Night By Elie Wiesel: Character Analysis

In this world, people go through the process of dealing with both empathy and malice. As a matter of fact, almost everyone has been through times where maybe they feel understood by some and misunderstood by others. Specifically, in the book “Night”, by Elie Wiesel, a character named Madame Schachter goes through the experience of fellow Jews displaying empathy and malice during in result to her behavior. Along with this, the reactions reveal just how inconsiderate we can act when in uncomfortable situations. One example of the malice and lack of sympathy they provided her was during the cattle car ride to Auschwitz. During this ride, she went a bit insane due to the devastating separation of her family. Elie explains, “She received several blows to the head, blows that could have been

lethal” (26). This quote obviously proves just how malevolent others truly were in exchange for her behavior. Their patience had worn so thin to the point where there was no second thoughts when hitting her with a dangerously large amount of force. It was human nature when the anger over the last few days had caused Jews to lash out at whatever was even slightly bugging them.

Their nerves were at their breaking point. There were also other instances where there was obvious malice being released on Mrs. Schachter. At one point earlier on in the book, Elie witnesses her being gagged and silenced by the same men. The author writes, “It was as though madness had infected all of us. We gave up. A few young men forced her to sit down, then bound and gagged her” (26). This shows just how intolerable the Jews were at that given point in time thanks to her actions. They truly had lost all signs of empathy. Madame Schachter had just become a nuisance and was, at least in their minds, a waste of space. It was natural for them to just give up and tie her down. In that situation, screaming only contributed to the growing anger of other Jews. There were, however, some Jews that wanted to help her. These were mostly other mothers who had empathy, given the fact that they had families of their own. They could most likely picture what it would be like to have their children and husbands separated from them in such an extreme and abrupt

way. The text states, “Some of the women tried to calm her: ‘You'll see, you'll find your husband and sons again...In a few days…’” (25). The kindness expressed by the women despite the behavior of her may not have necessarily prevented Mrs. Schachter from going completely insane, but the gesture was still a form of empathy. After the consolation, she continued to scream and sob hysterically, not listening to anyone else. Sadly, this lead to beating, though she did get the attention needed to get her point across. Either way, the mothers were very caring and thoughtful when no one else was, which is definitely empathy. It most likely wasn’t human nature to be so kind, but it may have been since mothers have the natural capability of being able to help and care for others. With that being said, both empathy and malice were dominant in Mrs. Schachter’s cattle trip. It was human nature for the Jews to just lash out and become angry, which most did, but some had sympathy for her. Her actions caused these people to feel such intense emotions, which proves just how powerful actions truly are.