The Ones We Love? Family; a blessing, or a curse? In the book Night, Elie Wiesel offers many significant themes, but the question, “is family a blessing or a curse,” is one of the most prevalent and begging themes in the novel. During the novel, Wiesel often questions if he should try and keep his father around, or if life would just be better without him in the picture. “‘Don’t let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I could use all my strength to struggle for my own survival, and only worry about myself,’ I immediately felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever,” (Wiesel, 111). This is just one example of the internal conflict going on endlessly within himself. In Night, the question asking whether family is a blessing or a curse is the most significant theme because it highlights good and bad times, it shows the internal conflict between whether he wants his father around or not, and it illustrates the dehumanization Elie faces throughout the Holocaust. When thinking of family, …show more content…
As he is walking around the camp, he is trying to find his father, but at the same time he is wishing he didn’t, “‘Don’t let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I could use all my strength to struggle for my own survival, and only worry about myself,’ I immediately felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever,” (Wiesel, 111). This excerpt describes just how badly he wants to leave his father. He loves him dearly, but Elie gets constant reminders of the terrors of the camp. People die constantly and they don’t have to take care of a withered old man such as Elie’s father. He doesn’t want to be next. Deep down, he wants to leave his father behind, but he doesn’t want to admit that to himself. Evidently, Elie, at this point, is not ready to get rid of his father, but more than ready to, at the same