The novel Night by Elie Wiesel is about a father and a son that have a bond strong enough to overcome the hardships of the holocaust. Even if almost nothing is done, a person's very presence could influence another's state of mind. In Night Elie's father broke down and struggled to give him any support, but he took care of Elie all throughout his life and tried his best while he still had some strength. Wanting to give back to his father, Elie decided to support his father whenever he was in need of help. This newfound purpose and their father-son bond helped make his father the biggest influence in his survival. Elie's father was the only one who cared about him enough to try and save his life several times. This was a big deal because just …show more content…
All throughout the book Elie had shown signs of distress when he was threatened with losing his father. A great example of this was when they had to run past the SS doctors and Dr. Mengele as fast as they could, because they believed if they got their right arms number written down it would be certain death. Elie went first and waited for his father for what seemed like eternity and finally he saw his father heading towards him. Then they immediately asked each other, "Did you pass? Yes. And you? Also. We were able to breath again"(73). Elie loved his father and after a selection that could cost him his life, he was almost more concerned about whether his father passed and not himself. Elie wanted to live so badly so he could be with his father that it helped him push through his weariness, and run faster than he ever thought he could and helped him not be selected. Another example is towards the end of the book where Elie’s father gets sick and feels that he doesn’t have the strength to live anymore. He says to Elie "I can't go on…”(109) and Elie responds by giving him what little soup he had left". Since Elie's father was sick he couldn't get food, so Elie gave him some of his rations even though he had little left. In the concentration camps, food was all you had so giving up food was a great act. Some might say that giving up his food could hurt his chances for survival, but