Symbolism In Elie Wiesel's Night

During World War II, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi controlled concentration camps abducted millions of European Jews and were responsible for the deaths of over 6 million people. For those who survived, they were left with extreme physical and emotional scars that would never fade. In Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night, he reveals the heartbreaking backstory of the Holocaust and the traumatizing effects it had on him, which left him comparing himself to a corpse after liberation. Elie Wiesel’s mirror reflection is that of a corpse at the end of his memoir, Night, because of the immense loss he experiences during the Holocaust.

Throughout the memoir, readers witness the loss of Elie Wiesel’s will to live. By doing this, he does not feel any obligation

They are unwillingly put in the way of harm when they are placed in these camps. Elie is seen facing numerous obstacles while trying to survive this horrific experience, but the violence he encounters is the biggest obstacle. He describes his Kapo, Idek, and how he often beats Jews for unknown reasons and how, “One day Idek was seized with one of his fits of frenzy, I got in his way. He leapt on me, like a wild animal, hitting me in the chest, on the head, throwing me down and pulling me up again, his blows growing more and more violent, until I was covered with blood," (50). It is exemplified how Elie and the prisoners face harsh abuse on a daily basis, causing them extreme pain and emotional damage. He spent his entire stay in the camps experiencing and watching cruel punishments and constant death. Pain and trauma are therefore formed from the abuse that has been surrounding him for months. This emotional damage and abuse was experienced by Weisel throughout his whole stay, especially when he first arrived. He had witnessed horrific punishments being forced upon the Jews, and specifically describes: “Babies! Yes, I saw it- saw it with my own eyes... Those children in the flames. (Is it surprising that I could not sleep after that? Sleep had fled my eyes)," (30). Witnessing this extreme measure that young children were being put through scarred Elie for the rest of his life. He could no longer sleep and was emotionally traumatized from the troubles that he saw. The Holocaust caused pain for Elie by watching everyone who lived among him disappear and die in front of his eyes. When Wiesel explains the corpse looking back at him through the mirror, he is referring to a man who had experienced such pain and could no longer be recognised. By enduring these tortures,