night.
For one, the imagery of babies and small children being thrown into the flames of the crematorium was infuriating. (Wiesel, 50). Even Wiesel had to pinch himself and wonder how it could be possible that women and children were burned and the world stayed silent. (Wiesel, 50). In addition to these sadistic acts were the hanging of two young boys. The prisoners were forced to look at the first hanged boy in the face after he died; the second boy was too light and the rope didn’t kill him instantly, so he remained there for nearly a half an hour, while the prisoners were again forced to watch. (Wiesel, 83). Finally, the event that outraged me the most was the death of Elie’s father following a terrible illness. His father was calling out for Elie to come near him, but, in fear of the SS, Elie didn’t move. (Wiesel, 129). After that, Elie went to bed after “etching his bloody, broken face” in his mind, and woke up to a different man lying on his father’s cot, leaving Elie completely alone and not knowing exactly what happened to his father. (Wiesel,
130).
In Night, Elie Wiesel used his words to describe his experiences in a way that evoked many emotions for me; those being upset, horrified, and outraged.
To begin with, being upset (distraught) was one of the various emotions I felt while reading this memoir. Wiesel’s depiction of his first night in Birkenau was especially painful to read; his repetition of the phrase “Never shall I forget” is surely something I will never forget. He mentions flames he saw, the horrifying silence, the depravity of his desire to live, and his dwindling relationship with God (Wiesel, 52). Equally upsetting was when Elie was struggling to keep himself and his father awake when they were in the abandoned village, because sleep meant death in their case. He wanted so badly to sleep, but he knew the truth; in the words of Elie, “But deep inside, I knew that to sleep meant to die.” (Wiesel, …show more content…
107). Similarly, I was also deeply upset when Juliek played his beloved violin in the midst of such tragedy. As Wiesel stated, it was as if his soul had become his bow, and he was playing his life (Wiesel, 113).
At the same time, I was horrified to read all the atrocities Wiesel and all the others endured. For instance, it was sickening when Idek, the Kapo, beat Elie’s father with an iron bar simply because he wasn’t working hard enough. The image Wiesel created, comparing his father to an old tree struck by lightning that was broken in two, was utterly horrifying (Wiesel, 72). Likewise, I was disgusted when Elie saw Idek doing certain things he shouldn’t have, and was punished by being whipped twenty-five times. According to him, only the first lash hurt; and when it was over, he said, “I had not realized it, but I had fainted.” (Wiesel, 76). Lastly, I was disturbed when countless corpses were just lying around in the cattle cars and were thrown out like they were nothing; the living were so desperate to have more room they volunteered to “throw out all the dead” (Wiesel, 117). During this journey on the train, only twelve out of the hundred survived; everyone else, every corpse, were thrown in an empty field, like a sack of flour. (Wiesel, 117).
Furthermore, I was outraged as I read Night.
For one, the imagery of babies and small children being thrown into the flames of the crematorium was infuriating. (Wiesel, 50). Even Wiesel had to pinch himself and wonder how it could be possible that women and children were burned and the world stayed silent. (Wiesel, 50). In addition to these sadistic acts were the hanging of two young boys. The prisoners were forced to look at the first hanged boy in the face after he died; the second boy was too light and the rope didn’t kill him instantly, so he remained there for nearly a half an hour, while the prisoners were again forced to watch. (Wiesel, 83). Finally, the event that outraged me the most was the death of Elie’s father following a terrible illness. His father was calling out for Elie to come near him, but, in fear of the SS, Elie didn’t move. (Wiesel, 129). After that, Elie went to bed after “etching his bloody, broken face” in his mind, and woke up to a different man lying on his father’s cot, leaving Elie completely alone and not knowing exactly what happened to his father. (Wiesel,
130).