Elie Wiesel uses his own survival story in Night to indicate that the loss of a family member has a detrimental impact on one’s self-preservation. First, Mrs. Schächter, a woman who has lost a child and her husband, has gone insane due to their death and only has her ten year old son to support her (Wiesel 25-26). The trauma of losing her family members has made her go crazy and not have the capability to survive the torture going on. When Mrs. Schächter was going through shock and not acting like herself, the Jews beat her repeatedly on the head in order to silence her. After being confined in a small wagon with no food, or water, the Jews caved in to their animal instincts and began acting like animals without regard to the usual social responsibilities.
