Symbolism In Night By Elie Wiesel

Losing a game is heartbreaking. Losing your sense of excellence or worth is a tragedy” (Joe Paterno). Tragedy is defined as an "event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident" when Elie went thought the holocaust his way of life and meaning of life dramatically changed for the worst. Elise process of change without World War 2 has shaped his faith, personality and his relationship with his father. Initially, Eliezer’s faith is a product of his studies in Jewish mysticism, which teach him that God is everywhere in the world, that nothing exists without God, that in fact everything in the physical world is an “emanation,” or reflection, of the divine world. In other words, Eliezer has grown

His faith is grounded in the idea that God is everywhere, all the time, that his divinity touches every aspect of his daily life. Since God is good his studies teach him, and God is everywhere in the world, the world must therefore be good. Eliezer’s faith in the goodness of the world is irreparably shaken, however, by the cruelty and evil he witnesses during the Holocaust. He cannot imagine that the concentration camps’ unbelievable, disgusting cruelty could possibly reflect divinity. He wonders how a benevolent God could be part of such hatred and how God could permit such cruelty to take place. His faith is equally shaken by the cruelty and selfishness he sees among the prisoners. But he sees that the Holocaust exposes the selfishness, evil, and cruelty of which everybody not only the Nazis, but also his fellow prisoners, his fellow Jews, even himself is capable. If the world is so disgusting and cruel, he feels, then God either must be disgusting and cruel or must not exist at all. Though this realization seems to annihilate his faith, Eliezer manages to retain some of this faith throughout his experiences. At certain moments during

These conditions cause Elie and his father’s relationship to change. During their time in the concentration camps, Elie and his father experience a reversal in roles. Upon entering the camps, Elie and his father demonstrate a normal father and son relationship. In a normal father son relation, is the father protects and gives advice to the son, and the son is dependant and reliant on the father. Elie and his father demonstrate this relationship to extremes throughout the beginning of their time in the camps. Elie reveals his childlike dependency upon entering the camp. He displays this dependency during first selection, “The baton pointed to the left. I took half a step forward. I first wanted to see where they would send my father. Were he to have gone to the right, I would have run after him” (32). Elie’s determination to stay with his father was constantly present. He showed this determination all the time. Elie reflects on a time in the camp, “My hand tightened its grip on my father. All I could think of was not to lose him. Not to remain alone” (30). Elie also requires his fathers’ protection during their stay in the camps. Unintentionally demanding this protection, Elie remembers, “I kept walking, my father holding my hand” (29). Elie continues to show this need for his fathers presence. Elie’s thoughts and actions reflect his reliance on his father in