Reflections On Night By Elie Wiesel

Experiencing and comprehending what each book tells me leaves somewhat of a mark on who I am. Through every word I gain some knowledge or concept that will help further my academic or social sides. Reading a nonfiction book, usually a biography or historical reveals to me what it takes to become a great person, what I need to prepare for in the future, learning to avoid the same mistakes that countless others have already made, and just gives me more knowledge on the topic. These lessons were also learned from the book Night, by Elie Wiesel. Diving into the history of the Holocaust uncovered some questions that I had and in turn made me more interested in the event altogether. I already had delved into the Holocaust by watching movies and reading some books on it, but by reading a real experience of it, it made me put myself in his position and it seemed like I was seeing it through his eyes.
I my eyes, the whole book was broken up into three pieces, or a three phase process.
The first contained Elie describing the people who were in his childhood and laying the foundation of Elie and who he was. I thought that the author, the main character in the book accurately and told of his childhood. His skill of slowly guiding us from Moshe the Beadle, his faith, and his family to only the beginning of the Holocaust when the Germans moved into his town was outputted well onto the page. Also, the book revealed to me that German officers not only moved into their towns, but were kind to each and every person in the town, including the Jews. Astounding how they were so kind but only a few months later they were trying to exterminate
them.

The second phase involved the creation of the ghettos and the “relocation” of the Jews. Hitler decided the Jews needed to meet their ‘Final Solution’ — the killing of all Jews. He approached this by forcing making the towns they lived in to be a fraction of the size, only a few blocks by a few blocks, and it was all outlined in barbed wire. This was not the most luxurious of living quarters, having two or three families in one room, but it was nothing compared to what they would soon endure in the concentration camps. Within the book Elie described the ghettos, but he didn't say much about them. Only a few pages worth. I believe to get the whole picture, each phase had to be elaborated on thoroughly.

The final phase, the third phase of the book is nothing but perfect. His raw description of what he experienced and questioned and saw was all wrapped together in around 90 pages. The events in his life were more dramatic than most events in fictional books. What he endured could never be surpassed. Watching his father tilt between life and death and he himself feeling that same teetering tested their physical and mental abilities. Elie’s story was not only surrounded around him but the people he met and grew up with were mentioned and he didn't just put let them pass over as ordinary characters like tumble weed on a road. He explained their backstories and what they were displaying while they were also enduring the same pains while in the camps. Overall, Elie’s description of his tremendous bravery and unforgetting truths of the Nazis actions brought out the true reality of the Holocaust.