Elie Wiesel And Similarities Between Night And Night

“Have faith in life, a thousand times fath. By driving out despair, you will move away from death” (Wiesel 41). These words are a piece of advice a Pole gives Elie, the main character in the memoir, Night, and his block upon entering Auschwitz for the first time. Characters in both the movie and the memoir utilize the advice the young Pole gives Ellie in order to live for as long as possible. The two works cover the Holocaust from a first person perspective and serve as mediums through which the public can remember the dreadful event. Roberto Benigni, the director and writer of Life is Beautiful, and Elie Wiesel, the author of Night, have similar views and commentary on society. In Benigni’s film, a man utilizes humor and the creation of a

Both works include several references to religion and faith, for the Holocaust is mainly the religious persecution of Jews. The concept of God and religion provides one with hope and allows them to believe that good will always prevail over evil. Moreover, God is seen as a protective figure, shielding humans from harm. Within Night, religion is presented constantly as Elie battles an internal conflict against his faith. After being exposed constantly to death and suffering, Elie’s faith falters. This is very surprising and speaks to how horrifying the Holocaust is, because it causes a child from religious upbringings to lose their beliefs. At first, Elie lightly questions the concept of God, “the Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, [who] chose to be silent” (Wiesel 33). He does not stay consistent, and tends to go back and forth in regards to his beliefs. After any small victory he has, he thanks God for it and expresses his happiness. This slowly disappears though, and Elie does not acknowledge God in a positive light as the story progresses. He ultimately loses his faith, and sees God “hanging here from this gallows” (Wiesel 65). In contrast, Life Is Beautiful does not contain many references to religion at all. Guido does not look to God for hope or guidance throughout the movie, eliminating the presence of the internal conflict Elie faces. Instead, the creation of the game replaces the concept of God. It gives Guido hope and motivation as well as his son. Instead of looking to a higher being for guidance, Giosue and Guido look to achieve possession of the tank. Although the game was made up and was only created to protect Giosue’s innocence, it was the driving factor behind many of Giosue’s actions. He complies with everything his father tells him in order to achieve that tank in the end, which in turn shields him from harm's way (Benigni). Giosue’s faith does