Courage Theme In Night By Elie Wiesel

People endure hardships every day, but it is how they choose to react to them that is most important. One such hardship was the Holocaust, which was the murdering of millions of people at the Nazi concentration camps throughout the course of WWII. Eleven million Jews, homosexuals, and gypsies were killed during this genocide. Every survivor of these concentration camps was forced to decide between hiding or vocalizing the crimes they had seen committed, and many couldn’t find the strength to speak up. Thankfully, there were those such as Elie Wiesel, who didn’t rest. He wrote a novel about his experiences and spoke out bravely against the crimes of the Nazis. He overcame the hardships that he faced and showed courage by writing his book, Night.

They are repeatedly utilized to describe a person’s character and intentions. This supports the theme in a variety of ways, because by using the description of a character’s eyes, one can decipher in what way that person is struggling. This motif is used several times to describe Elie’s personal battle with God. He was desperate for relief from the pain he suffered, but he couldn’t find it in his faith. In one instance, Elie observed a young boy hanging from the gallows and was horrified. Watching the child hanging there, he asked, “‘Where is He [God]? This is where, hanging from this gallows.” (65) In other words, Elie is saying that his eyes were opened, and instead of a child’s death in front of him, he saw God’s. This helps the reader to understand the theme by providing a window into Elie’s internal struggle with God. In Elie’s eyes, God was dead, and consequently, faith granted no comfort anymore. Elie Wiesel had once sought comfort in his faith; however, he had struggled to maintain hope since. Another example of his struggle is when Elie had tried to pray to God even though he no longer believed in Him. After witnessing a child betray his own father, “a prayer formed inside [him]. A prayer to the God whom [he] no longer believed.” (91) Here, the motif of “eyes” is important because it shows how even though Elie had lost all faith in God, he still found himself asking for support from Him. Elie had observed a