Negative Effects Of Adversity On Identity

Sara Steckly

Mrs. Brennan

ENG 2D

18/05/18

The Transformative Effects of Adversity on Identity "Can this be true? This is the twentieth century, not the Middle Ages. Who would allow such crimes to be committed? How could the World remain silent?“ (Wiesel, 118). Elie Wiesel made this statement during his acceptance speech of his Nobel Peace Prize, referencing his initial reaction to the Holocaust. At that point in time, Wiesel was too young to grasp the depths of how adversity has the ability to expose traits that in times of prosperity would have remained dormant. Throughout his autobiographical memoir Night, Wiesel inadvertently explains how the changes he experienced such as his loss of faith, loss of family values and his overall outlook

In doing so, he inadvertently demonstrates how even traditional values instilled at a young age can be tainted by trauma.

From a very early age, children are taught to depend on their parents and family to protect and provide them with a sense of comfort and support. The loving bond of a family allows one to overcome challenging obstacles and tragedies, based on the everlasting knowledge that one always has a caring and nurturing foundation they can rely on. Unfortunately, extreme political and violent climates can cause one’s faith in the value and importance of family to falter. During the Holocaust, Jewish families were torn apart, faced off against each other, and exterminated on a daily basis. The mistreatment of such a large population caused family members to lose empathy for one another and to solely focus on themselves and their own survival. The idea of familial betrayal is first introduced to Night by the Blockälteste. As he describes the concentration camps to Elie, “In this place, it is every man for himself, and you cannot think of others. Not even your father. In this place there is no such thing as a father, brother, friend. Each of us lives and dies alone” (110). This demonstrates how the sheer trauma of a mass genocide

Elie Wiesel surveyed concentration camps for nearly two years. Through this intense experience of dehumanization, Elie was subjected to deprivation of basic human requirements. As the veterans explain, “No water, no blankets, less soup and bread. At night we slept almost naked and the temperature was thirty below” (70). The trauma experienced as a result of being abused for years on end has an everlasting effect that no amount of time could possibly erase. This is shown through Elie’s actions after the liberation of his camp. He writes, “Our first act as free men was to throw ourselves onto the provisions. We thought only of that. Not of revenge, not of our families. Nothing but bread” (109). This quote shows how the brutality of the holocaust warped Elie’s personality to that of a savage animal, it’s the only motivator being the instinct to survive. This development in his character demonstrates how Elie’s strength abled him to physically overcome Nazi cruelty to live through malnutrition, torture, and sorrow. Even as emotionally, he was failing, losing pieces of his empathy and sensitivity to the point where he could not cry for his dead father. In order to survive these labor camps, Wiesel had to sacrifice parts of his personality for physical strength. By doing whatever he needed to so he could survive, Wiesel’s identity had truly changed in the concentration