In the story Night by Eliezer Wiesel, the Jews had to endure a huge amount of suffering and pain. The first discussion question I have selected is; Can traumatic experiences transform someone's identity? The instances that the Jews have to go through changed their identity and how they viewed the world. An occasion where this occurs is when Elie's dad gets beaten up by Idek and Elie says “I had watched it all happening without moving. I kept silent. In fact, I thought of stealing away in order not to suffer the blows. What’s more, if I felt anger in that moment, it was not directed at the Kapo, but at my father.”(Wiesel 54). Later on, he goes on to say “That was what life in a concentration camp had made of me…”(Wiesel 54). Elie confesses how being in the concentration camp changed his thoughts. Another occasion that describes this concept is how when Elie and his family lived in Sighet, before the Holocaust, he was passionate about learning about his religion. After being mistreated …show more content…
The second question is; Can staying silent have a negative impact on a situation? After being taken to Birkenau, Elie shocked by the whole circumstance, says “How was it possible that men, women, and children were being burned and that the world kept silent?” (Wiesel 32). Eliezer questions why the rest of the world could stand by and let innocent people be killed. Another example of this common theme is when Moishe the Beadle tries to warn the others but the Jews don’t believe them and Elie says “Why do you want people to believe you so much? In your place I would not care whether they believed me or not..” (Wiesel 7). Later on, Moishe gets frustrated at the Jews for not speaking out on behalf of his warning and not even trusting him to tell the truth. The experience of the Holocaust described in Night illustrates how staying silent can alter conditions