Examples Of Dehumanization In Elie Wiesel's Night

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Being devalued is so common and easily exploited when one is on another’s turf. In Elie Wiesel’s Night, it depicts the horrific experience Jews face as they are tortured and abused by the Nazis, SS guards and other perpetrators in the concentration camps. To add on, Jews are separated from loved ones, and killed on the spot by officers as if they don't even matter. Even further, they are also forced to work, even in terrible conditions and lack adequate nutrition. Throughout this, the Jews are dehumanized slowly throughout the story by the Nazis treating them like animals, losing them their identities, and threatening them to death if not complying. The Jews get dehumanized by the Nazis because they are treated like animals. An example would be after arriving …show more content…

In losing their hair, they’ve also lost a part of themselves as hair is usually used to symbolize who they are, as well as their social status. Even further, in the afternoon, three “veteran” prisoners tattooed numbers on the new prisoners, with Elizier becoming “A-7713”. From then on, [he] had no other name” (Wiesel 43). This loss of identity depicts dehumanization as the prisoners have lost their name and are replaced with a number, showing them as lesser creatures who are just things. Losing their name also means they lose a sense of who they are, as that is the name that is used to call them. These examples show dehumanization towards the Jews as they themselves would forget who they are and would give in to the fact that they are just not human anymore. Besides being treated like animals and losing their identity, Jews are also threatened with death if they do not comply. This is shown when inside the Gypsy camp, an SS officer gives orders to the prisoners telling them that if they don’t work, they will be sent to “the chimney”. To the crematorium of the sacrament. Work or crematorium- the choice is [theirs]” (Wiesel

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