Night Elie Wiesel Quote Analysis

“One day I was able to get up, after gathering all my strength … from the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me. The look … has never left me" (Wiesel 115). Elie Wiesel, a well known Holocaust survivor and activist, uses graphic, meaningful quotes to bring importance and raise awareness on the wrongdoings of the Holocaust and other human rights atrocities. He dims light in this quote, by recounting the night a couple days after his camp became liberated in ninety forty-five. This is where he first gazes his reflection, since his family were at the ghettos. These last lines leave the reader with a sense of hopelessness for the innocence he has lost. Not only Elie, but many Holocaust survivors lost a sense of innocence in some sort

of way, during the obscenities of the Holocaust. This leaves victims, such as Elie Wiesel, devoting their lives to tell these stories for the sufferers that did not get to tell theirs. Elie Wiesel a well known nobel prize winning writer, commemorates lost victims through his memoir Night created in. He foretells his horrific past experiences of surviving the Holocaust through the eyes of an innocent fifteen year old boy. The remembrance of Holocaust survivors are not only seen in literature, but also movies and films. Roberto Benigni honors Holocaust victims through his film Life is Beautiful. It displays a book shop owners, imagination to shield his son from the horrors of the concentration camp he is put in with his family. Benigni grew inspiration for the film from his father’s past experience in a German labor camp during World War II. Although, Wiesel and Benigni both acknowledge and celebrate the lives of those that have past, they both express different and or similar themes in both the memoir and film. In Night and Life is Beautiful there is comparing and contrasting themes that is similar to the theme of sacrifice, together with a father and son relationship causing conflict, and different through the theme of innocence affecting character development.
Wiesel and Benigni create the theme of sacrifice, similarly through the dynamic of Elie and his father’s relationship in Night and Guido and Giosue, in Life is Beautiful creating conflict in both. In Night, there are many moments where Elie’s father Shlomo is seen sacrificing for Elie. A specific example of that is when Franek, Elie’s foreman at Buna notices Wiesel's gold crown and wants to take it.

Wiesel consults with his father about whether or not he should give up his crown and his father responds with “No, my son. We cannot do this,” accepting any consequences that come after (Wiesel 55). When Wiesel refuses, Franek comes after Shlomo. Franek then sought the opportunity to “torment” and “thrash [Shlomo] savagely,” on a daily basis (Wiesel 55). This shows the father and son relationship between Elie and Shlomo because Shlomo is willing to get beaten, so that his son does not have to suffer by getting his tooth taken out. Shlomo’s sacrifices for Elie later causes internal conflict in the memoir. As the Holocaust persists and the conditions continue to intensify, Elie's father becomes weak and there is a role reversal between the two men. Elie now has to sacrifice for his father, so Shlomo can proceed forward. This only leads to resentment growing towards his father, leading to internal conflict. When Shlomo became the victim of one of Idek’s wrafts, Elie just watched without moving. He even felt “angry” that his father could not “avoid Idek’s wrath,” showing that Elie’s indignant towards his father (Wiesel 54). At one point Elie even wishes he did not find his dad, so he

could survive on his own. There is a conflict that comes upon Elie as he struggles to keep his humanity. Elie knows that he sees his father as a burden, but he can not help what the Holocaust has turn him into. Furthermore, in Life is Beautiful, Guido sacrifices for Giosue through their father and son relationship, which later creates conflict. Guido sacrifices for his son on many occasions. One in including when he creates this “game” with rules to please his sons requests. The rules consists of a system where Guido and his son try to achieve the most points, so they can win a “tank”. In the middle of the film, when Guido and Giosue are at the concentration camp, an SS officer comes in and asks if anyone understood German. Guido saw this as the perfect opportunity to clarify the rules of their special game. He swept in pretending to be an interpreter, so that he could explain the rules to Giosue. This ultimately shows the father and son relationship because Guido turns something horrific like the Holocaust, into something his son will find pleasurable. This also shows Guido sacrificing for his son because he pretended to know German when he actually did not. This could have gotten Guido in trouble and may have even given the SS officers a reason to kill him because the officers were inhumane. Guido also sacrifices for his son when Giosue slips up at the German dinner and says “thank you” in Italian. Guido then pretends to be teaching all the kids how to say “thank you” in italian, sacrificing himself for his son, so Giosue will not get in any harm. With those actions Guido could have gotten himself in plenty of trouble. Eventually, Guido’s sacrifices for his son lead to conflict. Throughout the middle and end of the film, Guido continues to go along with the idea of a game and it later leads to his death. In the film when Guido’s camp is about to get liberated, Guido tells Giosue that they are going to play a game of hide and seek and he is not to come out until Guido gets him or it is completely quiet. In the meantime Guido tries to look for Dora and that is where he is met with his death and a SS officer kills him for being a straggler. This shows the father and son connection because Guido is continuing the game for his son, as well as, sacrificing himself in order to get his wife and keep his family together (Benigni). Although there are similarities between both works of art, there are also differences.
Wiesel and Benigni establish the theme of innocence differently by broadcasting Elie and Giosues version of the holocaust completely different, as a result, the characters develop differently.

In Night Elie Wiesel begins at the concentration camp as a young teenage boy only fifteen years old where he has to view and endure the horrendous trauma of the war. Elie has to witness gruesome events unfold, as now that is where he was living and he has to confine to the rules. In a specific example, Elie witnesses as SS officers place “nooses around [the] necks” of a child and two other men. As they tip over the chairs and the horrific images of their “tongues hanging out … swollen and bluish” appear, as well as the lonesome child, “lingering between life and death” remains into his memory forever (Wiesel 64). After witnessing such horrendous acts, Elie’s innocence is completely lost. Not only that, but on many occasions Elie is treated with cruel punishment, such as violence for something he might have not done right. Idek once took his fury out on Elie and began to throw “violent blows” and “ [threw] him to the ground,” beginning to“crush” him, until he was “in blood” (Wiesel 53). These despicable actions and cruel punishment will have a toll on anyone if they continue to experience it everyday, which is exactly what happens to Wiesel and becomes a huge reminder on how he lost his innocence. These actions all led up to Wiesel changing as a character in his memoir and in real

life. After his concentration camp was liberated in ninety forty-five, he made a vow to not speak for “ten years after his release,” so that he could find the right words to explain everything he went through because it all seemed surreal (Oprah Talks to Elie Wiesel 1). This shows that Wiesel certainly lost his innocence, but also lost a part of himself as well, the tragic events he crosses in his life causes Elie to almost shut out the world because he did not know how to talk about his trauma.
In addition to Night there is also a theme of innocence in Life is Beautiful. Guido preserves Giosues innocence in Life is Beautiful by creating a special game with certains rules. The rules Guido establishes keeps Giosue out of trouble and hides him from the actual realities of the Holocaust. An example of this is when Giosue see’s his father working in hot, intensive labour, and Guido just refers back to the game and the point system, saything they are achieving more points by him doing this so everything is okay. Guido is preserving his innocence by not telling him the truth and making Giosue believe there is a prize at the end. This theme affects Giosues character development because the whole time Giosue is enduring the holocaust he goes about believing that he is just on a trip with his parents and that he is paying a game in order to win a tank. Also at the end of the film Benigni provides a moment where Giosue thanks his father for the sacrifice he has made and the “gift” of survival. This displays Giosues character development because it allows insight on how Giosue viewed the holocaust. Which is as a gift of survival by his father and he is extremely grateful (Benigni). Throughout both Night and Life is Beautiful there are many similarities and differences.
The themes of sacrifice and innocence show the comparing and contrasting between Night and Life is Beautiful affecting both conflict and character development. Elie Wiesel and Roberto Benigni both create Night and Life is Beautiful to celebrate and honor the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. In hopes of both of these works of art, they are trying to create and draw attention to the wrongdoings in history, in hope that it creates awareness and people do not forget about it. It is important to have memoirs, films and movies to commemorate the time in history, so it does not repeat itself. Also these films and books also memoirs are created, so people can educate themselves on the matter and become knowledgeable. These stories teach us that it is important to try to keep good relations with people and that no race is greater than another.Most importantly these stories teach us that it is hard to be human and humane. When people are put in hard situations it is difficult not to be selfish in the moment and only think about themselves, although those hard times may come it is important for people to stay true to faith and themselves.