Fiela's Child By Elie Wiesel

Fiela's Child

A recurring perspective throughout the novel Fiela’s Child is that identity forges an individual’s future by welding their actions. Eventually, the flames scorch multiple people and the sparks ignite into an even larger flame that cannot be reduced until the society has been consumed by the fire and melted into the home of every individual. The theme is supported by several symbols and motifs in the novel which reflect or foreshadow the perspectives of the main characters of the story such as Fiela, Benjamin, and Elias which explains their behavior throughout the story.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Fiela Komoetie is an important asset to the story and mirrors the theme as she proves to be a “snake” in both connotations of the

word. Selling motivates her to “…stoop low, slither through the dust like a snake and you make it easier for yourself.

You can always dust yourself down again afterwards” (Matthee 105). Her identity of being a Colored woman is emphasized by the fact she must belittle herself in order to gain the Magistrate’s approval; her status in society has led to the loss of her son and caused Benjamin to live with the Van Rooyens for the rest of his childhood. Fiela Komoetie is like a snake in the manner in which she protected her family name and, poised to strike, defended her perspective while repeating “Slither, Fiela, and Slither!”(Matthee 151). Her determination to protect her son, and her ambition to keep the family name clean is a representation of human nature and how as humans, one defends the honor associated within them and their family. The comparison of a colored individual to a snake demonstrates how inferior they were made to feel and

how their rank in the social hierarchy forced them to identify themselves as inferior and below to the rest of society. As such that they were not even viewed as individuals to walk beside them, they were forced to grovel beneath them. The use of a snake as a comparison to Fiela also references the biblical archetype where the snake defies God and Fiela also claims “She was angry with God.”(Matthee 106). The use of a snake working against the individual with power is used to demonstrate not only Fiela’s wrath, but the measures she would be willing to take in order to recuperate her Ben.
Benjamin is taken away from his family in the beginning of the novel which leads to an identity crisis demonstrated through his constant migration; he goes from the Long Kloof to the forest, only to go to the sea in the end and become a row man. Yet, he travels to all three locations multiple times after being settled with a position in a boat. The motif of water in the story and how Benjamin reaches it every time he is moving signifies a point in which he is going through a rebirth, such as when he left the Long Kloof and he saw “ A stream of water rushed along beside the road …”(Matthee 71).In this point of the story, Benjamin is on his way to the Magistrate and is ordered multiple times to stop saying Master and become civilized, while the water traveling alongside him represents the changes that will be made to his personality. Another point where he is drenched in his life is when he gets the opportunity to row and ends with “wave after wave broke over the brig’s side, like a giant hand making sure of its prey…Lukas felt the sweat under his shirt and the spray in his face.”(Matthee 328). After this encounter, Lukas emerges as Benjamin as his search for his identity leads to a maze where he feels trapped by his love for his sister despite believing they are related leading to his theory they might not be related after all.“…beaming, and with his wooden boat still dripping wet in his hands, Benjamin stood plain for all to see.”(Matthee 54). This line in the story foreshadows how Benjamin is about to undergo a critical change in his surroundings and begin the process of being identified as a Van Rooyen instead of a Komoetie because of his skin color in the beginning of the story which sets the whole plot into motion.
On the other hand, Elias Van Rooyen is trying to enhance his economic status which he believes will convert him to a more prominent individual.

Thus, it is not his identity as a Van Rooyen he wants to change, but his position in the hierarchy as he wants to increase his reputation in the village. Although one’s identity might seem irrelevant to the amount of money an individual might possess or their place in society, it actually influences how an individual thinks of themselves which makes it a crucial influence in the definition a person. Elias believed that by selling ivory and incrementing his wealth, he could be perceived as better than the woodcutters; He is not only ambitious, but he is also independent in the beginning as he tries to murder an animal that weighs tons and towers over him in height. He creates an ingenious plan that suits his situation as he does not even have the money to acquire a gun to do the job efficiently as the other individuals in the village that trade elephant tusks. He spends the night in the forest, and soon spots the herd of elephants which means “It was his big chance .His alone.”(Matthee 42). Elias tried to alter his luck by killing a baby elephant that represented good fortune and ends up living miserable because of his greed. Ultimately, the act of desperation resulted in his entire family living in poverty and in a mental problem as he then believed he was followed by the elephant’s mom. While being tracked by an elephant does not

seem worrisome, Elias was hurt physically and returned handicapped into the story and what seemed to be a restriction in his mind became an obstacle in his body. By being obsessed in finding wealth, he lead to the damage in his legs which affected his work and the income the family initially had. In the end, the elephant was a paradoxical symbol depicting fortune and greed and how the manner in which people treat it, affects the outcome.
Consequently, Fiela’s drive to recuperate her son challenged the magistrate and affected her life as well as the Komoetie’s daily life. While Benjamin influenced multiple people, his future was dictated by his own torment in figuring out who he truly was and where his place in society truly was. Elias’ desire to upgrade his placement in society ended up consuming his life, mentally and physically. In the end, it was the identity of each individual that created opportunities and conflict whether it was to find a missing piece, find placement in a hierarchy, or replace one’s identity, each situation had its repercussions and rewards, each path had an outcome that branched off to the path of other individuals and yet, it was up to each individual to take the initiative and light the match to shed light on themselves.

Works Cited
Matthee, Dalene. “Fiela’s Child”. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.1986.Print.