The Role Of Religion In Night By Elie Wiesel
One of the cruel ironies of the Holocaust was the Jewish people’s loss in faith of God. They were persecuted for their religious beliefs and by the end of the war many, if not most, of the Jews had lost their trust in their lord after seeing the horrors of the Nazis. Elie is one of these prisoners who loses his faith while in the concentration camps with his father. In the book Night, Elie Wiesel uses the motif of his and his fellow prisoner’s faith to show the waning of their hope and humanity while in the concentration camps. When Elie’s faith in humanity is diminished, so is his belief in God.
When fifteen year old Eliezer first sees the horrors of Buna, he is still extremely faithful. However, upon seeing innocent children being thrown …show more content…
He is growing a resentment for God but is keeping this feeling to himself. Lying in cots with the other prisoners, men are discussing their religion and love for God as they trust him to save him. “As for me, I had ceased to pray. I concurred with Job! I was not denying His existence, but I doubted his absolute justice” (45). He—like Job—still remained faithful but was suffering immensely and was aware God wasn’t helping him. Elie is keeping his opinion to himself makes me think that the other prisoners may be questioning their own faith but are staying quiet themselves. He is not the only one beginning to question in God but he still identifies with Judaism.
Upon seeing one of the worst injustices he has ever bared witness to, Elie is almost numb to the horrors. He has almost completely lost faith in humanity when he watches the public hanging of a nice young boy who had stolen some soup. “Where He is? This is where—hanging from this gallows…” (65). This is was the last straw in Elie’s religious confidence. The act was so vivid and cruel that it completely corrupted any hope he had left in the goodness of mankind. The hanging of the young boy was also the death of God and his
When fifteen year old Eliezer first sees the horrors of Buna, he is still extremely faithful. However, upon seeing innocent children being thrown …show more content…
He is growing a resentment for God but is keeping this feeling to himself. Lying in cots with the other prisoners, men are discussing their religion and love for God as they trust him to save him. “As for me, I had ceased to pray. I concurred with Job! I was not denying His existence, but I doubted his absolute justice” (45). He—like Job—still remained faithful but was suffering immensely and was aware God wasn’t helping him. Elie is keeping his opinion to himself makes me think that the other prisoners may be questioning their own faith but are staying quiet themselves. He is not the only one beginning to question in God but he still identifies with Judaism.
Upon seeing one of the worst injustices he has ever bared witness to, Elie is almost numb to the horrors. He has almost completely lost faith in humanity when he watches the public hanging of a nice young boy who had stolen some soup. “Where He is? This is where—hanging from this gallows…” (65). This is was the last straw in Elie’s religious confidence. The act was so vivid and cruel that it completely corrupted any hope he had left in the goodness of mankind. The hanging of the young boy was also the death of God and his