• Home Page
  • Examples Of Faith In Night By Elie Wiesel

Examples Of Faith In Night By Elie Wiesel

Superior Essays
Show More
“You never know how much you really believe anything until it’s truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you” (Clive Staples Lewis). Many people question whether having faith in God does anything or if it is the difference between life and death. Elie Wiesel throughout the holocaust questioned whether or not to have faith in God, or if God's faith in him is really there. In the novel Night, by Elie Wiesel, Elie whose faith and belief in God was once unconditional, during the countless of trials Elie faced, his faith in God was irreparably shaken, however in only lowest moments of faith does he turn back on God.
In the beginning of novel, his faith in God was absolute.When Moishe the Beadle asked, “‘Why do you pray?’” Elie thought, “Why did I pray? …show more content…
One way readers can see that his faith is still there in pieces is his constant questioning of God. When he say questions like, “Where is God?” or “Why would I bless him? “ he is still questioning his faith, but it shows that there still is some. His struggle with his broken faith should not be confused that his faith in God is abandoned, in reality his faith can be seen when Elie really needs to believe. For example, after realizing that Rabbi Eliahu’s son abandoned his father, he said, “in spite of myself, a racer formed inside me, a prayer to this God in whom I no longer believed. ‘Oh God, Master of the Universe, give me the strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahu’s son had done’” (91) At this moment Elie realizes he needs all the strength he can get to not make mistakes and abandon his father. Even though he didn’t believe in God’s strength to help him, he prayed to him despite that. Praying to God in this moment despite having very little faith in him shows that he is still obtaining a small piece of faith inside of him in hope for survival of himself and his

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Elie's Faith In The Book Night
    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Elie's Faith In The Book Night

    There were many things that affected Elie and the Jew’s faith. Elie doubted his faith several times from all the bad that has happened to him. Some of the stuff he saw scared him for life. When Elie first arrived to the camp, he probably lost his faith then. Ellie lost his faith because he just could not believe that his god would not do anything about the holocaust.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Theme Of Faith In Night By Elie Wiesel
    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Theme Of Faith In Night By Elie Wiesel

    Losing faith is like a diminishing flame that slowly dies out. Elie Wiesel’s novel Night depicts the use of this principle. Wiesel uses the motif of faith to help develop multiple themes throughout the novel. A prominent theme reveals itself in the hardships that Wiesel and his father face. A tremendous impact upon one’s belief causes turmoil. Ultimately, faith is put to the test and lost during times of suffering.…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Night Character Analysis Elie Wiesel
    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Night Character Analysis Elie Wiesel

    “Never shall i forget those flames which consumed my faith forever” (32). Of course this statement is just a foreshadow of his thoughts of his religion in the future when he is writing the memoir. Yet this statement is more powerful in the beginning opposed to the end because it is so sudden. We go from seeing him as a lively religious young boy to a dark depressed atheist young man, which in its own a huge transition. There are many other ways we see Elie transition such as what he believes.The author of the memoir Night, recalls his experiences in the holocaust, as well show us the changes in his character during that time. This includes the dramatic change in what he believes. When Elie first arrives at auschwitz he starts to question his belief in his god. “I did not deny God’s existence but i doubted his absolute justice” (42). This thought process the he is going through at this moment is completly understandable because he had lived such a sheltered religious life he could never imagine that HIS GOD would ever allow that to happen to his…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    How Does Elie Wiesel Change In Night
    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Does Elie Wiesel Change In Night

    As Night goes on we see that Elie starts to lose faith in God and sees his father as more of a mentor now. “For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for”(Wiesel 33)? This shows us that Elie is starting to lose faith in God. This surprised us all greatly because at the beginning of the book Elie acted as if God played…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    How Does Elie Wiesel Use Faith In Night
    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Does Elie Wiesel Use Faith In Night

    In the memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel uses faith throughout the story to show both the importance and difficulty of maintaining faith during hardship. Wiesel shows that many people gave up in their faith, people believed that the Holocaust was not God’s doing, and others hid their faith in their God because they didn’t want them or their families to be killed.…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Elie Wiesel's Loss Of Faith
    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Elie Wiesel's Loss Of Faith

    His father was growing weaker and weaker from dysentery everyday, and by the end, Elie was giving his father his rations of food and drink for the day, though he hoped it would not go on much longer. When his father did die and Elie woke up to a new prisoner in his spot, Elie was not sad. If anything he was somewhat grateful to only be living for himself after that, and not needing to take care of his ill father. The moment this happened, it was clear that Elie had lost his faith, especially when his father, who he saw as his religious role model, passed away. This was when Elie’s faith crumbled away too. Elie did not believe anything could help him anymore after his faith died, and he was ready for whatever fate he would…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Elie Wiesel Loss Of Faith In Night
    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Elie Wiesel Loss Of Faith In Night

    In the third section of night, when Elie and his father survive the first selection in Birkenau, Elie loses faith saying,“Never shall I forget that night Never shall I forget those flames, which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself. Never.”(page 34) Although he says the first selection murders consumed his faith he still says “even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself,” meaning he still…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Suffering In Elie Wiesel's Night
    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Suffering In Elie Wiesel's Night

    His dramatic transformation from the innocent young boy who begged his father to learn about more advanced religious teachings to someone numbed by the horrors of the holocaust visualizes the horrifying acts prisoners endured daily. Elie, once passionate about his faith, has initial doubts in God’s abilities very soon into his journies, hearing others praying Elie is outraged: “Why should I sanctify his name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank him for?” (33) Seeing the merciless acts of the camp weakened Elie’s trust in God and any power God had to protect them. This dramatic and seemingly sudden transformation in Elie’s faithfulness illustrates how even a highly faithful person, when put in trying situations, can easily lose trust in God’s abilities and grow anger toward the God they once worshiped: “‘For God’s sake, where is God?’ And from within me, I heard a voice answer. ‘Where He is? This is where-hanging here from this gallows…’” (65) Seeing the harsh divide Elie experiences in his relationship with God serves as proof of the many ways the effects of the holocaust changed Elie greatly as a…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Loss Of Faith In Night By Elie Wiesel
    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Loss Of Faith In Night By Elie Wiesel

    In the novel Night by Elie Wiesel two characters Eliezer and his father Mr.Wiesel’s faith are constantly getting tested while in the concentration camps that were located all throughout Germany. In these camps over six million Jews were killed. During their times in the concentration camps they lost faith, were brutalized, and got treated like objects.…

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Night Elie Wiesel Analysis
    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Night Elie Wiesel Analysis

    The second example of Elie losing his faith is Some of the Jews had gathered they sang a few songs, while some of the guys talked about God, As for Elie, “ [he] had ceased to pray. [he] concurred with job! [he] was not denying his existence, but [he] doubted his absolute justice. (45) the prisoners talked about how God was testing them, that he loved them deeply, but Elie didn't think that, it would be hard to thinking that being in a death…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of Elie Wiesel's 'Night'
    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Analysis Of Elie Wiesel's 'Night'

    At the beginning of night Eliezer described himself as someone who believes profoundly. I believe this to be the truth. But as we get into chapters 2-3 elie’s strong believes start to disappear. Then somewhere in chapters 4 and 5 elie’s believes in god and in all his trust that god will save ho disappear.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Faith In Elie Wiesel's Night
    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Faith In Elie Wiesel's Night

    Throughout the story, Elie’s faith in God is often in question. At different points, he often wonders if his God is as kind as he is made out to be or if he is even real. One such time when Elie doubts his God’s benevolence is when he says, “You have betrayed them, allowing them to be tortured, slaughtered, gassed, and burned.”. When Elie says this, it is clear his faith in God has wavered to the point that it is almost nonexistent. He is angry that this could be allowed to happen and seems almost confused as this contradicts his original vision of God. Elie was not the only person to reference his faith however. A prisoner in the Buna camp brought up his faith in Hitler, of all people. The prisoner said to Elie, “I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else.…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Night Elie's Identity
    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Night Elie's Identity

    In the beginning, Elie states that he prayed for the same reason he breathed and that he has full faith in God stating that “Man comes closer to God through the questions he asks Him, he liked to say. Therein lies true dialogue. Man asks and God replies. But we don’t understand His replies. We cannot understand them. Because they dwell in the depths of our souls and remain there until we die. The real answers, Eliezer, you will find only within yourself.”(page 5) Although he stated he never understood God prior to the holocaust, he never questioned His existence.His Jewish identity consisted of his faith of God. However, during the war, while there were many people trying to strengthen their faith, there were more people rebelling against God. For example, after arriving in Auschwitz and being sent to the left with his father they thought they were being sent to death, therefore began to recite Kaddish. Then Elie angrily asks “Why should I sanctify His name. The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank him for?” (page 33) This was the first instance that Elie’s Jewish identity was challenged when he began to lose hope and question the existence of God. Ultimately, he was torn between his Jewish beliefs and unfaithful beliefs in that, who would believe God would approve of such…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Faith In Elie Wiesel's Night
    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Faith In Elie Wiesel's Night

    One of the most potent examples of questioning your own faith in religion occurs when Elie thinks "And I, the former mystic, was thinking: Yes, man is stronger, greater than God"(67). He lost his faith in God even though he used to cry when he prayed. The horror that he has seen has completely demolished his faith in God. He felt angry that they were blessing the dead in God's name, the very same God that sent them to their graves in such a horrendous fashion. When some Jews continue to pray to God while in the concentration camps, Elie is stunned. He doesn't understand why they still have faith in God even after he has put them in such a horrible position.…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Night Elie And His Father's Relationship Analysis
    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Night Elie And His Father's Relationship Analysis

    In the beginning of the book, Elie is devoted and respects God. During a conversation with Moishe Elie states "I told him how unhappy I was not to be able to find in Sighet a master to teach me the Zohar, the Kabbalistic works, the secrets of Jewish mysticism" indicating that Elie wanted to learn more about God and get closer to him. His relationship with God, however, starts to fall out once he gets to the Nazi camp. For instance, page 33 of the Night states "why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent, What was there to thank Him for?" this quote reveals how Wiesel is starting to resent and question God. At this point, Wiesel has lost faith and tells God…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2023 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings