Comparison Of Night And The Book Thief

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In the outside world, there are many occasions where people tend to behave and conduct peculiarly, specifically due to their desperation. Sometimes, this can even mean that individual could create loss for others. Both stories, The Book Thief and Night, embed a lesson: desperation and the intensity of want can drive a person to have actions that would not normally happen. While both stories have the resulted thoughts/actions built on the base of negativity and loss for others, the desperation in Night was caused by lack of basic needs. Meanwhile, The Book Thief demonstrated the intense feelings of want due to hate. Both stories displayed the lesson similarly, but with unique perspectives. Both stories heavily feature the resulted thoughts …show more content…

In Night, the cause for desperation and want throughout the story is the loss of basic human needs. “I went to look for him. Yer at the same time a thought crept into my mind: If only I didn't find him! If only I were relieved of this responsibility, I could use all my strength to fight for my own survival, to take care only of myself . . . Instantly, I felt ashamed, ashamed of myself forever” (Wiesel 106). In an example once again involving Elie’s father, Elie Wiesel starts to think of abandoning his father, due to the relief that would come from it. Once again, he thinks about this only because he wants to feel the relief of having less responsibilities without his father. Nevertheless, he scolds himself for such thoughts, as they are inhumane, abnormal, and defines the destruction of his father. Elie would never originally think of such a thought. Even so, the wringed out child thinks of this relief because the extreme conditions he lives in. The desperation is caused by the loss of his basic needs in the holocaust, thus, causing wishes for relief from Elie’s father. The desperation and want in The Book Thief is caused by a different source. In a more civil environment, Liesel’s want was rather run by hate. After seeing Max carried into a concentration camp, Liesel is filled with rage and anger. She then proceeds to step into