In the memoir “Night” Elie Wiesel reflects on his personal odyssey during WWII in the concentration camps. His memory is filled with the anguished cries and horrific images of his friends and family as they waste away in the camps and are extinguished in the Nazi ovens. This “dark journey” is extremely painful and completely traumatic. “Night” begins with the experiences of Elie as a young boy. This young boy’s story is a journey through hell, as he is taken first to a ghetto, and then to Auschwitz and Buchenwald. It is also a story of pure “survival” (Avni 1). Elie is most certainly a survivor. “Night” is Elie’s individual account of his personal experience, however it speaks volumes for ALL Jewish and war prisoners. In his memoir,
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Elie proclaims, “There no longer was any distinction between rich and poor, notables and the others; we were all people condemned to the same fate-still unknown.” (Wiesel 21). This passage alludes to how, stripped of our wealth and status, we are all just humans, basically the same without money and economic status. The few certainties are that everyone is born, lives and finally dies. At this point in time, many of the Jews did not even realize their impending fate. Most of them were oblivious and most likely very confused and frightened by what was happening. Some sensed what their fate might entail, but most likely could or would not accept it. In an internet article called “Understanding the Horror” by Karen Shawn, Ms. Shawn discusses how many of the Jews were oblivious and did not realize their fate. “Even as the Holocaust unfolded, many Jews did not believe, or understand, that Hitler planned to annihilate them” (Shawn 3). For the majority of humankind it is unfathomable to think someone 's goal is to completely annihilate an entire population, and that is why it was so hard for most to accept the new dark and evil world around …show more content…
This step was the most important with regard to the sense of loss of identity. The act of forcing all the Jews to look the same robbed them of their individuality and even further dehumanized them. “The three “veterans,” with needles in their hands, engraved a number on our left arms. I became A 7713. After that I had no other name.” (Wiesel 39). A name defines a person and makes them unique, without one 's name one could be transitioned into a meaningless corpse. A John Doe so to speak. The loss of identity directly parallels with the idea of becoming a corpse. In the article “Witness of the Night”, Ellen Fine discusses the importance of identity issues. She reports, “The ten-year old boy and the sixty-year old man not only looked alike, but walked alike” (Fine 53). An old man often times can look tired or sick, maybe even near death. But alas, here is an instance where a 10 year old boy who would usually be healthy, active and energetic now can’t be distinguished between someone who is 50 years his senior! When one dies, one becomes just another number of anonymous people in a grave. “‘Throw out all the dead! All the corpses outside!’…‘Here’s one! Take him!’ they undressed him, the survivors avidly sharing out his clothes, then to “gravediggers” took him, one by the head and one by the feet, and
Elie proclaims, “There no longer was any distinction between rich and poor, notables and the others; we were all people condemned to the same fate-still unknown.” (Wiesel 21). This passage alludes to how, stripped of our wealth and status, we are all just humans, basically the same without money and economic status. The few certainties are that everyone is born, lives and finally dies. At this point in time, many of the Jews did not even realize their impending fate. Most of them were oblivious and most likely very confused and frightened by what was happening. Some sensed what their fate might entail, but most likely could or would not accept it. In an internet article called “Understanding the Horror” by Karen Shawn, Ms. Shawn discusses how many of the Jews were oblivious and did not realize their fate. “Even as the Holocaust unfolded, many Jews did not believe, or understand, that Hitler planned to annihilate them” (Shawn 3). For the majority of humankind it is unfathomable to think someone 's goal is to completely annihilate an entire population, and that is why it was so hard for most to accept the new dark and evil world around …show more content…
This step was the most important with regard to the sense of loss of identity. The act of forcing all the Jews to look the same robbed them of their individuality and even further dehumanized them. “The three “veterans,” with needles in their hands, engraved a number on our left arms. I became A 7713. After that I had no other name.” (Wiesel 39). A name defines a person and makes them unique, without one 's name one could be transitioned into a meaningless corpse. A John Doe so to speak. The loss of identity directly parallels with the idea of becoming a corpse. In the article “Witness of the Night”, Ellen Fine discusses the importance of identity issues. She reports, “The ten-year old boy and the sixty-year old man not only looked alike, but walked alike” (Fine 53). An old man often times can look tired or sick, maybe even near death. But alas, here is an instance where a 10 year old boy who would usually be healthy, active and energetic now can’t be distinguished between someone who is 50 years his senior! When one dies, one becomes just another number of anonymous people in a grave. “‘Throw out all the dead! All the corpses outside!’…‘Here’s one! Take him!’ they undressed him, the survivors avidly sharing out his clothes, then to “gravediggers” took him, one by the head and one by the feet, and