Analysis Of Elie Wiesel's Souls On Fire

Elie Wiesel was a Jewish writer and a holocaust survivor. By capturing his trials facing one of the ugliest times in humanity’s history, he was able to show the world how his hope in Jehovah never wavered. In his book, “Souls on Fire” he introduces the Hasidic masters of Eastern Europe and allows us to explore the way he identified with them. Through his book, he allows us to see that the duty of the Hasidic master is to create a bridge between followers and the Almighty. This essay’s purpose is to focus on who influenced his voice as a storyteller and how he carried the theme of faith throughout his book.
It takes a certain kind of voice to connect an audience to a story, and Wiesel was able to gain that voice from the relationship he carried

with his father and grandfather. Wiesel highlights this relationship in his dedication page by saying, “My father, an enlightened spirit, believed in man. My grandfather, a fervent Hasid, believed in God. The one taught me to speak, the other to sing. Both loved stories. Both loved stories. And when I tell mine, I hear their voices.” (Souls of fire, 1). His grandfather instilled in him the ability to never let his belief in God waiver, while his father taught him to believe in humanity. Both of these lessons were integral to him surviving the Holocaust for as he described to be a test of his belief in humanity. He ultimately carries on the voices and beliefs of the two generations before him because his book is a testament of faith, and his message is to let others know that even in their darkest times, do not let these times chain you down. Life will carry on, and dark times will come to pass because as he described that despite his faith being consumed by the horrors he endured by the concentration camp, he still managed to triumph and although he survived he was reborn anew.
Throughout the book, the theme of faith has been emphasized to show it’s been changing for Weisel because of his journey. His faith was tested during the holocaust, but it did help him to have hope during that time. He says, “man owes it to himself to reject despair”(Souls of fire, 35). By having faith, it gives you hope that you will get through the most difficult time. For Weisel, having faith not only helped him survive the holocaust, but move on in his life in a positive way with no negative feeling towards anyone. It helped him heal from a traumatic experience. He learned to value the irreplaceable little moments in life because life will never warn you when you can't expect them. Losing his father and grandfather to a place more terrifying than any purgatory described in human tales, attested to this lesson. Through his stories and the memories, he is trying to show that faith can be shaken during bad circumstances, but losing faith will only being negative energy in your life. Although he shared most of beliefs shared by the Hasidic masters, he couldn’t agree on one element due to all the suffering he's been through. “The link between man and his Creator” (Souls of fire, 5). When he was younger he understood Nahman’s stories and the morals it taught him, but the way Nahman has faith in god, Weisel can’t seem to do the same.
In conclusion, Elie Wiesel uses his voice as a storytelling to share his point of view on Hasidism and beliefs. He talks about different Hasidic masters throughout the book, and their ways to create a bridge between the follower and the god. He doesn’t agree with one aspect that man and the Creator are connected.