The Watch Elie Wiesel Analysis

When your brother or sister hits you, you automatically want to hit them back harder or get revenge, right? Elie Wiesel chooses to do the opposite in the story “The Watch.” Elie Wiesel lived in a small religious town, then he was sent to Auschwitz. After being in Auschwitz he was sent to Buchenwald, for his religion. After the war he lived in France, then he moved to the U.S and became a teacher at Boston University. Before the war he buried his watch in his yard and after the war he went back to his old house and unburied his watch. He felt like a thief though so he buried his watch again for the hope someone finds it and has to revisit the past. In “The Watch” by Elie Wiesel decides to leave his watch at his old house to move on, then he

Wiesel states in the story “The Watch,” “In retrospect, I tell myself that probably I simply wanted to leave behind me, underneath the silent soil, a reflection of my presence. Or that somehow I wanted to transform my watch, into an instrument of delayed vengeance…” (224). Another piece of evidence that I found is “I heard distinctly, but as though coming from far away, the tick-tock of the watch I had just buried in accordance with Jewish custom. It was after all, the very first gift that a Jewish child had once been given for his very first celebration.” (224). The third piece of evidence is “I place the watch back into its box, close the cover, and my first gift once more takes refuge deep inside the hole. Using both hands, I smoothly fill in the earth to remove all traces.” (224). These three pieces of evidence all show that the protagonist reburries his watch to leave a part of him behind, and he’s demonstrating that he wants people to remember the Jewish customs. He also, forgives the owners of his house but still wants to remember the past. This evidence connects to my thesis statements because he wants to forgive everyone, but he wants to remember the