Elie Wiesel's Life In The Book Night

The novel Night by Elie Wiesel is a novel about a little boy growing up during the Holocaust. There are many historic and significant situations that developed Elie and thousands of other Holocaust survivors into the way they are today. Three life changing situations Elie witnessed first hand are the way Jews were treated in the camps, how his religion was left behind, and how he handled the death of his father.

One experience that impacted Elie was the way Jews were treated in the camps. The Nazi’s and Hitler took away all their homes, food, education, religion, rights, etc. Hitler and the Nazi’s basically treated the Jews like slaves. They would put Jews to work for hours and hours a day, and give them very little to eat. Most Jews were suffering

from starvation. Two most common ways of death were through starvation, or being forced into a crematorium because of the lack of performance during their work hours. Elie also remembers people fighting and killing one another for scraps of food like bread. For example, a son killed his father for a piece of bread.. “Nobody cared. His son searched him, took the crust of bread, and began to devour it” (101). At the time, the son didn’t realize he killed his father because he was so hungry. Shortly after, two men fought and killed the son for the same piece of bread he had taken from his father.
Another experience that impacted Elie was when he was forced to leave the Jewish religion behind. Just because Hitler didn’t believe in the religion Elie and thousands of other people believed in, didn’t give him the right to mass execute or force work upon them leaving no other option but death. Elie strictly remembers the first night he was put into the camps.. “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed” (34). Almost all of the memories Elie has from the camps are horrific. For instance, he remembers seeing babies and other humans being burned, guards sexually harassing young girls, and other tragic situations no one should ever have to watch. Elie witnessed all of this just because he happened to be jewish. All of these little inhabitants add up in the end causing Elie and the other Jews to forget about their religion and focus on more important things like staying alive.
A third experience that impacted Elie was how he handled the death of his father.

Elie and his father’s relationship were extremely important in the novel because they went through a great deal of events together. Even when Elie’s father became sick, Elie never left his side and tried everything possible to make him better again. For instance, Elie found out a group of prisoners were beating his father, so Elie confronted the men. He ended up promising them a ration of soup and bread for leaving his father alone in return. The men still continued with the beatings. Towards the end of the novel, Elie’s father ends up passing away. This hits Elie hard because of the strong bond the two of them had. Elie slowly begins losing hope in any sort of a future and also starts developing negative, yet depressing attitudes.. “I shall not describe my life during that period. It no longer mattered. Since my father’s death, nothing mattered to me anymore” (113). Elie lost the only family member he had left and at that point, gave up on everything. Months went by and nothing had changed; his attitude stayed the same, and the work became harder. Finally, the Holocaust came to an end and Elie’s attitude started to rise and settle back at normal

level.
Three life changing situations Elie witnessed first hand are the way Jews were treated in the camps, how his religion was left behind, and how he handled the death of his father. Since Elie grew up during the Holocaust, and in between concentration camps, he didn’t get to have a real childhood. This played a huge role on the outcome of his adulthood today. Elie sometimes stumbles upon flashbacks associated with the treatment he got from Nazi guards. Jewish beliefs are appreciated in society today due to the Holocaust and the events that lead up to it taking place. From time to time, Elie thinks about his father but tries to only look back on the positive and confident memories of him. Night has been a very knowledgeable novel to analyze and has taught many life changing lessons.