The novel Night is a memoir written by Elie Wiesel. The novel takes place in various concentration camps. Elie Wiesel and his father, Shlomo Wiesel, are the two main characters of Night. Elie, his father, and all the other Jews trapped in the concentration camps face dehumanization by the Nazis. Throughout the novel, Elie Wiesel’s view of God changes and affects his identity. His views of God change and affect his identity when he is studying the Talmud, when he refuses to bless God’s name, and prays to God in spite of losing his faith. To begin with, Elie’s identity revolves around his faith. Elie studies his religion in the town of Sighet. The novel states, “By day I studied Talmud and by night I would run to the synagogue to weep over the destruction of the Temple” (Wiesel 3). This indicates how Elie values his religion and is driven to learn and study more aspects of his faith. The quote shows how his life revolves around his strong belief because he only does activities that relate to his religion. At the novel's beginning, Elie does not doubt God. He has a profound faith and seeks to learn more.
In addition, later in the novel, Elie begins to lose his faith and
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Elie has just heard a tale of a son betraying his father and prays to God to help him never cross his father after not believing in God for a long time. The author tells the reader, “And in spite of myself, a prayer formed inside me, a prayer to this God in whom I no longer believed” (Wiesel 91). This reveals that despite Elie losing all his faith in God, he recognizes he’s at his weakest and prays to God to help him. He turns to God at the moment he believes he needs him most. Elie’s decision to pray is a significant turning point in Elie’s identity. His decision to pray is a sign that he is starting to regain his faith and identity because he went from having no belief in God to calling out to God for