Transformative Relationships in Wiesel's 'Night'

Relationships Grow and Change In the memoir "Night," Elie Wiesel shares the most horrific and dehumanizing experience of his life as he tells of his survival of the Holocaust. The memoir follows the changes and challenges of the young Jewish teenager and his community during the Holocaust. In 1941, Elie is a young naïve boy whose sole focus is his religious studies; his father is a well-respected pillar of the community. Adolf Hitler’s desire to eradicate the Jewish race brings about the Holocaust which changes everything. What seems so important before the Holocaust no longer seems to matter. The dehumanization of the Holocaust strips the basic fundaments of life away changing everything in its path, including the relationship of a young

Elie describes his father as “a cultured man, rather unsentimental. He rarely displayed his feelings, not even within his family, and was more involved with the welfare of others than with that of his own kin” (Wiesel 4). Elie’s two older sisters help in the family store but Elie’s place is identified as in the house of study. Even though his father has a store to oversee his place seems to be more of a pillar of the community. According to Wiesel, “The Jewish community of Sighet held him in highest esteem; his advice on public and even private matters was frequently sought” (Wiesel 4). Elie stays busy with his studies and his father preoccupied with community obligations the relationship between the two seems distant at

All the while Elie’s father is still sought after as a vital link of communication and encouragement within the ghetto community. Elie becomes more and more aware of his father’s influence throughout this time. Elie recalls “prominent members of the community came to consult with my father… they wanted to know what he thought of the situation” (Wiesel 11). His father seems to remain optimistic, even if only to not dampen the hopes