Shattered And Broken In Elie Wiesel's 'Night'

Mason Lane Ms. Mitchell English Language Arts 10 April 2024 Shattered and Broken Elie Wiesel’s book Night tells about his experiences and memories as a Jew in the Holocaust from 1941 to 1945. It follows his life in the ghettos and concentration camps. Wiesel was only 12 when his family first got taken to a camp, and he endured the harassment until he was 16 years old. As the novel goes on he changes from a faith-filled, spirited child to a faithless, broken-hearted adult who constantly cares for his dad, Chlomo Wiesel, because he is his main motivation.

Elie Wiesel was a young and very caring person. Throughout the book, he cares for his dad and others while also struggling with himself. One example of him caring for his father is in chapter

They motivate each other to keep going whenever they want to give up. Later in the book he gives him advice, saying: "Don't let yourself be overcome by sleep, Eliezer. It's dangerous to fall asleep in the snow. You might sleep for good. Come on, come on, come on. Get up.” (Wiesel 79 ). Chlomo says this because he doesn’t want his son to give up, he wants him to persevere through the hard times. This gives Elie motivation to keep going and not stop so he doesn’t die in the snow. Another example is when he leaves his father in the snow for the night, Elie says: “I fought my way to the coffee cauldron like a wild beast. And succeeded in bringing back the cup. I took one gulp. . The rest was for him ” ( Wiesel 93 ). Elie loves and cares for his dad and was willing to be in a line of hungry and thirsty people to get food and coffee for his dad. This evidence supports that his dad gives him motivation by showing us what he says and does. Shlomo also sometimes gives his rations to Elie. His father gives him advice and supports him throughout the book. Again, as the memoir moves on, we see him changing from a faithful young-hearted child to a shattered, fully matured man. The only reason he made it through is because he and his father cared for and motivated each other. This impacts his life because he will never forget how he got tortured and harassed because of his heritage. Being willing to help his father and others could be a reason he lasted through his years at camps. And to end here's one last quote from Elie Wiesel, he says: “No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior.” He might have gotten out alive, but his soul was shattered and