Torture In Elie Wiesel's Night

With only fifteen to sixteen years of age, Wiesel continuously encountered pure torture. From being senselessly abused to unceasingly overworked, there was not a day where Wiesel could sleep with a light heart. “I happened to cross his path. He threw himself on me like a wild beast, beating me in the chest, on my head, throwing me to the ground and picking me up again, crushing me with ever more violent blows, until I was covered in blood” (“Night” 53). As a result of running into an angry SS officer, Wiesel first-hand encountered pure rage and torture. Being beaten senseless, regardless if you were a child or not, was not uncommon in the concentration camps. Although Wiesel was only fourteen years old, he endured consecutive blows from a grown
At a time when one should be energetic, lively, and healthy, Wiesel became exhausted to the point he would compare himself to a “withered tree”. However, Wiesel was not the only one like this. Witnessing everyone else lose hope, as they became more exhausted with each day passing, made it difficult for him to not follow suit. In other words, a loss of faith in humanity and himself, led to his loss of innocence. In addition to his loss of faith in humanity and himself, he also lost faith in God. Irving Halperin, an English and creative writer, as well as, professor at San Francisco State University, wrote, “'Why should I bless His name?' This outcry is the sign of, as François Mauriac says in his foreword to the book, 'the death of God in the soul of a child who suddenly discovers absolute evil.' And this breakdown of religious faith calls forth Eliezer's resolve 'never to forget'” (Halperin 32). Halperin argues that due to his loss of faith in God, Wiesel lost his innocence. During his time in the concentration camps, Wiesel witnessed people praying to God, time and time again. However, God did not answer them; children, women, and men continued to die as each day