Examples Of Human Nature In Night By Elie Wiesel

This world is plagued with poverty, diseases, and drugs yet the most destructive is selfishness. People think the way they want, people live the way they want, and people make decisions the way they want, all of which could be acceptable if only they took other people into their thoughts, lives, and decisions. Although it is true that human nature provokes the self-indulgence out of people, every person is capable of thinking about the other person. Throughout the novel, Night, Wiesel writes about the constant suffering during the Holocaust that caused the Jews to be self-indulgent, similarly, Rosenthal describes a murder in the article “Thirty-Eight Witnesses: New Excerpt” where thirty-eight witnesses go without telling the real story, and

Later, it was reported that none of the witnesses were willing to talk about the murder or even go far as admitting that it had happened in their neighborhood. One witness states, “‘Oh, it’s you again’ and slammed the door” (Rosenthal). This statement deliberates that this woman was insouciant after the accident, as if the thought of her being the woman that could’ve been murdered did not cross her mind. The rules would’ve changed for her if she was the person on the death bed. She struggles to realize that it shouldn’t matter if she answers a few questions, maybe her answers would’ve helped investigate a bit more into who this woman was. It is evident that individuals do not see it as their compulsion to see anyone but themselves. A frenchwoman in the neighborhood went as far as saying, ‘Let’s forget the whole thing. It is a quiet neighborhood, good to live in. What happened, happened’”(Rosenthal). This woman speaks as if nothing had happened. A murder can not just be shoved under the truth. Even if the woman murdered was not innocent, her family still deserves answers as to what happened. Although it would be impossible to save her at that time, these thirty-eight witnesses were cowards for staying in their homes without calling the police. It shouldn’t matter if they were on good terms or if they even knew the victim, their first instinct should’ve been to call the police. No one asks for an exclusive behavior of being a hero and catching the murder but a simple phone call of three digits could’ve helped the woman who suffered her death. After all, it does take guts to witness something as painful as this, but it would be comical to think that an individual would ignore the idea of helping each other in a country that preaches