Self-will is the willingness to motivate yourself to fight and keep moving. Night by Elie Wiesel is about a teenage boy living through the horrors of the holocaust. Moving from camp to camp Elie and his father Chlomo are suffering the harsh conditions at any and all camps. Which forms a question in my head, How did he survive? Was it because of his determination or was it just sheer luck.
From the small town of Sighet in Transylvania to the huge concentration camps of Auschwitz. Elie Wiesel, the author and victim of the book Night, the horrifying experience of the Holocaust. Wiesel is a 15 year old Jewish boy who was captured by the Germans or “Nazis” during WWII. He went through an overwhelming amount of trauma, like when he got separated from his mother and sisters and watching his father suffer an unbearable amount of pain that eventually killed him. The fact is, power is a tool that can corrupt itself and others, it can ruin people’s lives and it can do that without people even realizing it.
Strength overcomes weakness People have to have something to believe in during tough times otherwise they will not be able to survive. During the holocaust, many Jewish people were stripped of their clothes, identities, and basic human rights. Survivors of the Holocaust often talk about something they found to be able to keep them alive. They often talk about if they didn't have that source of strength or perseverance they would not be here today.
Power is addictive to humankind, people can not help but crave more than their share. Night by Elie Wiesel is a memoir that bears witness to the abusiveness of control. The book follows the author, Elie Wiesel, in his horrific experiences of the Holocaust and how he survived. In many situations people with higher status took advantage of people subordinate to them. Although many believe that fear is a person’s main downfall, power is an extremely manipulative source that causes the decline of people who have it and who do not.
Indian social reformer B.R. Ambedkar once said of individuality: “Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man's life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self.” Furthermore, Webster’s dictionary defines it as “the distinguishing character or personality of an individual.” In Night by Elie Wiesel, it seems that both the author and his fellow Semites’ sense of selves are virtually erased by Hitler and the Nazi Party.
Throughout Night, Elie Wiesel demonstrates the indifference and lack of empathy created by extreme conditions. Wiesel develops this theme as early as in chapter two when Elie is packed into the back of a cattle car and is being transported to Auschwitz. With everyone's nerves at their breaking point, when Mrs. Schächter began having a mental breakdown, they resorted to violence, and “when they actually struck her, people shouted their approval”(26). The stress and distress caused by being trapped in the cattle car brought a tight knit, religious community to beating an older woman. This loss of empathy even impacts familial bonds, this is illustrated vividly during the death march, Rabbi Elihau’s son abandoned him.
Everywhere we go there is a place in time and space that we can find hatred and evil that surrounds us but in between that hatred we can still find love and gratitude that persevered that hate which is kindness. I will be comparing the book Night and the article Jakob's story in the theme of kindness and Hate and will be discussing where these events occur followed by their meaning . In the setting of Hate one can still find kindness All throughout the book Night by Elie Weisel there are many examples of kindness in a setting of hate. We can see this by the example of the quote “I felt a cool hand wiping the blood from my forehead.
In Elie Wiesel's "Night," the mix of conformity and rebellion are crucial forces of survival for both the individual and the group within the Holocaust. One scene that encapsulates this occurs on pages 66-84, as Elie and his fellow prisoners endure an extreme selection process. As they are forced to strip naked for inspection, the pressure to conform to the dehumanizing demands of the Nazis is substantial. However, acts of rebellion also surfaced. When Elie's father is deemed too weak and is separated from the rest of the group, Elie instinctively rebels against the unjust decision, clinging desperately to his dad in a display of defiance.
The heart wrenching and powerful memoir “Night” by Elie Wiesel depicts Elie’s struggle through the holocaust. It shows the challenges and struggles Elie and people like him faced during this mournful time, the dehumanization; being forced out of their homes, their towns and sent to nazi concentration camps, being stripped of their belongings and valuables, being forced to endure and witness the horrific events during one of history’s most ghastly tales. In “Night” Elie does not only endure a physical journey but also a spiritual journey as well, this makes him question his determination, faith and strength. This spiritual journey is a journey of self discovery and is shown through Elie’s struggle with himself and his beliefs, his father
People manage to find strength through many different ways in life, like their belief in God, their family members and more. In the Holocaust, there were many people struggling because they barely got food, and remained through long days of working. When they weren't working, they got punished because the SS guards thought they were too weak to work. Through many concentration camps, six out of nine million Jews died from these tragedies that they had to go through. Many people find strength in conflict.
Joyce Myers once said “We can improve our relationships with others by leaps and bounds if we become encouragers instead of critics.” In Night, if Elizer and his father encouraged each other and helped each other out, maybe their relationship could have been better. Their relationship wasn't bad, but it was not good. Their relationship struggled because the Holocaust was going on, and they were worried and struggling with that. Now that Elizer's father is dead, they both have more freedom in many different ways.
Courage is a word that used often or not, has it’s own meaning. Having courage to do the impossible is experienced in our everyday lives without even thinking, such as, taking out the trash, going to school, taking a step onto a unknown street, it happens to us all and can even have a dramatic impact on yourself, your future, and your life. In the book Night courage is experienced every single day of torture. Prisoners, such as Elie, face and fight for their own survival not knowing that their best weapon possessed in their hands was courage. Courage was a weapon, a very powerful weapon that could change your fate in an instant.
Artificial lights have helped illuminate homes, yards, shops, etc. for years. Though the use of it is very beneficial to everyday life, if not taken into consideration light pollution can come into play and be wasted. Light pollution is caused when artificial light is released into areas that have no use for artificial light. One of the negative effects that light pollution has on the earth is that it’s throwing the earth's ecosystem out of whack. When you're in the city at night and you look up at the sky to see stars shining down you’ll probably be disappointed.
One reoccurring theme that is present in the Holocaust is a change of identity with everyone involved. The incidents people confronted, especially the Jews, during this harsh time was life changing and traumatic. The identity of many in the concentration camps changed; young and innocent children developed into mature men. Elie Wiesel in the novella, Night, faces a change of identity within himself and the surrounding people, the Jews, through a variety of events that he encounters.
In the span of a lifetime one often faces many adversities that stand within their path. While some challenges will be overcome easily, others will take a lot more tenacity. When in the face of adversity it is key not to give up. One should always strive to persevere through their hardships, no matter how severe they seem to be. The author of the memoir “Night” Elie Wiesel, vividly describes his experiences in the concentration camp of Auschwitz.
