Elie Wiesel Night Quotes

Collin King, Zach Alderson, Jackson Kronland, Faith Barrett, Tarek Almahdrahi

Nelson

February 7, 2022

English 12

The Brown Cow Walked Across the Road

In the final chapter of Night by Elie Weisel in 1958, Weisel showcases the inner struggle that people with survivor's guilt often face. He uses a remorseful tone to indicate the helplessness and confusion that people often face after surviving a traumatic experience that others did not. After spending a year in concentration camps, Weisel sees himself in a mirror for the first time since his capture. He states, “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed has never left me.” (Wiesel 115) Within this passage, Wiesel compares the appearance of his

The book goes into detail about Elizabeth’s life and romantic relationship with Bundy, and covers her simultaneous feelings of guilt and relief about Bundy’s capture. Kendall provides many examples of her internal struggle, including her decision not to testify against Bundy when given the chance to. She found it very hard to cope with her feelings throughout the trial. Kendall notes that when asked to testify “[Kendall] couldn’t be a part of it. They saw Ted Bundy as a murderer. I knew him as a lover and a friend” (Kendall 6). She also mentions that she is writing the book in the first place to give people a better idea of what really happened between her and Bundy in their time

As Elie and his father live through all the movements from camp to camp, Elie’s guilt becomes much more apparent and a burden on him. Elie Wiesel displays this survivor’s guilt with the following quotes, the first being, “I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I was out of tears. And deep inside me, if I could have searched the recesses of my feeble conscience, I might have found something like: Free at last!” (Wiesel 112) In this moment, Elie is feeling deep sorrow for the loss of his father, and sits in his bunk emotionless. Not only does Elie feel the emotional pain from the loss of his father, but also the motivation that his father gave him to keep fighting and stay alive. Wiesel even goes as far as to say after his liberation “I shall not describe my life during that time. It no longer mattered” (Wiesel 113). This quote helps the reader understand the emotion going through Wiesel and many other survivors at the time. The feeling that life is useless is commonly seen in people who survive tragedies that others have not. Seeing as this is a common theme throughout not only both texts, but humanity as a whole, readers can better feel sympathy for those who are victims of traumatic