Night Inhumanity Analysis

In chapters 4 to 6 in the novel, “Night”, Elie Wiesel and his father continue to suffer in the grasp of the Germans. Eventually, all the Jews are moved to a new work camp, Buna, where they are overworked and undernourished, and resort to killing each other for pieces of bread. In his old home, Elie had never experienced brutality and inhumanity within it. Now, Elie and other Jews witness extreme violence and an absence of mercy that begins to erode their mental state; bringing most men to animalistic tendencies. In chapter 4, the Jews arrive in Buna. Inhumanity can be immediately shown when the Kapos appear and choose men that they like, “‘You… you … you …’ They pointed their fingers, the way you might choose cattle, or

The first is a rebellious teenager who stole soup during the air raid. He tells the Kapo that he does not want to be blindfolded, “The Kapo wanted to blindfold the youth, but he refused,” (pg.62). And before he is hanged, “... the latter shouted, in a strong and calm voice: ‘Long live liberty! My curse on Germany!... ‘“ Although inhumanity is shown in forcing all the prisoners to look at the youth, the Jews are filled with a new sort of hope. They feel they can rise above their oppressors and claim back their freedom. Elie notes after the hanging, the “... soup tasted better than ever,” (pg.63). But in the last hanging described in the book, another boy is convicted, the pipel. He is hung, but he doesn’t have enough weight to support the noose, and he struggles for over half an hour, “But the third rope was still moving: the child, too light, was still breathing… And so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death, writhing before our eyes. And we were forced to look at him close range.” (pg.65). This hanging is the pinnacle of inhumanity within ‘Night’. A young boy, who is stripped of all innocence, dies painfully and slowly on the gallows for something he might not have even done. A man, even asks, “‘For God’s sake, where is God?’” (pg.65), only for Elie to respond, “And from inside me, I heard a voice answer: ‘Where He is? This is where-

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jews gathered in silence, worshiping God. Elie is in shock that they still praise Him despite the terrible things they have endeavored. He even goes into lengths to say, “Praised be Thy Holy Name, for having chosen us to be slaughtered on Thine altar?,” (pg. 67) and he even begins to think about how man is truly greater than God, “And I, the former mystic, was thinking: Yes, man is stronger, greater than God. When Adam and Eve deceived You, You chased them from paradise… But look at these men whom You have betrayed, what do they do? They pray before You! They praise Your name!,” (pg.68) because of all the horrors and mistreatment Elie has endured, like witnessing infants being thrown into the trenches, “... Children thrown into the flames,” (pg.32), and watching his father being slapped, “... he slapped my father with such force that he fell down and then crawled back to his place on all fours,” (pg.39), his faith is distinguished. This contrasts to the beginning of the book where Eliezer says he cannot imagine a world without God, “Why do I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?,” (pg. 5). This contrast makes the reader think a great deal, and maybe challenges their own thoughts on God from how powerful the situation is; these inhumane things are being done so frequently, that it forces people like the Jews to revert to a