Literary Devices

Rebecca Jones
Ms. Garvin
English Comp. II MWF 12-12:50
6 November 2012
Literary Devices There are many different literary devices found in the book Night written by Elie Wiesel that deal with his personal experience with the faith he had to keep and then lost during the Holocaust. In Night, Elie Wiesel uses tone, irony, and characterization to illustrate his faith throughout the Holocaust. In the book Night, Wiesel uses tone to explain the many sufferings that the Jews were required to face through the Holocaust. He cleverly used it during the story to describe the strength of a father/son relationship even in the face of the misery. The love meant for his father stayed, at times, the one motivation he partook to possess the continuous fight to live. “The idea of dying, of ceasing to be, began to fascinate me. To no longer exist. To no longer feel the excruciating pain of my foot” (Wiesel 86). In this quote, Wiesel is creating a tone of surrender, of hopelessness. Though, as the arrangement develops, he goes on to write, “My father’s presence was the only thing that stopped me. He was running next to me, out of breath, out of strength, desperate” (Wiesel 86). Even though death looked like a possibility, the boy and yet of his father, pushed him aggressively though his hardships. Ironically, Wiesel mentions considerably about having “lost” his faith and his God. “Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul” (Wiesel 32). He was faithful and hopeful, but in return of having the strength to carry on, he got nothing. “I’ve got more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He’s the only one who’s kept his promise, all his promises to the Jewish people”(Wiesel 77). Hitler was the individual who began the massacre killing of the Jews, in which then made Wiesel lose his faith in God for Him not being there for him. His family was parted, he took care of his dad and he gradually passed, and it took forever to get out of the horrifying camp. Wiesel vaguely used characterization in Night to explain his faith. He basically described himself as a student who was studying the Talmud and he had an everlasting faith in God. During the beginning of the Holocaust, Wiesel mentions in the book, “God is testing us. He wants to find out whether we can dominate our base instincts and kill the Satan within us. We have no right to despair. And if he punishes us relentlessly, it’s a sign that he loves us all the more” (Wiesel 42). He never thought that he would lose his faith in God until horrific events happened through the Holocaust and what he experienced through the loss of his family. Through the horrifying happenings during the Holocaust, it was understandable why Wiesel lost his faith. Having everything turned against him and his father, whom he looked up to for the strength, killed while all this was going on. During all the events, Elie lost his faith in God and began to lose hope in everything. To illustrate the faith loss of Elie Wiesel in his book Night he uses tone, irony, and characterization to help us realize what actually went on during the Holocaust.