Hardships In Night
“Do you see that chimney over there? See it? Do you see those flames? ( Yes, we did see the flames.) Over there-- that’s where you’re going to be taken…” (Page 40) Night by Elie Wiesel, published in the year 1956, is about Elie Wiesel and his horrible experience throughout the Holocaust. The book starts with twelve year old Wiesel evacuating from his home, and eventually separating from everyone in his family but his father Shlomo. For a majority of the novel, Shlomo is Elie’s reason to keep trying. Elie and his father remain together for their entire journey, and keep each other going. At each camp, the pair are given jobs and face extreme hardships not only from their labor, but guards and staff at their camps. Towards the end of the
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book, Elie starts to find other beliefs that he continues to live for besides his father. There is not much of anything at concentrations camps that make the people there want to continue living. Many people's’ reason to move forward is hope to see their family. The victims withstand the torture of the Nazi’s and many live to tell the world of their awful experiences in concentration camps. Elie’s persistence to make it through the Holocaust with his family and tell others of his endeavors, and continuing to persevere despite difficulty is what allows Elie to live through these difficult situations at such a young age.
Elie first shows us his perseverance in the beginning of Night when his father gave him and his sisters the option to escape without him and his wife. Both Elie and his sister refuse to separate from the rest of their family. “ Maria, our former maid, came to see us. Sobbing, she begged for us to come with her to her village where she had prepared a safe shelter. My father wouldn’t hear of it. He had told me and my big sisters, “If you wish , go there. I shall stay here with your mother and the little one.” Naturally, we refused to be separated.” ( Page 20 ) Even though Elie and his sisters could be free for at least a little while longer, the children choose to remain with their family and face the difficulties ahead of them together. Elie and his sisters know that staying with their mother, father, and younger sibling means a much lower risk of survival; nonetheless, the children choose to stick together and go on with their family. After separating from their family at Auschwitz, Elie wishes to be near his father and does what he can to make camp life easier on Schlomo. At the camp, Buna, Elie is put into a simple job in a musician’s block. Immediately, Elie asks for his father to be placed there so that he is close to him. “Franek, the foreman, assigned me to a corner: “Don’t kill yourself. There’s no hurry. But watch out. Don’t let an SS catch you.” “ Please sir… I’d like to be near my father.” “ All right. Your father will work here, next to you.” (Page 50) Elie and his father would survive even if they are not working near each other, but Elie know that he needs his father there and that his father needs him. Elie is still a child, and this whole situation is extremely trying and difficult. Having a familiar face and someone he loves being near him probably helps both him and his father withstand the following events. Knowing that someone is there as comfort can be a make or break situation while going through hardships during life, especially at a young age.
Despite the difficulty that him and his father are matched with, Elie perseveres and continues forward. Officials in the concentrations camps often bully the inmates for no reason but that the officer wants something done, or possibly revenge. One day without reason, a man with authority named Idek beat Elie for no reason. “One day while Idek was venting his fury, I happened to cross his path. He threw himself on me like a wild beast, beating me in the chest, on my head, throwing me to the ground and picking me up again, crushing me with ever more violent blows, until I was covered in blood. “ (Page 53) After this brawl, Elie could choose to give up and lose his will to live. Elie could give in and abandon his father and the possibility of life after the Holocaust, but he chooses not to. Later, Elie is waiting for Idek and becomes impatient, so he goes to look for him. While in the building searching for Idek, Elie catches Idek with a Polish woman. Idek sees Elie, and later lashes him twenty-five times in front of all the inmates. “He took his time between lashes. Only the first really hurt. I heard him count: “ Ten … eleven!...” “( Page 58) Elie could choose to let his body shut down then and give up. His body was certainly weak enough, and he is weak due to his lack of nutrition. If Elie does not have anything to continue living for, he may have give up and the world today will not know his story. Today, Elie Wiesel is known for his works of literature all because he had the perseverance to continue moving forward even when faced with extreme adversity.
During the Holocaust, many children were forced to see and do things that not even adults should ever have to do.
In an article from LA Times called “Holocaust Survivor Provides a Lesson in Perseverance”, the reporter recaps the speech a Holocaust survivor named Sam Silberberg gives to fourth and fifth graders about his experience. While in the concentration camps, Silberberg’s entire family had been killed by Nazis except his mother. With some creativity, persistence, and withstanding the camps, Silberberg reunites with his mother. “This was just the break Silberberg needed as he eventually reunited with his mother. The rest of his immediate family, including his father, died at the hands of the Nazis.” If Sam had given up and thought that he may never see his mother again, he never would have seen her. But, because of his perseverance, Silberberg and his mother were reunited. Mother and son are reunited because of their love and belief in each other. Like Elie, other Holocaust survivors have written memoirs. Many are known well today. One of these survivors is Mariam Blumenthal Lazan who is known for writing the memoir Four Perfect Pebbles. An article from The Mirror TITLE OF ARTICLE website states “ Lazan testified to the power of hope and human beings ability to persevere and overcome adversity”. Perseverance and their persistence to live on carried these people through the worst years of their
life.
Perseverance and persistence to make it through the Holocaust alive is what allowed many people, including Elie, to make it out of the concentration camps alive. Without the bravery and courage of the Holocaust survivors, the modern world would not know nearly as much as we do about what it was truly like to be inside a concentration camp. Teaching young children to try their hardest and do their best to move forward is important. If everyone gives up without being persistent in what they were doing, the world would be nowhere near where it is today in advancement.
book, Elie starts to find other beliefs that he continues to live for besides his father. There is not much of anything at concentrations camps that make the people there want to continue living. Many people's’ reason to move forward is hope to see their family. The victims withstand the torture of the Nazi’s and many live to tell the world of their awful experiences in concentration camps. Elie’s persistence to make it through the Holocaust with his family and tell others of his endeavors, and continuing to persevere despite difficulty is what allows Elie to live through these difficult situations at such a young age.
Elie first shows us his perseverance in the beginning of Night when his father gave him and his sisters the option to escape without him and his wife. Both Elie and his sister refuse to separate from the rest of their family. “ Maria, our former maid, came to see us. Sobbing, she begged for us to come with her to her village where she had prepared a safe shelter. My father wouldn’t hear of it. He had told me and my big sisters, “If you wish , go there. I shall stay here with your mother and the little one.” Naturally, we refused to be separated.” ( Page 20 ) Even though Elie and his sisters could be free for at least a little while longer, the children choose to remain with their family and face the difficulties ahead of them together. Elie and his sisters know that staying with their mother, father, and younger sibling means a much lower risk of survival; nonetheless, the children choose to stick together and go on with their family. After separating from their family at Auschwitz, Elie wishes to be near his father and does what he can to make camp life easier on Schlomo. At the camp, Buna, Elie is put into a simple job in a musician’s block. Immediately, Elie asks for his father to be placed there so that he is close to him. “Franek, the foreman, assigned me to a corner: “Don’t kill yourself. There’s no hurry. But watch out. Don’t let an SS catch you.” “ Please sir… I’d like to be near my father.” “ All right. Your father will work here, next to you.” (Page 50) Elie and his father would survive even if they are not working near each other, but Elie know that he needs his father there and that his father needs him. Elie is still a child, and this whole situation is extremely trying and difficult. Having a familiar face and someone he loves being near him probably helps both him and his father withstand the following events. Knowing that someone is there as comfort can be a make or break situation while going through hardships during life, especially at a young age.
Despite the difficulty that him and his father are matched with, Elie perseveres and continues forward. Officials in the concentrations camps often bully the inmates for no reason but that the officer wants something done, or possibly revenge. One day without reason, a man with authority named Idek beat Elie for no reason. “One day while Idek was venting his fury, I happened to cross his path. He threw himself on me like a wild beast, beating me in the chest, on my head, throwing me to the ground and picking me up again, crushing me with ever more violent blows, until I was covered in blood. “ (Page 53) After this brawl, Elie could choose to give up and lose his will to live. Elie could give in and abandon his father and the possibility of life after the Holocaust, but he chooses not to. Later, Elie is waiting for Idek and becomes impatient, so he goes to look for him. While in the building searching for Idek, Elie catches Idek with a Polish woman. Idek sees Elie, and later lashes him twenty-five times in front of all the inmates. “He took his time between lashes. Only the first really hurt. I heard him count: “ Ten … eleven!...” “( Page 58) Elie could choose to let his body shut down then and give up. His body was certainly weak enough, and he is weak due to his lack of nutrition. If Elie does not have anything to continue living for, he may have give up and the world today will not know his story. Today, Elie Wiesel is known for his works of literature all because he had the perseverance to continue moving forward even when faced with extreme adversity.
During the Holocaust, many children were forced to see and do things that not even adults should ever have to do.
In an article from LA Times called “Holocaust Survivor Provides a Lesson in Perseverance”, the reporter recaps the speech a Holocaust survivor named Sam Silberberg gives to fourth and fifth graders about his experience. While in the concentration camps, Silberberg’s entire family had been killed by Nazis except his mother. With some creativity, persistence, and withstanding the camps, Silberberg reunites with his mother. “This was just the break Silberberg needed as he eventually reunited with his mother. The rest of his immediate family, including his father, died at the hands of the Nazis.” If Sam had given up and thought that he may never see his mother again, he never would have seen her. But, because of his perseverance, Silberberg and his mother were reunited. Mother and son are reunited because of their love and belief in each other. Like Elie, other Holocaust survivors have written memoirs. Many are known well today. One of these survivors is Mariam Blumenthal Lazan who is known for writing the memoir Four Perfect Pebbles. An article from The Mirror TITLE OF ARTICLE website states “ Lazan testified to the power of hope and human beings ability to persevere and overcome adversity”. Perseverance and their persistence to live on carried these people through the worst years of their
life.
Perseverance and persistence to make it through the Holocaust alive is what allowed many people, including Elie, to make it out of the concentration camps alive. Without the bravery and courage of the Holocaust survivors, the modern world would not know nearly as much as we do about what it was truly like to be inside a concentration camp. Teaching young children to try their hardest and do their best to move forward is important. If everyone gives up without being persistent in what they were doing, the world would be nowhere near where it is today in advancement.