How Does Elie Wiesel Change Throughout The Book Night

During the Holocaust, over eleven million people were killed with six million being Jewish people. Elie Wiesel tells his horrific story in his memoir Night. He tells us about his shocking experiences during the Holocaust with his father from the perspective of when he was fifteen. Even though Elie was very fortunate to survive the Holocaust, he did not leave unscathed. Author Elie Wiesel undergoes drastic physical, emotional, and spiritual changes throughout his ordeal. First, Elie experiences many physical changes. Elie unwillingly receives a tattoo and gets his head shaved. On the first day as a prisoner in Auschwitz, Elie and the others are branded. Elie declares, “The three ‘veteran’ prisoners, needles in hand, tattooed numbers on our

Elie becomes desensitized to violence. When Elie and his Father are working in the warehouse, Idek is furious and decides to take out his anger on Elie's father. Elie says, "And he began beating him with an iron bar. At first, my father simply doubled over under the blows, but then he seemed to break in two like an old tree struck by lightning" (54). Because Elie has witnessed and been through so much violence, he does not even react when he witnesses his father being beaten. Next, Elie experiences overarching fear. When Elie’s father gets beaten. Elie does not help his father because he is scared about getting beat. Elie says, “I stood petrified. What had happened to me? My father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked”(39). Before, Elie would have not let that happen. Since he knows that he will be beaten, he is scared to help his dad. Finally, Elie becomes depressed to the point of suicidal thoughts. When the prisoners were running away, Elie thought about ending his suffering. Elie states, “The idea of dying, of ceasing to be, began to fascinate me. To no longer exist. To no longer feel the pain of my foot. To no longer feel anything, neither fatigue nor cold, nothing. To break rank, to let myself slide to the side of the road …”(86). Elie has experienced so much pain. He thinks that dying would be a relief. This shows how depressed he has been and how he just wants to let go of it

Elie begins to question God and is furious at him. When Elie and his father are heading for the crematorium, Elie’s father celebrates God. This makes Elie furious. Elie says, “For the first time I felt anger rise inside me. Why should I sanctify his name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?” (33). Elie is mad at his dad for celebrating God because God is silent. He thinks that God is letting all of this happen and questions his judgment. In addition, Elie feels abandoned by God. On the Eve of Rosh Hashanah Elie feels abandoned by God but feels that he is stronger than before. Elie says, “My eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God, without man. Without love or mercy. I was nothing but ashes now, but I felt myself to be stronger than this Almighty to whom my life had been bound for so long.” (68). Elie who used to be religious now thinks that God is not in his world anymore. He feels stronger because he is not bound by God anymore. Finally, Elie rebels against God. On Yom Kippur, Elie decides to eat instead of fasting as a rebellion against God. Elie declares, “I no longer accepted God’s silence. As I swallowed my ration of soup, I turned that act into a symbol of rebellion, of protest against Him” (69). Elie is tired of believing in God. He should be fasting on Yom Kippur but instead eats his rations. This is an action