Elie Wiesel Loss Of Faith In Night

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“Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into light” (Keller). During dark times faith is essential to not give up. Many Jewish prisoners in the holocaust used faith to persevere hope in the distressing death camps. But for many, a loss of faith was prevalent during these dehumanizing experiences. One prisoner that underwent this loss of faith was Elie Wiesel and he wrote a memoir titled, Night, to express this unforgettable time in his life. In the book, the author describes life in the concentration camp and his journey of how these traumatic experiences changed him. He went through many things which include him questioning his faith. Elie's relationship with God has changed throughout Night, demonstrating Elie Wiesel …show more content…

For instance, as Wiesel spectates a young boy’s hanging and watches him slowly lose his life it becomes his breaking point. He only starts to doubt God's existence when he is asked this heretical question, “For God's sake, where is god?" and within me, I heard a voice answer: Where is he? This is where- hanging here from this gallows” (Wiesel 65). The killing of the Jews symbolizes the killing of Elie’s God which identifies the lowest point of his faith in the novel. Finally, Wiesel is not only letting go of his God but accepting he is losing a huge part of himself. He emphasizes where his relationship with God is at when he states, “I was the accuser, God the accused. My eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God, without man. I was nothing but ashes now, but I felt myself to be stronger than this almighty to whom my life had been bound to for so long. In the middle of these men assembled for prayer, I felt like an observer, a stranger” (Wiesel 68). Eliezer is trying to express that he spent nearly all his life worshiping God just to not only feel abandoned but leaving him with a great void after losing a huge part of himself. Because of Wiesel’s dehumanizing experiences in the camp his perspective shifts and he has renounced his faith in