Reflective Essay On The Book Night

The Holocaust took place during WWII; during this time, it was Adolph Hitler’s goal to destroy the Jewish people. Six million Jews were killed during this time. With all being killed, there were some who survived the brutal concentration camps. Within these survivors was a man named Elie Wiesel. In his autobiography Night, Wiesel shares his experiences as a Jewish teenager in one of the Nazi concentration camps. Wiesel’s purpose of writing this book was to educate people about the hardships and brutality that the Jews went through during the early 1940s. This book was written to honor those who died, while also being that voice for the ones who survived. In Night, the characters and symbols serve a specific purpose to achieve the theme of loss

The word night ties in with darkness. Darkness, or the absence of light, is used in the book to convey the absence of self, love, peace, happiness, faith, and strength, which were all what the Jewish people lost during the Holocaust. Wiesel’s purpose for using this symbol was to provide the reader with a better understanding of the fear that he felt during his time in the concentration camps. In the Night, Wiesel says “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever.” (32) This quote pertains to his first night in camp, the night that changed his life forever. Night is a great symbol that coveys Elie Wiesel’s concentration camp experience because it is written with such detail that it helps us see the horrors of his experiences in an emotional way. Along with the connotation of night as loss, this also includes the loss of faith, another major theme of the