How Is The Book Night Dehumanized

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The book Night, told by Elie Wiesel, describes a tragic story about a boy who is no more than 15. He and his father were taken away by Nazi troops who had invaded their town. Elie, his father, and many other men are on the verge of death in the concentration camp. One of the most significant changes in the relationship between the father and son. Many of the prisoners were dehumanized in many ways, and these are just some of the ways the prisoners were treated as if they were not human. First, many Jews had to wear a yellow star so the Nazis could tell them apart. This is dehumanizing because the Jews no longer were treated as actual humans. These stars meant they were to be stripped of all their fortune and they could never leave their houses. …show more content…

This number is now their new name. The guards refer to them as their numbers and remove their identities. This is dehumanizing because they no longer have their own identity, they are all the same. This causes many prisoners to start to lose any hope left of getting out of the concentration camp. Third, many prisoners were starved.The Nazis would only give the Jews black coffee, soup, and a piece of bread a day. This was enough just to keep them alive.“I was terribly hungry” (42). The Jews only thought about the hunger they felt. “The bread, the soup–those were my entire life” (52). Elie was only worried about his daily ration of bread and soup. He didn't care about anything else but food. Last, the Jews were beaten for anything done wrong.An additional way the Nazis dehumanized the Jews was by beating them. The Nazis beat the Jews in many different ways. They whip them, hit them, or just kill them. “Hungarian police used their rifle butts, their clubs to indiscriminately strike old men and women, children, and cripples” (16). They would treat the Jews like they were not human, and like they were animals. They didn't have any sympathy for the old or the young. “I no longer felt anything except the lashes of the whip” (57). Eli didn't feel anything after being whipped. He didn’t care enough to acknowledge the pain. He was numb to