Humanity In Elie Wiesel's Cruelty

129 Words1 Pages
The cruelty and hardships Elie experiences brings forth a distrust in humanity. During Elie’s first exposure to the anti-Semitic movement, “all he [feels is] pity”(Wiesel 7). Eli’s reaction exemplifies his progressive severance of relationships to prolong his illusions of hope. Within the “hermetically sealed cattle car”, Elie encounters the “shattered” Mrs. Schachter (24). The insane woman highlights the Jews disgust towards the somewhat inevitable insanity they face. As a result of a constant exposure to brutality, Elie nearly forgets the existence of a standard of humanity, since even the smallest acts of kindness are”judged too humane” (44). As Elie’s situation disintegrates from the stable Sighet to the Nazi concentration camp, he develops