Hofert 1
Jordan Hofert
Study of Genre English 9 Block F
Ms. Frangipane
18 December 2015
Innocence Lost Upon Arrival
Innocence is defined as a lack of guile or corruption. The way people lose this innocence is by becoming aware of the world around them or doing something that evokes guilt. In the memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel, Eliezer loses his innocence at the young age of 15 due to the horrible things he witnessed during the Holocaust while at the concentration camps. The most significant motif in Night is loss of innocence, and the the differences in how Eliezer acts before and after this transformation occurs proves that he lost his innocence.
For someone to lose their innocence, they must first see things that cause this transformation to occur. After arriving in Auschwitz, Wiesel recalls, “[n]ot far from us, flames, huge flames, were rising from a ditch. Something was being burned there. A truck grew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies! Yes I did see this, with my own eyes…. children thrown into the flames”(32). This was the moment that Eliezer realized how cruel the world could be. Witnessing this despicable act …show more content…
He had never before seen such horrible acts against humanity as what he saw that night, and he would never be able to forget it. Eliezer was looking back on how that night changed him and recollects, “Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes”(34). When Eliezer says he felt this way, he is saying that he lost something that night. He lost his hopes and dreams, which are some of the main things that motivate people in life. Eliezer has lost the thinking that everything will end up being fine. The ashes devoured those thoughts forever. This is Eliezer admitting to himself that he had lost his innocence that night. All of those terrifying acts of violence that he bared witness to, caused him to lose his innocence in the matter of only a few hours at the
Jordan Hofert
Study of Genre English 9 Block F
Ms. Frangipane
18 December 2015
Innocence Lost Upon Arrival
Innocence is defined as a lack of guile or corruption. The way people lose this innocence is by becoming aware of the world around them or doing something that evokes guilt. In the memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel, Eliezer loses his innocence at the young age of 15 due to the horrible things he witnessed during the Holocaust while at the concentration camps. The most significant motif in Night is loss of innocence, and the the differences in how Eliezer acts before and after this transformation occurs proves that he lost his innocence.
For someone to lose their innocence, they must first see things that cause this transformation to occur. After arriving in Auschwitz, Wiesel recalls, “[n]ot far from us, flames, huge flames, were rising from a ditch. Something was being burned there. A truck grew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies! Yes I did see this, with my own eyes…. children thrown into the flames”(32). This was the moment that Eliezer realized how cruel the world could be. Witnessing this despicable act …show more content…
He had never before seen such horrible acts against humanity as what he saw that night, and he would never be able to forget it. Eliezer was looking back on how that night changed him and recollects, “Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes”(34). When Eliezer says he felt this way, he is saying that he lost something that night. He lost his hopes and dreams, which are some of the main things that motivate people in life. Eliezer has lost the thinking that everything will end up being fine. The ashes devoured those thoughts forever. This is Eliezer admitting to himself that he had lost his innocence that night. All of those terrifying acts of violence that he bared witness to, caused him to lose his innocence in the matter of only a few hours at the