Night Elie Wiesel Human Nature Essay
Human nature is a very complicated and disputed topic, and the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel brings up several questions about what humanity is capable of. The act of killing the young pipel is far more inhuman than the murder of one’s own father for bread, killing for food is a basic survival instinct, driven by extreme circumstances and starvation, killing the young boy is simply cruel. Killing the young boy in front of the whole camp shows no compassion or empathy, two key qualities that show humanity. “For more than half an hour he stayed there, struggling between life and death, dying in agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face” (Wiesel 35). This quote clearly illustrates the lack of sensitivity and mercy the nazis
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“In the wagon where the bread had fallen, a real battle had broken out. Men threw themselves on top of each other. Wild beasts of prey, with animal hatred in their eyes, an extraordinary vitality had seized them” (Wiesel 54). When the man killed his father, he was not thinking about what it meant, it was kill or be killed. An almost animalistic nature took over the men in the wagon, they did not act vicious on purpose, their manner was simply a survival technique. “His son searched him, took the bread, and began to devour it. He was not able to get very far. Two men had seen and hurled themselves upon him” (Wiesel 54). Human nature can mean a different thing to each person, some would say that humans are inherently good, and human nature is to be kind and helpful, others would say humans are inherently selfish and greedy. The quote demonstrates a mentality of ‘every man for himself’ and an extreme situation of human survival. Killing one’s father over food appears completely inhuman, but behind the surface starvation and trauma fueled a chaotic and frightening act of survival. Hanging the young pipel in front of the camp is completely inhuman, while the man killing his father for bread is a matter of instinct and human nature. Human nature is heavily debated today, some take an optimistic and hopeful approach, while others take a pessimistic and negative approach. Understanding the
“In the wagon where the bread had fallen, a real battle had broken out. Men threw themselves on top of each other. Wild beasts of prey, with animal hatred in their eyes, an extraordinary vitality had seized them” (Wiesel 54). When the man killed his father, he was not thinking about what it meant, it was kill or be killed. An almost animalistic nature took over the men in the wagon, they did not act vicious on purpose, their manner was simply a survival technique. “His son searched him, took the bread, and began to devour it. He was not able to get very far. Two men had seen and hurled themselves upon him” (Wiesel 54). Human nature can mean a different thing to each person, some would say that humans are inherently good, and human nature is to be kind and helpful, others would say humans are inherently selfish and greedy. The quote demonstrates a mentality of ‘every man for himself’ and an extreme situation of human survival. Killing one’s father over food appears completely inhuman, but behind the surface starvation and trauma fueled a chaotic and frightening act of survival. Hanging the young pipel in front of the camp is completely inhuman, while the man killing his father for bread is a matter of instinct and human nature. Human nature is heavily debated today, some take an optimistic and hopeful approach, while others take a pessimistic and negative approach. Understanding the