“ ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ The gate said as I entered Auschwitz. ‘ I have worked, and now I am free’ I said as I left Auschwitz.” In the book “Night”, you can see the effects of the Holocaust on the mentality of the Jews in concentration camps. Throughout this book the characters change because of the physical and emotional pain they are put through. Elie Wiesel, the author of this book, shows us how much they changed, walking in basically untouched, and walking out with a scarred mind and a weak body. And some come out with their gaze wide and spaced, as if they have been dragged through hell. Shlomo (Elie’s father) changes throughout the book, as well as Ms. Shächter, and Elie himself. The characters were put through so much physical and mental torture that it reflects the realities of the Holocaust well, relating to real holocaust victims.
To start off, Shlomo* Wiesel (also written Chlomo) was Elie’s father, who was with him through almost all of the concentration camp experience. They suffered the same curses, but Shlomo was getting weaker and older gradually so he got beaten for being weak and staying in bed all day. At that point he depended on Elie for water and food, but he was left alone. This shows the reality of the Holocaust because the events were real, this actually took place in the concentration camp. Shlomo ended up dying of starvation and thirst. At the beginning of the book, Elie was the one who depended on Shlomo, as a normal father-son relationship. But as Shlomo grew weaker, and starved and thirsty, he had to depend on Elie because he stayed in bed. He then got beaten. How emotionally scarring must it be to be starved, thirsty, and then beaten because you’re weak? Thus, the physical pain made him unable to fend f...
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...ade Elie so emotionally weak that he blocked out every memory of his dear family, and so physically weak that he stopped carrying his father and decided to drop him like a sack of potatoes, and the worst reality to this is that it really happened.
To sum up, Night shows the realities of the Holocaust by the way the characters were treated in the (non-fiction) book. The Nazi oppression cracked some characters and in addition, the Jews were so physically and emotionally drained that they dropped their burdens and hung on to what they needed most, forcing some major decisions on Elie. Shachter held on to her visions and let go of her sanity, Shlomo let go of his safety and hung on to Elie, and Elie hung on to his life and dropped Shlomo. Harte Arbeit und Opfer Macht Frei, Elie’s hard work and sacrifices made him free.
Works Cited
-Wikipedia
- "Night" by Elie Wiesel
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The Holocaust will forever be known as one of the largest genocides ever recorded in history. 11 million perished, and 6 million of the departed were Jewish. The concentration camps where the prisoners were held were considered to be the closest one could get to a living hell. There is no surprise that the men, women, and children there were afraid. One was considered blessed to have a family member alongside oneself. Elie Wiesel was considered to be one of those men, for he had his father working side by side with him. In the memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel, a young boy and his father were condemned to a concentration camp located in Poland. In the concentration camps, having family members along can be a great blessing, but also a burden. Elie Wiesel shows that the relationship with his father was the strength that kept the young boy alive, but was also the major weakness.
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Elie Wiesel begins to lose his faith in God after he witnesses several horrific events. After only the first day in camp, Elie remembers everything he has seen such as the fire and smoke, as well as dead bod...
Elie’s loss of innocence and childhood lifestyle is very pronounced within the book, Night. This book, written by the main character, Elie Wiesel, tells the readers about the experiences of Mr. Wiesel during the Holocaust. The book starts off by describing Elie’s life in his hometown, Sighet, with his family and friends. As fascism takes over Hungary, Elie and his family are sent north, to Auschwitz concentration camp. Elie stays with his father and speaks of his life during this time. Later, after many stories of the horrors and dehumanizing acts of the camp, Elie and his father make the treacherous march towards Gliewitz. Then they are hauled to Buchenwald by way of cattle cars in extremely deplorable conditions, even by Holocaust standards. The book ends as Elie’s father is now dead and the American army has liberated them. As Elie is recovering in the hospital he gazes at himself in a mirror, he subtly notes he much he has changed. In Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie loses his innocence and demeanour because he was traumatized by what he saw in the camps, his loss of faith in a God who stood idly by while his people suffered, and becoming selfish as he is forced to become selfish in the death camps to survive.
Elie goes to Auschwitz at an innocent, young stage in his life. Due to his experiences at this concentration camp, he loses his faith, his bond with his father, and his innocence. Situations as horrendous as the Holocaust will drastically change people, no matter what they were like before the event, and this is evident with Elie's enormous change throughout the memoir Night.
Night is a memoir written by Elie Wiesel, a young Jewish boy, who tells of his experiences during the Holocaust. Elie is a deeply religious boy whose favorite activities are studying the Talmud and spending time at the Temple with his spiritual mentor, Moshe the Beadle. At an early age, Elie has a naive, yet strong faith in God. But this faith is tested when the Nazi's moves him from his small town.