Analysis of Night by Elie Wiesel - Book Report/Review Example

Book Review of Night by Elie Wiesel Night by Elie Wiesel is an autobiographical account of the author of the time which he spent in the Nazi German camps. Written in nine segments, the book starts where the protagonist is living peacefully in his hometown Sighet. He is a stout Jew and spends his time wondering about mysticism. Then the invasion of the Nazis in 1944 changes their lives drastically. The boy, who used to devote his attention whole heartedly to the concept of mysticism, loses all faith in God and mankind. He is disgusted by everyone, even himself. The book progresses and tells more about the Nazi camps and the ghettos. He loses his mother and sisters. He and his father barely find the strength to survive but in the end the protagonist is the only one of his family to survive and when he looks in the mirror, he only sees a living corpse. The theme of faith in this book is evident from the very beginning. There is a constant clash between the practice and belief on faith. His father, Chlomo, believes that a true follower is the one who prays regularly, follows the teachings and practices and visits the churches. But from the age of twelve, he starts to think about religion and faith in a total different light. He is inspired by the synagogues’ priest Moshe the Beadle who is humble and “awkward as a clown but tells him that man raises himself towards God by the questions he asks Him” (Wiesel 2). Moshe the Beadle plays an important role in the book. In 1942, after he escapes the cruelty in Gestapo (Poland), he returns backs to Sighet and tries to tell people about his own experience. But the villagers do not pay any heed to him thinking that he has lost his mind. In the modern world, Moshe’s hysterical and frantic behavior can be termed as shock after the post traumatic experience. It is also ironic because the villagers think that what Moshe is saying is unbelievable and in the next instant the unbelievable happens to them. The mentality of the villagers is also shocking because when the ghettos arrive in their land, they are quite “comfortable” with the setting, despite the fact that they are being held prisoners in their own land. On the other hand, it can also be said that there was a thread of home and therefore they did not resist much. If they had resisted they would have been killed there and then. “The barbed wire which fenced us in did not cause us any real fear… we were entirely self-contained. A little Jewish republic ... We appointed a Jewish Council, a Jewish police, an office for social assistance, a labor committee, a hygiene department—a whole government machinery.” (Wiesel 9) They also do not make much of the yellow star which they are forced to wear. The yellow star or badge, in the Nazis days, was a symbol of shame and belittling. They were forced to wear this yellow star when they went out in the open. Their individuality was being butchered but they did not realize it. Elie’s own father says: “The yellow star? Oh well, what of it? You don't die of it.” And in answer to that Elie says: “Poor Father! Of what then did you die?” (Wiesel 9). Their time in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps is heart wrenching. The camps were no less than death itself. The routine and the activities were like a death toll. More than a hundred people were jam-packed in one wagon and after reaching the camps, the men and women were taken to separate camps. The protagonist’s mother and sisters are taken into a different camp and there he says: “For a part of a second I glimpsed my mother and my sisters … disappear into the distance;... and I did not know that in that place, at that moment, I was parting from my mother and Tzipora forever.” (Wiesel 27) In these camps, the authors’ feelings are also of great importance. He is helpless, frightened and ashamed of himself. He is ashamed because his father is growing weak by the moment and he is a hindrance in his escape. Wiesel is extremely disgusted at himself for thinking in this way but at the same time he is unable to think of anything else. These two places are of great importance not only with respect to the book’s plot but also in the author’s life; because at that time; albeit a bit late, they realize that nothing is going to be the same again. Here, Wiesel is not only separated from his family but also from God. “Never shall I forget that night … which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed.” (Wiesel 32). Wiesel also relates himself to the Akiba drummer who is passionate about his music at first but then later when the prisoners are to be selected in Block 36, he leaves that place and loses his faith in God because of the vindictive fate. Moreover, other people’s miseries are a constant grievance for the prisoners at first but later they grow indifferent to it. One such example is that of Mrs. Schacter. She is one of the prisoners who during the first segments of the book is seen moaning but later she gives in to the hysteria. She is frightened of an imaginary fire but that depicts the state of mind of the prisoners as well. The book mirrors the isolation and wretched times inflicted on the people by the Nazis but at the same time it invigorates action when the prisoners plan their escape at the end. If it tells a story of the people who gradually lose faith, it also narrates the story of the few prisoners who make it to their homes. Through this book, Wiesel also conveys his message to stand against the notion of genocide. After his horrific experience in the World War, he helps the people of the genocidal incidents in Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. This book also is of great significance in today’s world because a similar hatred and prejudice is apparent, not only among the nations but within the people themselves. Racism has become a deep-rooted ailment of the society. Thus, this book and the author himself prove as an example for people to look up to in such situations. Works Cited Wiesel, Elie. Night.New York: Bantam, 1982. Print. Read More