Silence In Elie Wiesel's Night

Silence is an exceptionally important theme in the novel Night. Though the Nazi’s were gruesomely murdering millions of innocent people, no one was speaking up or even trying to stop this horrifying and dreadful act from happening. Despite the 'silence' that surrounds them, millions of Jews and others considered inferior by the Nazis, are unethically being burned and slaughtered. When Eliezer finds himself surrounded by silence and the feeling of emptiness comes upon him, he starts to reflect upon whether or not the existence of God is real. Eliezer goes on to say, “Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live.” The thought of God becoming silent is what Eliezer finds most troubling.

When the hanging of the young boy at Buna was taking place a man asks, “Where is God?” yet the only response is, “total silence throughout the camp.” All of the people throughout the camps, held captive, wondered at the thought of how an all-powerful God could and would let such horror and terror happen to so many innocent people. Because of the silence of God, Eliezer’s faith begins to dwindle away. During his first night at Birkenau, Eliezer says, “The Eternal… was silent.” Throughout Night, not only is the almighty grace of God being silent, but there is also the heavy silence of the victims.