Examples Of Faith In Night By Elie Wiesel

Although the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel conveys the incomprehensible mistreatment of innocent Jews during the Holocaust, an underlying message pertaining to the main character's faith provides valuable knowledge for the readers. Throughout Elie's tumultuous journey, his faith takes several twists and turns as various forms abuse and suffering press upon him. However, the protagonist later discovers that faith in the Lord provides all of the strength necessary to get through it all. Witnessing the deaths of so many innocent lives leads Elie to question God's existence and ultimately causes him to completely abandon his faith. Soon after entering the camp and seeing the cruel practices that occur there, the protagonist begins to doubt the omnipresence of the Lord. Like many others, he believes that the image of a loving and powerful God is marred by the suffering experienced in camp. "Never
shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever... Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes" (Wiesel 34). Elie now faces a question that many others have struggled with before: If God is so powerful, why did he allow such horrible things to occur daily in concentration camps? Because he wrestles with this question so much, Elie's faith begins to rapidly decline later in the novel. While Elie does not completely abandon his faith at first, his hardships cause his love for God to take some serious blows.
In fact, the protagonist ceases prayer and later refuses to take part in various religious practices. A person may claim that difficult experiences in life prove beneficial to one's faith in the long run. However, during those times faith may actually diminish and might even be permanently damaged. While Elie's faith does not completely die, he refrains from praising God and referencing him in any way. Furthermore, the main character displays a sort of defiance in his decision to withdraw from any expression of faith. Although the protagonist concludes that God does not deserve his recognition, Elie begins to feel lament for his disbelief. "As I swallowed my ration of soup, I turned that act into a symbol of rebellion, of protest against him... Deep inside me, I felt a great void opening" (Wiesel 69). As the remorse for abandoning God begins to sink in, Elie realizes that his Savior has a perfect plan for his life, and as a result his faith
flourishes. Even though it seems as if camp has completely destroyed Elie's faith, he later realizes that God was always present throughout every situation. The lesson the protagonist learns is one that can be applied to anyone's life in that God will never leave one's side regardless of the severity of the matter. During the war, the main character faces many difficult challenges and severe abuse that one can only imagine. This suffering causes some severe damage to Elie's new and growing faith. However, Elie recovers when he learns that God was present throughout each trial he faced. And while nothing seemed to become of it at the time, he ultimately benefited from his pain in that he developed a much stronger faith and appreciation for the Creator. Despite the obvious and immediate hardships depicted in Night, this novel proves that challenges can greatly impact believers in a positive way. Like Elie, one's faith can amplify when God's positive attributes are recognized. It is essential to remember that the hardships one may face are temporary, but the love of God provides each person with faith sufficient enough to rise up against challenges and grow spiritually.