Sarah's Key And Night Comparison

The Holocaust, one of the darkest points in human history, has left an immense impact on the world and how we view situations as a whole. A countless number of books, stories, and movies have developed from the holocaust. Memoir’s such as Night by Elie Weisle and movies such as Sarah’s Key directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner both explore the tragedy. While both works address the horrors of the Holocaust, they differ in their approaches to storytelling and the perspectives from which the events are presented. While "Night" is a memoir on the account of one survivor's experiences in concentration camps, Sarah's Key is a fictionalized movie that focuses on the impact of the Holocaust on future generations.

One key difference between Night and Sarah's

In the beginning of the story, Elie goes through traumatic experiences with questioning his religion and even contemplating suicide. Elie speaks out by stating, “That's what I wanted to do. To scream out, to cry out—to die. But I no longer had the strength to do so. I was alone. Alone in a world of men without God, without love, or mercy." Looking further into this quote, Elie feels that God, love, and mercy is not present in the situation he is dealing with. Furthermore, the cruel treatment that Elie receives that dehumanizes not only Elie but everyone else in the concentration camps is significant in the text. Elie and the others are dehumanized by the Nazis numbering them, forcing them to eat poor food, and making them wear the same clothing. Elie explains, "Their registration number is tattooed on their left arm. We too had become numbers. I had ceased to be Elie Wiesel, prisoner A-7713, but I felt more strongly than ever. My identity had been erased in favor of the barracks in which I slept, the camp in which I worked." This quote highlights the dehumanizing process of labeling numbers on prisoners in the concentration camps. Elie's identity is reduced to a number, symbolizing the loss of his individuality and humanity, and emphasizing the cruel and impersonal treatment of the prisoners by the

The story revolves around two different narratives, one set in 1942 and the other in 2009, eventually merging in the end. The past narrative follows the fate of a young girl named Sarah, who is arrested with her family during the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup in Paris and struggles to protect her younger brother by locking him in a closet before being taken away. The present narrative follows a journalist named Julia, who is investigating the roundup for an article and uncovers a connection between Sarah's story and her own family. As a modern-day journalist, Julia is initially detached from the historical events she is researching, but as she uncovers more about Sarah's story, she begins to feel a personal connection to it. She becomes increasingly invested in the fate of Sarah and her family, and her investigation ultimately leads her to confront her own family history and identity. This illustrates how the legacy of the Holocaust continues to resonate in the lives of subsequent generations, shaping their sense of self and their understanding of the