Night Final Essay
In the memoir Night, Elie Wiesel uses the motif of faith to demonstrate the idea that when humans are constantly put through unbearable pain and suffering, it is difficult to maintain faith, but one must believe in their own ability to save himself. Wiesel describes his experiences at multiple concentration camps where he survived the Holocaust during World War II. Throughout his time in concentration, his identity changes immensely. Before concentration, Wiesel’s religion consumes him, but when the Hungarian police come to take him away, they pull him from his prayers, unknowingly tearing away at his faith in God. Slowly, more and more of his faith is lost because he is not able to imagine that God would not be stopping …show more content…
He didn’t want to believe that God would permit such dreadful places to exist. Wiesel starts believing that the being whom he prayed to was not able to use his power for good, but rather was only capable of terrible things. Although Wiesel “did not deny God’s existence, he doubted His absolute justice” (42). He now lived in a world where he was controlled by evil and torture. As much as he doesn’t want to consider that his faith could be to blame for his torture, Wiesel can’t help but realize that God wasn’t going to save him. All of Wiesel’s experiences make him realize that he would need to have faith in his own abilities if he wanted to survive. For all of the prisoners who lost their lives, their dependence in God wasn’t enough to save them. However, towards the end of the story, Wiesel starts to lose his ability to care about his own life as “a dark flame had entered his soul and devoured it” (34). By the time he is liberated, he no longer feels that he had any purpose or worth in the world. However, the fact that he survived shows that he did believe in his own ability to survive. Because Wiesel shows how he was never able to fully give up on his own life, the reader is able to understand that in order to survive, Wiesel needed to posses a strong feeling of self worth and hope within
In the memoir Night, Elie Wiesel uses the motif of faith to demonstrate the idea that when humans are constantly put through unbearable pain and suffering, it is difficult to maintain faith, but one must believe in their own ability to save himself. Wiesel describes his experiences at multiple concentration camps where he survived the Holocaust during World War II. Throughout his time in concentration, his identity changes immensely. Before concentration, Wiesel’s religion consumes him, but when the Hungarian police come to take him away, they pull him from his prayers, unknowingly tearing away at his faith in God. Slowly, more and more of his faith is lost because he is not able to imagine that God would not be stopping …show more content…
He didn’t want to believe that God would permit such dreadful places to exist. Wiesel starts believing that the being whom he prayed to was not able to use his power for good, but rather was only capable of terrible things. Although Wiesel “did not deny God’s existence, he doubted His absolute justice” (42). He now lived in a world where he was controlled by evil and torture. As much as he doesn’t want to consider that his faith could be to blame for his torture, Wiesel can’t help but realize that God wasn’t going to save him. All of Wiesel’s experiences make him realize that he would need to have faith in his own abilities if he wanted to survive. For all of the prisoners who lost their lives, their dependence in God wasn’t enough to save them. However, towards the end of the story, Wiesel starts to lose his ability to care about his own life as “a dark flame had entered his soul and devoured it” (34). By the time he is liberated, he no longer feels that he had any purpose or worth in the world. However, the fact that he survived shows that he did believe in his own ability to survive. Because Wiesel shows how he was never able to fully give up on his own life, the reader is able to understand that in order to survive, Wiesel needed to posses a strong feeling of self worth and hope within