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Inhumanity In Night By Elie Wiesel

1018 Words5 Pages

In the memoir Night (1956), Elie Wiesel narrates that the inhumanity and cruelty the prisoners endured from the Germans inspire both savagery and nobility of spirit within them. Wiesel develops his claim by describing his personal experiences and the conditions in the concentration camp and by illustrating the emotions of the fellow prisoners around him. He provides his readers with these examples in order to make sure that the reader knows the hardships that the prisoners went through during the Holocaust and to justify the reactions of the many prisoners that he was surrounded by. Wiesel addresses this memoir to anyone in the future generations to certify the fact that the events of the Holocaust will never be forgotten. Wiesel develops this …show more content…

In one instance, A French girl who worked alongside Elie helped bring his spirits up after he was attacked by Idek, one of the Kapos in charge. The French girl witnessed Elie being attacked and she risked her life by telling Elie, “‘Bite your lips, little brother… Don’t cry. Keep your anger, your hate, for another day, for later. The day will come but not now… Wait. Clench your teeth and wait…’” (53). Nobody at the camp knew she could speak German but she had the courage to speak to Elie and help out in any way possible. Another example of Nobility of spirit being inspired is shown in the quote “He was playing a fragment of a Beethoven concerto. Never before had I heard such a beautiful sound” (95). Elie says this about Juliek, a young man from Warsaw who played the violin. Juliek had courage amidst the chaos to play one last song and die doing the one thing he loved. He brought peace to both the living and the dead that surrounded him. He knew that he was going to die doing this but he did it anyway to also bring peace to himself and to live his final moments to the fullest. These two examples fall under the category of a sudden character revelation because they gave Elie hope and a reason to keep fighting everyday. It also made him realize that there were still good people out

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Elie witnessed the most tragic events ever recorded in history, Elie lost hope in humanity along the way but he was one of very few to survive. “I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I was out of tears,” (Wiesel 112). Elie had been dramatized by the things he had witnessed he didn’t have any tears or fear left in him.

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Finally Franek keep picking at Elie not until he broke. “ That day, Franek burst into savage laughter : ‘ I knew it, I knew that I would win…’ “ ( Page 56 ). This ultimately shows that with Franek and the Kapos Elie got mental damage with all going on in his life/ being in the concentration camp. It most likely give Elie post traumatic stress order and that is not good for anyone.

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(Wiesel 31) Elie luckily doesn’t end up killing himself in this moment, however, the thoughts that occur in his head are relevant. He plans to resist the Nazis by attempting to determine his own fate instead of being gassed or burned alive. The internal conflict of this situation causes great emotion from Elie as he goes from shocked to panicked as his heart begins to race because he is about to face death at age fifteen. The sharp contrast from where he was in his home days ago to his current situation causes Elie to mature greatly.

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I had watched and kept silent. Only yesterday, I would have dug my nails into this criminal’s flesh” (Wiesel 39). During the short duration of camp, Elie became a bystander and would not even stand up for his own father getting struck. However, when Elie and his father arrive in Birkenau,

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1260 Words | 6 Pages

This french girl showed Elie kindness, which was very hard to show, in the midst of the grueling conditions of the working camp. The French girl, Elie later learned was a Jew that had false papers and passed as an Aryan. This secret allowed

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868 Words | 4 Pages

(Weisel, 23) This quote reveals the unlikable trait of selfishness Elie inhabited near his arrival to Auschwitz. Proving Weisel’s theme of one’s duty to tell their story despite how difficult it may

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Imagine being a young 15 year old boy barely fed, dehydrated and at a camp that was created for the purpose of killing thousands of people and immediately once you arrive losing your mother and sister. Elie shows extreme mental strength during this event, rather than trying to stop it from happening

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When he focused on survival, he no longer had any tears to give. The fight causes Elie to rid himself of all emotions and forget a connection with his father. This is wrong to forget your feeling of compassion, because it pains Elie that he could not cry for his father. Focusing on your own survival makes you forget compassion for those you

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641 Words | 3 Pages

Sometimes the breaking of a solemn vow,will be the end of pain and a release of the past. In Night written by Elie Wiesel,he writes an account of his experience with the Holocaust after breaking a ten-year vow of silence he placed upon himself regarding the event. In the novel,Wiesel describes the travesties and horror he had to undergo throughout the discourse of the Holocaust. During Wiesel's experience we learn of his deep struggle to retain faith,to maintain his connection with his father,and to understand the corruption of others. When the illuminating incident of the death of Elie's father occurs, a new found understanding in faith,inhumanity,and family is portrayed which expresses to the reader the message contained within the novel.

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782 Words | 4 Pages

Elie was held captive in concentration camps from 1944-1945. During his time in the concentration camps, he became grateful for what he had, overcame countless obstacles, and more importantly kept fighting until he was free. [The Holocaust is very important to learn about because it can teach you some important life lessons.] You should always be grateful for what you have, no matter what the circumstances are. This lesson can be learned when Elie says, “After my father’s death, nothing could touch me any more”(109).

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688 Words | 3 Pages

The audience is made sympathetic to his upbringing by invoking this reminiscence, which grabs their interest. “There was no joy in his heart”. The implication in this quotation is that, despite having become stronger in certain ways, the tragedy would not have made him the man he was at the time. Afterwards, Elie compliments Bill Clinton “Commander and Chief of the army that freed me, and tens of thousands of others” and Mrs. Clinton is thanked for her efforts to help (Wiesel)” But after that, Elie accuses the government of being indifferent during World War II by literally calling them out.

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When Elie was thinking back to his concentration camp days, he states, “Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live” (Wiesel 37). This quote shows how Elie was affected after he was kidnapped and was enslaved by the Nazis. In doing so, he lost

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585 Words | 3 Pages

One terrible moment for Elie in the book was when he him and his family arrived at Auschwitz and he was separated from him mother and his sister forever. “Yet that was the moment when I parted from my mother. I had not had time to think, but already i felt the pressure of my mother and my sister moving away to the right… And I didn't not know that in that place at that moment I was parting from my mother and Tzipora forever” (22).

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In Night as they were running to another camp Elie did not care for a friend he left behind. Also there was a time an old man and his child had fought over a piece of bread and his son had killed him. Even though didn’t lost their life they repeatedly lost themselves their state of mind. The fear of losing their life drove them on the edge to do anything losing what matters most state of mind however state of mind was

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991 Words | 4 Pages

One of those situations is when his father is getting yelled at and disciplined. Elie felt guilty as he did nothing to stop the officer and realized how much he had changed. He depicts this moment in his book when he says,“I had not even blinked… Only yesterday I would have dug my nails into the criminals flesh”(pg39 Wiesel). This is showing how Elie's time in the concentration camp has already taken a toll on his identity and how that change in identity can be found through his guilt in his hesitation to protect his father.

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