Analysis of Eli Wiesels Night - Essay Example

Eli Wiesels "Night" Insert Insert Insert 8th April In the ‘NIGHT’ the uses the theme of struggle to preserve faith in a benevolent God. Silence, inhumanity toward other humans and the significance of father-son relations to paint a picture of mans struggle. He uses the motif of tradition, religious observance and the symbols of Night, fire to continue the picture of the struggle. In the lament of CITATION #1 : "For Gods sake, where is God?" ; by Elie Wiesel, it is evident to acknowledge that he was faced with myriad challenges at tender age while undergoing oppression from the holocaust and enduring both health and family issues. Having faced myriad hardships during the tender age, Elie Wiesel wondered the kind of problems that he had to undergo. Weisel believed in God during his studies about the Jewish mysticism; to determine a mentor while studying at Kabbalah1. The perception that God would be found everywhere changed after being taken to Birkenau and forced to believe in a different faith. Wiesel was a committed believer who was interested in reviewing the Talmud and the Cabbala. This is depicted by his inquisitive minds when he asks his father to get him an appropriate tutor. However his father holds reservations that his son is still young to enroll for superior studies. His father’s refusal does not deter him because he approaches Moshe the Beadle for assistance over the same issue. The narrator further states that the (chariot) cattle car in which the Jews are forced to travel in is extremely congested and wretched. It is portrayed for having no room since he cannot lie down; nonetheless, they are forced to take turns so as to get place and s a short time rest. In CITATION 2: the author cleverly introduces external conflict that the Jews are facing. For instance, in the statement “From this moment on, you are under the authority of the German Army” (23-24). Wiesel illustrates conflict with the German officer and Hungarian lieutenant who confiscate all of their goods and belonging. Throughout the holocaust as reflected in the narration, there was conflict between the Jews and the Nazis. Another instance of such conflict is portrayed through Mrs. Schächter (p. 24-28). She is an example of external conflict since she keeps shouting that what her eyesight can see is fire and flames that the Jews who are with her on the train cannot. In the story this is also symbolizes foreshadowing of the future. Besides, external conflict continues to show the degree of deplorable conduct through external Eliezer’s family is split ‘Men to the left! Women to the right!’ (29). The author is torn between the feeling of faith and loyalty to God and that of abandoning it altogether. This is evident is his statement “For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?” (33). As compared to his earlier self, this thought depicts Wiesel’s waning conviction in God whom he now thinks has abandoned him2. Elie Wiesel’s book the Night is about his encounter with his father in the hands of the Germans in the Nazi concentration camps at Buchenwald and Auschwitz in the 1944 and 1945during the Holocaust toward the end of the 2nd World War. In this narration Wiesel epitomizes regarding the death of God. He also uses the story to point at the reservations that God has on human kind by depicting the deplorable family relation through father-child relation. This is evident from ‘here there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends,’ ‘everyone lives and dies for himself alone. Wiesel found himself as a member of a targeted group because he hailed from a group targeted and prejudiced by the Nazi. The author extensively covers the issue of prejudice through the main theme of inhumane conduct o individuals to their fellow human beings through torture and persecution of the Jews by the Nazi. At the start of the story, persecution commences immediately the Germans occupy the region of Sighet. Reflections in the book indicate that Jews were forced to put on identifiable attire that is adorned with stars. This was a directive by Hitler. Besides, shops belonging to Jews are closed down while their homes are seized therefore forcing them to move to lowly abodes and ghettos that also lead deportations. The Jews are subjects of hard labor; they are denied food besides other inhumane treatment. Their children are also victims of persecutions and killings. Life at the camp was managed and regulated by gongs (Pg. 69), “it gave me orders, and I automatically obeyed them." Furthermore, Wiesel portrays the camp as a place where their identity changes drastically through being branded with numbers rather than their usual names. For instance, in points at it by depicting the identities that were provide to them “tattooed numbers on our left arms. I became A-7713, from then on, I had no other name” (42). He further paints his picture as consumed and changed "The night was gone. The morning star was shining in the sky. I too had become a completely different person. The student of the Talmud, the child that I was, had been consumed in the flames. There remained only a shape that looked like me. A dark flame had entered into my soul and devoured it." In CITATION3: Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 3 portrays the picture that portrays conflict and subjection. For instance dehumanization leads think he need not be responsible on what becomes of his father ““they had recorded his number without his noticing” (pg 74). Despite Elie’s distress while looking for his father he felt “If I only I didn’t find him! If only I were relieved of the responsibility, I could use all my strength to fight for my own survival, to take care only of myself…” (pg 106) is an indication of the decreasing relationship between family members. This is another example of how inflicted holocaust hardships can bring to people. The rationale for prejudicial treatment on the Jews stemmed from the negative feelings that Hitler had against the Jewish people. The rationale of the story tells about dehumanization of the Jewish people by the Germans while the world seemed not to bother with what was happening. The first version, in his memoir Rivers, Wiesel indicates that the first edition of Night was established while on a boat en route to Brazil in the year 1954. Besides, he recounts to have handed the original 862-page copy to Turkov while on they were on boat. The story opines that Elies survival was due to his resilience and choice of isolation. His little involvement in the ship activities played a key role is reserving him. Wiesel is reported to say "So heavy was my anguish that I made a vow: not to speak, not to touch upon the essential for at least ten years’ he is noted as having the energy and commitment to attain his goal of noting everything that happened on board the ship and that which happened on the camps between Jews and Nazis. The third reason why he survived was his choice to remain silent. It is through silence and isolation that he managed to survive "I wrote feverishly, breathlessly, without rereading. I wrote to testify, to stop the dead from dying, to justify my own survival ... My vow of silence would soon be fulfilled; next year would mark the tenth anniversary of my liberation ... The pages piled up on my bed. I slept fitfully, never participating in the ships activities, constantly pounding away on my little portable, oblivious of my fellow passengers.” In conclusion it is important to note that Elie Wiesel’s faith was destroyed by the Germans through the many untold horrors he went through. His faith was subsequently destroyed, and at one occasion, he just lost belief and human thoughts for fellow humans. The book paints a picture on the level at which the Nazis prejudice the Jews. Night is an autobiographical tale of life in the Nazi death camps. The book provides readers deeper and more personal first hand comprehension of the Holocaust. In the subsequent period of the holocaust, the narrator seems to have retraced to the faith. He saw God’s plan while in the camps. After his faith was renewed he found his way back to God. However, Elie’s faith can never be the same again. The narrator can only rebuild and reflect, but not young, observant, craving for God youth when “Night” began3. Candide, Zadig, and Selected Stories Wiesel made a long trip to both Israel and Brazil in 1954, since he saw a student at the Sorbonne University (Paris), he was interested in journalism. The trip to Israel revealed that he had not lost his Jewish mysticism confrontation faction in Palestine. He went to Israel as a conflict reporter for the French-Jewish newspaper L’arche, since he had both links and would perform in the same capacity. However, he was involved in the organization in Palestine. He was also responsible for translation of materials from Hebrew to Yiddish, during this time he was highly involved in the Jewish militant (terrorist) called Irgun. Terrorism inferno was an inhumane act meant to eradicate people. He departed for a while to spend some time in the newly-formed state of Israel, before returning to Paris briefly. The long journey then turned to South America, a destination that he termed as a home away from home since planned to stay in the US until his death according to his perception. Bibliography Chmiel, Mark. 2001. Elie Wiesel and the politics of moral leadership . Chicago: Temple University Press. Hawker, Louise. 2009. Genocide in Elie Wiesels Night: Social Issues in Literature . london: Greenhaven Press Horowitz, Rosemary. 2006. Elie Wiesel and the art of storytelling . New York: McFarland. Read More