Examples Of Dehumanization In Night By Elie Wiesel

The Holocaust was a devastating time for not only adults but children as well. Throughout the memoir Night, Elie Wiesel changes spiritually, physically, and socially. In the country of Auschwitz where he approaches a concentration camp beginning to see the cruelty and brutal trauma Nazis had in plan for not only just Elie but others, by not eating, working to the bone, losing the connection to his family as well as his passion and loyalty to god. Dehumanization is shown throughout the novel beginning with the hanging of the Jewish boy in front of the rest of the prisoners, the Natzi soldiers throwing bread into a cattle car, and losing sight of his faith in god. Each event challenged his inner strength. Each event described in the book has

It was not only the first day Elie experienced his loss of loyalty and hope in God but to the end. Elie's loss of faith in God makes him realize that no one is looking out for him but himself and begins to become independent. For example, “ Some of the men spoke of God: His mysterious ways, the sins of the Jewish people, and the redemption to come. As for me, I have ceased to pray. I concurred with the job! I was not denying His existence, but I doubted His absolute justice” (Wiesel 45). Hearing or seeing a loved one dying is the first thing that not only shook up Elie but others who lost family members as well. It is easier at this time to lose faith when others around you are as well. Over time he begins to question God if he is looking over them, caring for them. Witnessing babies, children, and families getting thrown into the fires, shot, and killed left and right makes it easier

In chapter 6 of Night, Elie and his father, as well as other prisoners, are forced to run in the snow while the SS were yelling at them to go faster, if they do not keep up with the rest then they are shot and die right there in the snow. As Elie and his father are ordered to stop they move over to a shed, Elies wounded foot in pain and pounding. “I was dragging this emaciated body that was still such a weight. If only I could have shed it! Though I tried to put it out of my mind, I couldn’t help thinking that there were two of us: my body and I. And I hated that body. I kept thinking: Don’t think, don’t stop, run!”(Wiesel 85). Elie says that it helps explain how he is feeling physically, making him feel tired, and wounded. Showing how he keeps continuing through the pain and throughout his time at the camp. Another example is when Elie and his father are tossed into a cattle car with hundreds of other people and thrown bread, fighting over who would get it and who would not. “We are given bread, the usual rotation. We threw ourselves on it… As we were not permitted to bend down, we took out our spoons and ate the snow off our neighbors’ backs. A mouthful of bread and a spoonful of snow… a hundred per car: we were so skinny!” (Wiesel 96-97). Not gaining the right calories causes your body to break down, become tired, and physically not well. Elie experiences his