Night Elie Wiesel And His Father's Relationship

Daniel Steiner
Honors English 9
Sperlazzo
3 April 20234/3/23
Night
The relationship between a father and son is an almost unbreakable bond that can withstand intense hardship. This theme is central in Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night. Wiesel writes about his experiences in the Holocaust and how his strong relationship with his father, Shlomo, allowed him to survive and allowed his father to live longer than he otherwise would have. Wiesel and his father’s actions demonstrate that during a time of crisis, familial bonds transcend personal needs, and serve as a source of strength. Wiesel’s and his father’s experiences together are a central part of the book. When the book begins, Wiesel is just a young boy in the Jewish town of Sighet, Hungary, where

On the march to Buchenwald, the prisoners stop at a town along the way. There, Shlomo watches Wiesel rest, making sure that Wiesel does not sleep too long and die. Wiesel describes the toll that Shlomo’s actions take on Shlomo. He writes, “When I woke up, a frigid hand was tapping my cheeks. I tried to open my eyes: it was my father. How he had aged since last night! His body was completely twisted, shriveled up into himself. His eyes were glazed over, his lips parched, decayed. Everything about him expressed total exhaustion.” (Wiesel 88). Wiesel’s description of Shlomo’s “twisted” body, wrinkled skin, glazed over eyes, and parched lips, conveys the image of Shlomo as a corpse. Shlomo is in dire circumstances. He is in very poor physical health. He is exhausted, and he scarcely resembles a person anymore. Despite his own condition, and at the sacrifice of his own health, he still watches over Wiesel. Shlomo’s selflessness demonstrates the incredible strength of the bond between father and son. Wiesel’s survival gives Shlomo a reason to live despite the brutal conditions he has to

On the long and frigid walk to Buchenwald, Shlomo gets sick with what we later find out is dysentery. Despite his father’s illness, which is a death sentence in the concentration camps, Wiesel continues to care for him in Buchenwald. For example, Wiesel writes: “FOR A RATION OF BREAD I was able to exchange cots to be next to my father.” (Wiesel 108). Wiesel is willing to give up his meager rations even though he understands it lowers his own chance of survival. He recognizes that being next to his father is the only thing he can do to prolong his father’s life and that his survival is the only thing keeping his father going. While his father eventually succumbs to dysentery, Wiesel's presence extended and enhanced Shlomo’s last