Night

Jordan Cheatham
Kirst
ENG 101
March 11, 2011
Elie Wiesel’s Night
The tragedies of the holocaust forever altered history. One of the most detailed accounts of horrific events from the Nazi regime comes from Elie Wiesel’s Night. He describes his traumatic experiences in German concentration camps, mainly Buchenwald, and engages his readers from a victim’s point of view. He bravely shares the grotesque visions that are permanently ingrained in his mind. His autobiography gives readers vivid, unforgettable, and shocking images of the past. It is beneficial that Wiesel published his work, if he had not the world might not have known the extent of the Nazis reign. He exposes the cruelty of man, and the misuse of power. Through a lifetime of tragedy, Elie Wiesel struggled internally to resurrect his religious beliefs as well as his hatred for the human race. He shares these emotions to the world through Night.
Being confined in a concentration camp was beyond unpleasant. Mortality encumbered the prisons effortlessly. Every day was a struggle for food, survival, and sanity. Fear of being led into the gas chambers or lined up for shooting was a constant. Hard labor and inadequate amounts of rest and nutrition took a toll on prisoners. They also endured beatings from members of the SS, or they were forced to watch the killings of others. “I was a body. Perhaps less than that even: a starved stomach. The stomach alone was aware of the passage of time” (Night Quotes). Small, infrequent, rations of a broth like soup left bodies to perish which in return left no energy for labor. If one wasn’t killed by starvation or exhaustion they were murdered by fellow detainees. It was a survival of the fittest between the Jews. Death seemed to be inevitable, for there were emaciated corpses lying around and the smell of burning flesh lingering in the air. All they had left was faith, and it too was dying.
The concentration camps were gloomy and centered around an almost certain death, “…we noticed in the center of the camp, at the assembly place, a black gallows” (Wiesel 682). The prisoners were forced to walk by gallows and watch executions of fellow prisoners, and usually they showed no remorse for the dead. Some even considered them lucky to be hung, that they no longer had to endure the suffering. The most significant hanging involved a young child who was a servant to the SS; he was beloved among other prisoners. The death of the boy was the breaking point of Wiesel’s internal conflict with his faith in God.
Before experiencing the atrocious events of the holocaust Elie Wiesel was completely devoted to his religion and to God. As a young boy he would engulf himself in religious books and spend many hours at temple. His faith slowly dwindles during his hard times in the concentration camps. It is difficult to put all faith in God when experiencing something as tragic as the holocaust; it was easier to just give up hope. Faith served as his impetus, but not for long. ”I 've got more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He 's the only one who 's kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people” (Night Quotes). Elie rightfully began to question where God was, as the thousands were suffering. “I have seen children, hundreds of Jewish children, who suffered more than Jesus did on his cross and we do not speak about it” (Interview with Elie Wiesel). After countless prayers and no answer the only promises he believes are Hitler’s of genocide. Night is a clear illustration of his battles with religion and faith.
Also, Wiesel’s decreasing faith in humanity comes out in his writing. He wants readers to realize what the human race is possible of. Yes, they are capable of unthinkable crimes and just because the Holocaust is over does not mean genocide will never occur again. He develops a hatred for the He strives to reveal how cruel humans can be if given enough power. “Which is worse? Killing with hate or killing without hate?” (Elie Wiesel Quotes). Man is capable of anything if given the power to do so. Hitler was given the power to kill thousands of other human beings, and did so with no remorse. It is unfathomable to Wiesel that someone could kill thousands with no regards to mankind. Hitler delegated others to do the killings and many of the men couldn’t do it themselves. “This time the Lagerkapo refused to act as an executioner. Three SS replaced him” (Wiesel 684). The humanity of the lagerkapo was quickly diminished by the SS officers who were as immoral as Hitler himself.
Night poignantly reminds readers why the events of the Holocaust are so monumental. The gut-wrenching tales instantly provoke sadness in the reader. He gives justice to the name Holocaust, sacrifice by fire, by entailing what he experienced in concentration camps. Thousands of other followers in the Jewish faith encountered far worse than Wiesel and Night serves as a voice for those who cannot speak. Though it took 10 years for Wiesel to speak of his tragic memories of the Holocaust he does an excellent job of fearlessly sharing his story for the others who cannot. His struggles with faith and search for meaning are inspiring. Night immediately grabs the reader’s attention and holds it until the last page; it leaves the reader yearning for more stories of Wiesel life.

Works Cited
"Elie Wiesel Interview -- page 3 / 4 -- Academy of Achievement." Academy of Achievement Main Menu. 5 Mar. 2011 <http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/wie0int-3>.
"Elie Wiesel quotes." Share Book Recommendations With Your Friends, Join Book Clubs, Answer Trivia. 7 Mar. 2011 <http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1049.Elie_Wiesel>.
Lombardi, Esther. " 'Night ' Quotes." Books & Literature Classics. 7 Mar. 2011 <http://classiclit.about.com/od/nighteliewiesel/a/night_quote.htm>.
Wiesel, Elie. "Night." World Views Classic and Contemporary Readings. Sixth ed. Boston: Pearson, 2010. 682-85

Cited: "Elie Wiesel Interview -- page 3 / 4 -- Academy of Achievement." Academy of Achievement Main Menu. 5 Mar. 2011 &lt;http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/wie0int-3&gt;. "Elie Wiesel quotes." Share Book Recommendations With Your Friends, Join Book Clubs, Answer Trivia. 7 Mar. 2011 &lt;http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1049.Elie_Wiesel&gt;. Lombardi, Esther. " 'Night ' Quotes." Books &amp; Literature Classics. 7 Mar. 2011 &lt;http://classiclit.about.com/od/nighteliewiesel/a/night_quote.htm&gt;. Wiesel, Elie. "Night." World Views Classic and Contemporary Readings. Sixth ed. Boston: Pearson, 2010. 682-85