Compare And Contrast Between Shades Of Gray And Night

Some of the most atrocious events in history were the genocides of World War II. However, stories of the concentration camps and genocides are quickly being forgotten. Night by Elie Wiesel and Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys illustrate the struggle and beauty of living in concentration camps during World War II. Night follows the story of Elie, a fifteen-year-old boy from a small town in Transylvania, and Between Shades of Gray follows the story of Lina, a fifteen-year-old girl from Lithuania. Even though in Night and Between Shades of Gray, the protagonists face similar struggles to keep their identities, the two books differ in the themes expressed in each book and how the protagonists change throughout the book.
A striking similarity

In Between Shades of Gray, the author illustrates the theme of unity throughout the book, while in Night, the author demonstrates the theme of self-preservation. For example, in Between Shades of Gray, as Christmas approaches, Lina describes, "We gathered each night to hear about someone’s holiday celebration. We grew to know each other through our longings and cherished memories. Mother insisted that we invite the grouchy woman to our meetings. She said that just because she had signed didn’t mean that she wasn’t homesick" (Sepetys, 201). This scene demonstrates the theme of unity because everyone shares stories, which gives them a sense of unity and understanding toward each other. Lina’s mother also invites a woman who signed NKVD papers, which supports the theme of unity because she includes people she may not agree with to celebrate Christmas together. Yet in Night, a Blockälteste gives Elie the following advice, “‘Don’t forget you are in a concentration camp. In this place, it is every man for himself, and you cannot think of others. Not even your father’" (Wiesel, 110). This quote supports the theme of self-preservation because the Blockälteste tells Elie to only worry about his survival and not anyone else while in Between Shades of Gray, everyone tries to encourage and include each other. Another example of unity in Between Shades of Gray is when Lina

For example, in Between Shades of Gray, Lina becomes more protective of her family, as illustrated when her mother is sick and she thinks, "I couldn’t lose mother. I would fight. I would do whatever it took" (Sepetys, 313). This quote shows that at the end of the book, Lina is more protective of her family because she takes on the responsibility of caring for her mother when she is sick and doing whatever she can. However, throughout Elie’s stay at the camp, he starts thinking about his father as more of a burden and grudgingly takes care of him. This is shown when, while taking care of his father, Elie thinks, "Too late to save your old father . . . You could have two rations of bread, two rations of soup . . ." (Wiesel, 111). This quote shows that Elie begins to see his father as more of a burden than someone he should protect and care for, as opposed to Lina, who will do anything to see her mother well. Another drastic change in Lina is that she becomes more defiant toward the NKVD. For example, when the prisoners discuss signing the NKVD papers, Lina thinks, "The NKVD’s hostilities strengthened my defiance. Why would I give in to people who spit in my face and tormented me each and every day?" (Sepetys, 164). This shows that Lina is becoming more defiant toward the NKVD because she does not want to sign the papers and give in to the NKVD. On the other