Evil In Night By Elie Wiesel

The 1960 memoir "Night" by Elie Wiesel depicts the Holocaust, a time when morality, ethics, and humanity were brutally compromised through the actions of the Nazis. Through his and his father’s accounts, Wiesel reveals how normal people can be transformed into the epitome of evil. It highlights the loss of faith in humanity and God that results from experiencing extreme suffering, discrimination, and sheer violence. The memoir shows how the Jewish community was systematically dehumanized, enabled by overtrust, and how in desperation, some people, including family members, were willing to turn on each other to survive. Overall, “Night” exposes the dark side of human nature, making us question our faith in humanity.

Firstly, Wiesel exposes the

Although the text is from the perspective of a victim, through their testimony the perspective of a perpetrator can be discerned. In this case, it is clear through the author how brutal the Nazis were, and yet how some still had humanity. The evil portrayed by the Nazis is based on a concept proposed by another Jew, Hannah Arendt, who stated that the evil that hides in all of us is the evil of banality, and following instructions blindly. This evil can and does lie in all of us, whether that be because of trust in authority, or because of a lack of critical thinking. Again, this links back to the Jews who at the beginning believed they were safe. There are two ways in which trust plays here. The first is mistrust in Moishe, whom everyone thinks is mad, and Mrs Schächter who is beaten so that she stops screaming about incoming danger. This oppression cost the Jews dearly because if they had listened to them, they could have been safe. The second is their blind trust that everything will turn out alright and that they will not be harmed. This is false and is therefore a reason that they dragged themselves into this mess, as well as others, which is an evil in itself. From this, it’s clear that because of trust, evil can be brought out in