Every incident that changes one's life also changes who they are. In the riveting memoir, Night, Elie Wiesel describes his experiences in the perspective of a Holocaust survivor. Eliezer, as a young boy, is forced into the Auschwitz concentration camp, where his life changes permanently. Gradually, he loses hope in God, changing him from a deeply devoted Jew to a lost boy who has abandoned his faith in God. Eventually, Eliezer blames all his suffering on the injustice of God. Through Eliezer’s horrific experiences during the Holocaust, his personal identity is affected; his faith in God slowly diminishes and his hope for humanity fades away, yet he finds the purpose of life from the struggles he has experienced.
Eliezer gradually transforms …show more content…
However after all the hardships and struggles he has been through, Eliezer successfully finds meaning to his life. After the liberation of Buchenwald, Eliezer looks into the mirror for the first time in years, seeing “[f]rom the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me” (115). The reflection in the mirror shows a broken man and he realizes he is no longer alive. Although it takes time for him to recover after liberation, Eliezer faces major changes in his mental characteristic. He was no longer “alive”; he was living in death at the concentration camp. However, it is impossible to have a successful life without any struggles; hardship is not always a loss, more often it is a gain. As Dostoevski once said, “There is only one thing that I dread; not to be worthy of my sufferings” (Dostoevski). After the liberation, many of the survivors face psychological pain from the horror of the camps; they do not have a specific goal or direction in life. If sufferings do not improve one as a person, it is meaningless. Viktor Frankl, another lucky survivor of the Holocaust also expresses his thankful feeling towards his past experience by stating, “If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering” (Frankl). Eliezer also experiences a period of silence where he rethinks his future, where his sufferings give him a purpose. Success will …show more content…
Experiences change who Eliezer is and who he later develops into. Eliezer becomes a professor and writes many memoirs dedicated to his life in Auschwitz; he is also a well-known political activist, helping others to ease their adversity. His suffering and pain motivates him to enrich others’ life. During an interview, he says, "The anger here is in me—hate is not...I write and I teach and therefore, I believe anger must be a catalyst" (Interview). Eliezer uses his whole life to educate and advise later generations to prevent similar apprehension from happening again. One should not be afraid of suffering; it will only make them
Eliezer gradually transforms …show more content…
However after all the hardships and struggles he has been through, Eliezer successfully finds meaning to his life. After the liberation of Buchenwald, Eliezer looks into the mirror for the first time in years, seeing “[f]rom the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me” (115). The reflection in the mirror shows a broken man and he realizes he is no longer alive. Although it takes time for him to recover after liberation, Eliezer faces major changes in his mental characteristic. He was no longer “alive”; he was living in death at the concentration camp. However, it is impossible to have a successful life without any struggles; hardship is not always a loss, more often it is a gain. As Dostoevski once said, “There is only one thing that I dread; not to be worthy of my sufferings” (Dostoevski). After the liberation, many of the survivors face psychological pain from the horror of the camps; they do not have a specific goal or direction in life. If sufferings do not improve one as a person, it is meaningless. Viktor Frankl, another lucky survivor of the Holocaust also expresses his thankful feeling towards his past experience by stating, “If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering” (Frankl). Eliezer also experiences a period of silence where he rethinks his future, where his sufferings give him a purpose. Success will …show more content…
Experiences change who Eliezer is and who he later develops into. Eliezer becomes a professor and writes many memoirs dedicated to his life in Auschwitz; he is also a well-known political activist, helping others to ease their adversity. His suffering and pain motivates him to enrich others’ life. During an interview, he says, "The anger here is in me—hate is not...I write and I teach and therefore, I believe anger must be a catalyst" (Interview). Eliezer uses his whole life to educate and advise later generations to prevent similar apprehension from happening again. One should not be afraid of suffering; it will only make them