Elie Wiesel Nature Vs Nurture Quotes

The nurture theory holds that even though genetics may shape certain abstract traits, environmental factors are the main drive behind human behavior. Elie Wiesel, a renowned Holocaust survivor and author of the human document Night, clearly upholds this nurture theory throughout his book, with his poignant descriptions of the inexpiable events that took place. He lost his innocence because of his horrifying experiences toward the end of World War II. As brutality from the Nazis grows more and more prevalent, the division between Elie and everything he has cherished intensifies. The wrath of the SS compelled Elie to disregard even his innermost values, one being the relationship with his father━“It had been his last wish to have me next to him in his agony, at the moment when his …show more content…
Because of his exposure these horrors, Elie’s family, faith, and everything he has ever held dear is forsaken. Furthermore, even when Germans become lenient toward the Jews, Elie treats them with skepticism. A dentist at the concentration camp submits to Elie’s lies told in order to escape the painful procedure and protect his gold crown, but Elie still feels no pity when the dentist is hung—“In fact, I was pleased with what was happening to him: my gold crown was safe. It could be useful to me one day, to buy something, some bread or even time to live” (Wiesel 52). Materialism is a tendency to believe that your material possessions are the most important facet of your life. In this moment, Elie resorts to materialism, and this is due to his prior loss of faith in his family and in his God, and, above all, his need for survival. Provided that the Holocaust was successful in violently depriving Jews of their rights to life and pursuit of happiness, Elie and the Jewish prisoners treated each other and Germans mercilessly, purely in the name of survival. Thus, the cruel environment, according to Elie Wiesel, was the driving force of the acts of immorality and