Religion In Night
Night:
Everything happens for a reason, this statement describes life in many ways, and literature as well. In fact most of the horrible things that happen we must recover from. Elie Wiesel's Night tells the story of young Eliezer living in Auschwitz during the holocaust. Eliezer had to had to deal with the evil and inhumane acts of the SS officers. After all the tragedy Eliezer went through he has been desensitized to all the evil, such as the crematorium and having to be separated from his family.
In the beginning of the novel Eliezer comes out as a very religious person. After the horrors he faced in Auschwitz he started to question his faith in Judaism. For example, Eliezer states, “Why should I sanctify his name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent.” (Pg 67) Eliezer is calling his “Master” evil because with all of the horrors in Auschwitz he isn’t saving them. He is not in doubt that there is no god, he’s in doubt that God is good. Unfortunately later in the novel Eliezer never states his perspective on religion, it is unsure whether he is still Jewish or has become Atheist or Agnostic. …show more content…
“Not far from us, flames, huge flames, were rising from a ditch.
Something was being burned there. A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies!”(Pg 32) The evil and inhumane acts done at the concentration camps of burning babies and small children had scarred Eliezer, but later in the novel Eliezer had become used to all the evil of the SS soldiers. “Very close to us stood the tall chimney of the crematorium’s furnace. It no longer impressed us. It barely drew our attention.”(Pg 104) Eliezer is explaining how the crematorium, which took away his sister and his mother, no longer scares him, or fills him with terror. It was part of everyday living in Auschwitz. The evil and inhumanity had changed Eliezer’s life forever, those are memories most people can’t forget, but he needed to recover from
them.
Before the end of the novel Eliezer had to learn to keep quiet and not participate in any of the acts most Jewish prisoners did, like in the trains. In the wagon where the bread had landed, a battle had ensued. Men were hurling themselves against each other, trampling, tearing at and mauling at each other. Beasts of prey unleashed, animal hate in their eyes. An extraordinary vitality possessed them, sharpening their teeth and nails. (Pg 101)
Eliezer learned that he couldn’t go for the bread that the SS officers threw at them, “A piece fell into our wagon. I decided not to move. Anyway, I knew that I would not be strong enough to fight off dozens of violent men!” He learned to be quiet and these moments changed him forever, he learned not to go crazy because he was way too weak to fight for the bread thrown in the wagon. The horrors and dark memories Eliezer had to deal with in Auschwitz changed him as a person forever, his faith in religion, his thoughts on humanity, everything. Eliezer had been desensitized to all the horror because he had to learn how to deal with it. These memories will always follow Eliezer and it will change him forever.
Everything happens for a reason, this statement describes life in many ways, and literature as well. In fact most of the horrible things that happen we must recover from. Elie Wiesel's Night tells the story of young Eliezer living in Auschwitz during the holocaust. Eliezer had to had to deal with the evil and inhumane acts of the SS officers. After all the tragedy Eliezer went through he has been desensitized to all the evil, such as the crematorium and having to be separated from his family.
In the beginning of the novel Eliezer comes out as a very religious person. After the horrors he faced in Auschwitz he started to question his faith in Judaism. For example, Eliezer states, “Why should I sanctify his name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent.” (Pg 67) Eliezer is calling his “Master” evil because with all of the horrors in Auschwitz he isn’t saving them. He is not in doubt that there is no god, he’s in doubt that God is good. Unfortunately later in the novel Eliezer never states his perspective on religion, it is unsure whether he is still Jewish or has become Atheist or Agnostic. …show more content…
“Not far from us, flames, huge flames, were rising from a ditch.
Something was being burned there. A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies!”(Pg 32) The evil and inhumane acts done at the concentration camps of burning babies and small children had scarred Eliezer, but later in the novel Eliezer had become used to all the evil of the SS soldiers. “Very close to us stood the tall chimney of the crematorium’s furnace. It no longer impressed us. It barely drew our attention.”(Pg 104) Eliezer is explaining how the crematorium, which took away his sister and his mother, no longer scares him, or fills him with terror. It was part of everyday living in Auschwitz. The evil and inhumanity had changed Eliezer’s life forever, those are memories most people can’t forget, but he needed to recover from
them.
Before the end of the novel Eliezer had to learn to keep quiet and not participate in any of the acts most Jewish prisoners did, like in the trains. In the wagon where the bread had landed, a battle had ensued. Men were hurling themselves against each other, trampling, tearing at and mauling at each other. Beasts of prey unleashed, animal hate in their eyes. An extraordinary vitality possessed them, sharpening their teeth and nails. (Pg 101)
Eliezer learned that he couldn’t go for the bread that the SS officers threw at them, “A piece fell into our wagon. I decided not to move. Anyway, I knew that I would not be strong enough to fight off dozens of violent men!” He learned to be quiet and these moments changed him forever, he learned not to go crazy because he was way too weak to fight for the bread thrown in the wagon. The horrors and dark memories Eliezer had to deal with in Auschwitz changed him as a person forever, his faith in religion, his thoughts on humanity, everything. Eliezer had been desensitized to all the horror because he had to learn how to deal with it. These memories will always follow Eliezer and it will change him forever.