Loss Of Faith In Elie Wiesel's Night

Grace Hammack

Mrs. Gibson

English I

1 March 1, 2023

Elie Wiesel Essay

In today’s present time, the world is full of hate and crime. If someone were to turn on the news and listen, all someone would hear is depressing issues such as killings, shootings, and war. On the news, there is nothing mentioned about God, nothing mentioned about hope. This is the reason why dreadful and woeful actions happen because everybody is turning towards the negative points in life and has nothing positive to look forward to, they don’t have hope nor God. In Elie’s early teenage years he was an extremely religious person. Going to the Synagogue and wanting to study the Torah. As the Nazi’s captured Elie and his father and forced them into a concentration

As a young teenager Elie started to be surrounded by darkness, even though it was daylight outside. Elie couldn’t distinguish between light and darkness. The darkness that Elie's surrounded by manifests the hardships that he faced during his time in the concentration camp. Elie is surrounded by darkness because he has immense encounters with death. In the book he states, “I'll run into the electric barbed wire. That would be easier than a slow death in the flames” (Weisel 33). He also states, “Everything had to be handed over to the authorities, under penalty of death” (Weisel 11). The Jews would die if they ever did anything they weren’t supposed to do, even if they moved a little or were found out of the area it would cost them their life. He also states his experience with a woman gone mad while riding in the cattle car, “ ‘Look! Look at this fire! This terrible fire! Have mercy on me!’ Some pressed against the bars to see. There was nothing. Only the darkness of night” (Weisel 25). Elie put this in the book for a reason, this symbolizes the Jews that were killed being cremated, a symbol of death. The people in these camps would do anything if it would get them out of the hell they were put

Elie couldn’t see the light anymore. He lost all his innocence being faced by a violent world outside of his home. He was surrounded by darkness and death. Elie was waiting for death to eventually consume him. He often questioned God why he would do this to the people he loved and were special to him, to where he became an atheist. He lost all faith in his God. He rarely prayed, he didn’t fast nor follow Jewish holidays as a sign to rebel against God. Elie lost his father, was separated from his mother and siblings, and saw the annihilation of millions of innocent