Loss Of Faith In Night By Elie Wiesel

Elie’s Faith
Jack Lewis
Language Arts

This paper is about the book Night by Elie Wiesel. Throughout the novel, we get hints and implications regarding Elie’s faith. At the beginning of the book, we often talk about how he worships his God and his loyalty to him. But as the story progresses, and we see his experiences at Auschwitz, he sees that faith dwindle. In this essay I am going to show evidence that he lost his faith, not only in his God, but in his leaders and his father.

Elie lost faith in his leaders. The cruel actions the Nazis performed in the concentration camps says plenty about why. But when Elie's leg was still recovering in the infirmary, his neighbor said this, “ I have more faith in Hitler than anyone else. He alone has

“Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?” (4) This was his response to being asked why he prayed. His answer shows how immersed he was in God's prayer. He just believed without question, because that’s how he was raised. But as the story continued, we see his stance shift. On page 65, he hears this, “‘For God's sake, where is God?’ And from within me, I heard a voice answer: Where He is? This is where– hanging from the gallows…” (65). This was a big turning point for Elie’s view towards god. He started to doubt God and what he stood for. Maybe he still thought God was there, but in Auschwitz, God was nowhere to be

He trusted his word and did what he told him. “My hand tightened its grip on my father. All I could think of was not to lose him. Not to remain alone.”(30) He couldn’t be alone. But the longer he was in Auschwitz, the more sick his father got, and the more Elie let him go. On page 105, Elies dad begins to give up. Eile panics and tries to get him inside. But when alarms ring, Elie runs, unintentionally leaving his father behind. When morning came he went to look for him. “If only I didn’t find him! If only I were relieved of this responsibility..” (106) He came with instant regret, but I think he meant