Violence In Elie Wiesel's Night

Physical violence and the trauma from it causes serious psychological effects in teens, just as abuse left Jews in the concentration camps scarred for life, as shown in Elie Wiesel’s book Night. Specifically, things such as rape and being beaten can lead to horrible consequences. Some of these effects are stress induced mental disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), or a loss of self worth.

One of the worst types of physical violence that occurred to the Jews was rape. Rape is defined as “sexual intercourse with a female forcibly and against her will. Attempts to commit rape by force or threat of force are also included (“Sexual Assault and Rape”).” While in the camps, many of the women were raped by the German guards

Teens can develop this type of anxiety if they are under the constant stress of traumatic things such as abuse and rape, as mentioned earlier. Just as teens can develop this, Jews would’ve been highly susceptible to this after witnessing all the horrible things happening around them. In Night, Wiesel saw people being killed everyday. He said how they had to march around and look into the faces of those hanged (Wiesel 62). This exposure to serious violence caused many people to feel such pain and stress that, along with developing a disorder such as PTSD, they may have also lose a sense of

However, even though they are usually not the ones at fault, nothing is ever said about the event. In a report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, it was found that 75 to 77 percent of sexual assaults, attempted rapes, and completed rapes were never reported (“Sexual Assault and Rapes”). Furthermore, the blame of the whole event was never put on the person responsible. Instead, the victim was blamed for not denying the advances, or for not making themselves clearer in their intents(“Sexual Assault and Rapes”). This huge chip to carry often leaves the victims feeling isolated, scared, full of shame, depressed, and with a low self-esteem(“Sexual Assault and Rapes”). Similarly, in the camps during the Holocaust, the Jews there faced so much abuse that they began to lose their sense of identity, especially in what they believed in. Even Wiesel, who was a devout Jew before being encamped, began to lose the worth of his God and religion, as did others in the camps. While imprisoned, Wiesel had to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. This prayer service included praising God, but even Wiesel, who used to spend hours reading Scripture, thought, “Why should I bless Him?”(Wiesel 64) This showed how by seeing all of the abuse around him, Wiesel couldn’t even put faith and hope in the one person he used to be able to. This shows how even the happiest teenagers, or the most devout ones, can be