Elie Wiesel's Book Night

Elie Wiesel was born in 1928 in Sighet, Romania, a well-known city within the Jewish culture. As a young boy, Wiesel was inspired by his grandfather who would tell stories of Hasidic tales, giving Wiesel a big imagination at such a young age. Wiesel was also encouraged by his father to study the Hebrew and Yiddish languages. Wiesel went on to author over 40 books, including arguably his most well-known book being, “Night”. In his book, “Night” Wiesel tells the story of his survival through the horrific events of the Holocaust, awarding him the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize. Wiesel’s book, “Night” was first published in 1956, then later translated into English in 1960, and later went on to be translated into 30 different languages and now a staple …show more content…
Before the Germans invaded Wiesel’s town in Transylvania, the townspeople would rely on rumors of war: “Splendid news from the Russian Front. There could no longer be any doubt: Germany would be defeated. It would only be a matter of time, months or weeks perhaps” (Wiesel 8). Optimism starts to spread throughout the town that the Germans will be defeated before they reach the Jewish community in Transylvania. However, Moishe the beadle tries to warn the community about what is actually happening outside of Transylvania, but nobody believes him and think he has gone mad, Wiesel himself starts to wonder if all that Moishe was saying is true: “I asked my father to sell everything, to liquidate everything, and leave” (Wiesel 9). This was towards the end of …show more content…
Schachter from hopeful to discouraged. In the end “Wiesel’s subsequent work reverses the experience of Night. It attempts to recapture life prior to the Holocaust but to do so without forgetting the Holocaust” (Estess Database). There are many life lessons and things to be learned and taken into perspective from the events that occurred at this point in history. In most cases, the longer the Jews were in captivity the more they lost their hope and will to survive while still barely holding onto their faith: “one of the most important of these themes is faith, and specifically Eliezer’s struggle to retain his faith in God, in himself, in humanity, and in words themselves, in spite of the disbelief, degradation and destruction of the concentration camp universe” (Dougherty Database). In writing this book Wiesel puts into perspective not only what he went through but telling the story of what all Jews suffered in captivity. When Moishe the Beadle returned to Sighet to tell the Jews about what is happening, none of them want to give it any attention because the acts of what he has told them is beyond anyone’s wildest imagination: “through storytelling, he continues to fight. ‘I try to fight the killers through re-creating the world they tried to destroy’” (Estess Database). The initial release of the book Night was in French and later, Wiesel has served as a human