In a time where a trauma, calamity, or another kind of unfortunate event is evident or even expected, it is often said that waiting is the hardest part. In a time where death is constantly just around the corner, the most difficult challenge one must brave is to know it will eventually happen, but never know precisely when. In Elie Wiesel’s Night, he employs the motif of selection day in order to depict the constant primitivism and viciousness of the Holocaust as a whole, conveying a tone of desperation as Elie struggles to conserve the unbreakable bond he and his father share, with the fear of getting separated looming just behind. Wiesel employs the motif of the berating and relentless selection process to demonstrate the endless pattern …show more content…
This mindset is reflected in Elie when he goes through one of the more beginning selections, noting that the SS soldiers acted “as if it were a game”, and that the end result had people “[standing] apart, abandoned by the whole world” (Wiesel 53). The fact that the soldiers treat such horrors as a sort of game reflects just how barbaric it is, offering somewhat of a twisted take on being able to choose who lives or dies. Through the motif of selection, Wiesel also depicts the toll it takes out of people when referencing his old friend Akiba Drumer, who “felt the first cracks forming in his faith, and [he] had begun to die” (Wiesel 56), causing him to be “condemned in advance” (Wiesel 57). Selection works with all the men – Akiba Drumer included – by taking pieces away from who they are, until there’s little to nothing left to depend on. In doing this, the Holocaust is shed in a gruesome and horrific light, contributing to a person’s loss of identity, sanity, and even humanity