Survival of the fittest The theme of survival of the fittest is shown throughout the memoir Night. Night was written by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. In this memoir Elie explains as well as shows survival of the fittest, by sharing his story of his struggles along with countless other Jews during the holocaust. He illustrated the theme of survival of the fittest in the memoir night through the situations of Elie lying about his age during selection, the Rabbi's son leaving his father, during the death march, and the son killing his father over a crust of bread. Elie Wiesel illustrates survival of the fittest by showing that people are willing to lie in order to survive. In the book Night, Elie gives the reader an example of how people are willing to lie in order to survive by lying about his age, during the selection, in order to not be killed and to stay with his father. During selection a man warns Elie about getting through the selection by telling him to say he is eighteen:
Hey, kid, how old are you?
Fifteen.
No, You’re eighteen.
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Elie witnessed this type of animalistic behavior when he is crouched in the cattle car traveling from Gleiwitz to Buchenwald and another Jew dragged himself on all fours to hide a piece of bread under his shirt . “Meir, my little Meir! Don’t you recognize me...you’re killing your father...I have bread...for you too… for you too” (Wiesel 101). The son killed his father over bread; this displays the desperate need for food and the length he is willing to go to get it. He killed his father to get the crust of bread not realizing or perhaps caring that it's his father as long as he gets the bread. This is much like an animal focused on hunting its prey. Showing survival of the fittest by taking on the animalistic qualities rather than acting humanly toward