Effects Of Control In Night By Elie Wiesel

Even when people are controlled, they can still speak up with determination instead of staying silent. In Night by Elie Wiesel, Eliezer is commanded as well as many others while staying in different camps. Wiesel illustrates the destructive effects that silence and control had over all of the Jews. It changes lots of people’s thoughts and changes one’s character. Wiesel also speaks about the courage and strength it takes to get past the dangerous effects of domination by speaking out loud with a voice. While staying silent gives the illusion of safety and protection, Elie Wiesel describes how being determined and overcoming the fear of speaking out can allow one to have control over their life.

When using power in Night, Wiesel shows how being

The SS officer yelled at him, “‘Listen to me you son of a swine!’ said Iked coldly. ‘So much for your curiosity. You shall receive five times more if you dare tell anyone what you saw! Understood?’” (Wiesel, 58). Eliezer was so afraid that he used silence to corrupt him and keep him from speaking up. His fear overcame him which caused him to obey and listen. When obeying the officer, Wiesel implies this compliance by “[nodding] once, ten times, endlessly. As if my head had decided to say yes for all eternity.” Elie felt like nodding for eternity just to follow orders, showing the power and mastery the SS officers had over him. Eliezer’s duty to comply and follow the officer’s orders is conveyed through him nodding his head. Wiesel connects control and manipulation with silence proving the response of being weaker. He also

both mention how one can overcome being fearful by speaking up with determination and taking control of one’s own life. In Wiesel’s famous speech “Perils of Indifference”, he speaks about the importance of indifference and how it’s affected people today. Wiesel states how every step could be changed towards greatness if everyone speaks out loud together. He even mentions how, “this time, the world was not silent. This time, we do respond. This time, we intervene” (Wiesel, “Perils”). When Wiesel talks, he declares the determination of the whole group. He then starts to proclaim the significance of having the courage and strength to use one’s voice. Being controlled and having fear to speak out may seem safer, but instead, it would be right to be determined and speak out. Wiesel speaks about how fear can be overpowered by being assured of having a voice while working together. Another speaker, Martin Luther King Jr. states the difference between being controlled with fear and speaking out with pride. King starts to get more personal describing his actions and what he did to achieve overcoming fear. He illustrates how he couldn’t be quiet and just obey and how he needed to stand up and speak out to start something new. He then speaks how, “For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent” (King, “Beyond Vietnam”). Martin Luther King Jr.