Night by Elie Weisel
Amy Siceloff Siceloff 1
Ms. Wagner
English II Honors
7 December 2013
Night Paragraph
Throughout the entire Night novel we see the main character, Eliezer, struggle with many issues (some internal, some external). Undoubtedly, one prominent issue was Elie’s belief and devotion to God. From start to finish of the book, Elie’s faith changes drastically. Eliezer goes from a young boy that is completely in awe of and committed to his religion, to a young man that is unsure of his standing with God. Before the Holocaust, Eliezer would fill his days with religious studies, and even went so far to ask his father for a personal teacher of Kabbalah. Once when Moishe asked Eliezer why he prays, Elie replied: “Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?”(4). It was as if Elie could not even fathom not praying; To him, praying was part of his daily ritual. The first time Elie ever questioned God or his power was when the Jews arrived at camp and were ordered to march to the crematorium. Steps away from a fiery death, Eliezer’s father began to desperately pray in the Lord’s name and Elie felt nothing but resentment. Elie wondered why his father would pray to God when he was the one who was allowing their death, “For the first time, I felt anger rising in me. Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?”(33). Every new horrible and atrocious event in Night demolishes Eliezer’s belief in God more and more. Elie
Siceloff 2 wonders how there is a God when there are also so many disgusting events and actions done by people, people God created himself. Elie couldn’t understand how a God that was supposedly good and holy could allow despicable things to happen, such as babies being tossed in the fires, the complete mistreatment of Jews, and the hanging of a young boy. In Eliezer’s mind, God doing nothing to stop the horrific events occurring
Ms. Wagner
English II Honors
7 December 2013
Night Paragraph
Throughout the entire Night novel we see the main character, Eliezer, struggle with many issues (some internal, some external). Undoubtedly, one prominent issue was Elie’s belief and devotion to God. From start to finish of the book, Elie’s faith changes drastically. Eliezer goes from a young boy that is completely in awe of and committed to his religion, to a young man that is unsure of his standing with God. Before the Holocaust, Eliezer would fill his days with religious studies, and even went so far to ask his father for a personal teacher of Kabbalah. Once when Moishe asked Eliezer why he prays, Elie replied: “Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?”(4). It was as if Elie could not even fathom not praying; To him, praying was part of his daily ritual. The first time Elie ever questioned God or his power was when the Jews arrived at camp and were ordered to march to the crematorium. Steps away from a fiery death, Eliezer’s father began to desperately pray in the Lord’s name and Elie felt nothing but resentment. Elie wondered why his father would pray to God when he was the one who was allowing their death, “For the first time, I felt anger rising in me. Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?”(33). Every new horrible and atrocious event in Night demolishes Eliezer’s belief in God more and more. Elie
Siceloff 2 wonders how there is a God when there are also so many disgusting events and actions done by people, people God created himself. Elie couldn’t understand how a God that was supposedly good and holy could allow despicable things to happen, such as babies being tossed in the fires, the complete mistreatment of Jews, and the hanging of a young boy. In Eliezer’s mind, God doing nothing to stop the horrific events occurring