Night, By Elie Wiesel: Character Analysis

Throughout life many people are put into unavoidable situations where they must make a decision that has a great impact on the rest of their life. In many of these circumstances the choices are unavoidable and are often resulting in no win situations, leaving them as choiceless choices. In the book Night, by Elie Wiesel, the main character and author, Elie, is put through many tough decision making opportunities as he was a survivor of the holocaust. He experiences several different events leading up to decisions he must make about himself. The decisions he faced would leave a lasting effect on his family. His survival was dependent on choices for his physical and mental survival. All of these choices lead to an emotional journey as he takes

This is why Elie and his father found themselves being escorted into a concentration camp without Elie’s mother or two sisters. The men were concerned and anxious about the fate that awaited them. As they entered the camp the two were approached by another man, “‘Hey, kid, how old are you?” The man interrogating me was an inmate. I could not see his face, but his voice was weary and warm. “Fifteen.” “No. You’re eighteen.” “But I’m not,” I said “I’m fifteen.” “ Fool. Listen to what I say” (30). At this moment Elie was confused about why he should lie about his age. He decided he should trust the inmate's advice hoping this would benefit him at the camp. Elie soon figured out that those that were older would be sent to work. Choosing to state that he was older resulted in Elie being with his father and not being targeted by the guards because of his age. This split second decision made by Elie contributed to the results of his time at the camp. Even though he endured many hardships including beatings and torture he was thankful to be in the same space as his

Elie’s father was weak and frightened. Elie’s worry of his father mentally and physically giving up leads to his need to point out what has happened to others as they pass many corpses but all his father states is, “‘I see, my son. I do see them. Let them sleep. They haven’t closed an eye for so long… They’re exhausted… exhausted…”’ (105) His father is so close to giving in to death, but Elie does everything to keep encouraging him along the way. Elie eventually is exhausted by the motivation he has to provide to his father and wishes for his inevitable death allowing Elie to focus on his own survival. He regrets this wish and feels ashamed for thinking of the only family he has left as a burden. He is able to refocus during these times of frustration, and he continues to care for his father until he passes