Themes In Night By Elie Wiesel

During the holocaust millions of people were subjected to the inhumane conditions in the concentration camps, where people are brutalized and handled like rodents, people oftentimes put themselves first over others in order to survive. Can families survive, as islands of humanity in a sea of hatred? Or will they be broken up because of selfish acts? Eliezer reports on some terrible incidents in which even the close bond between father and son breaks down because of his instincts to survive. On their way Buchenwald via train, when a man grabs some bread that has been tossed into the cart, his son rips the bread from him and even kills his own father over it, only to be mauled by others. While in Buna he observes a young child beating his father

When the story begins he is a pious youth, very observant of his own religion, as are all the Jews in Sighet. When they are first expelled, they all pray, "Oh, God, Lord of the Universe, take pity upon us in Thy great mercy. . . ." When they arrive at Birkenau, and are told that conditions are good there, they give thanks to God. Even when they first begin to see the horrors of Auschwitz, the older men among them say that they must never lose faith, "even when the sword hangs over your head." But Eliezer soon rebels against this notion. He feels he has nothing to thank God for, and is angry because God appears to be silent in the face of the oppression. He says he will always remember his first night in Auschwitz, "those moments which murdered my God." He ceases to pray, even though others in the camp continue to talk of the mysterious ways of God, the sins of the Jewish people, and their eventual deliverance. Eliezer does not doubt God's existence, but he does doubt His absolute justice. When he sees the child hanging on the gallows, he believes that God Himself is dead. Even though he feels a great void in his heart, he can no longer

So does a rabbi from Poland, who used to pray all the time. He says to Eliezer at Buna, "It's the end. God is no longer with us." The theme of silence has several levels of meaning. The word itself, like "night," appears often in the book. For example, "Suddenly the silence grew oppressive," when an SS officer came into the barracks at Auschwitz. That is meant in the literal sense. But silence has wider meanings too. First, the Jews are a people whose voices are being silenced, one by one, as shown by the hanged child who slowly suffocates-his breath, his voice, is painfully stifled. Second, silence refers to the silence of the world, which stands by and does nothing to help the Jews. "How could it be possible for them to burn people, children, and for the world to keep silent?" asks Eliezer. Third is the silence of God, who does nothing to stop the slaughter: "The Eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All-Powerful and Terrible, was silent. What had I to thank Him for?" Later on, Eliezer believes there is no longer any reason to fast on the Day of Atonement because "I no longer accepted God's silence." Finally, there is the silence of death: "All round me death was moving in, silently, without violence. It would seize upon some sleeping being, enter into him, and consume him bit by