“I soon forgot about him. I began to think of myself again” (Wiesel, 86). This quote is
the epitome of the topic of survival, and more importantly, self-preservation in Night. Elie Wiesel
uses characters such as Eliezer Wiesel and Rabbi Eliahou to show just how important it was
to keep yourself alive during the Holocaust. There were even instances where Jews would kill
their own friends and family just for food. Throughout the book, survival and self-preservation
were common topics and were crucial to staying alive during the Holocaust.
One instance of self-preservation was the son of Rabbi Eliahou. Eliahou and his son
have stuck together for three years, from camp to camp, without ever letting go of eachother,
until one march, his son left his father …show more content…
A terrible thought
crossed my mind: What if he had wanted to be rid of his father?” (Wiesel, 91), Wiesel was
worried that Eliahou’s son may have finally left his father for good because it diminished his
own chances of survival. Also, Wiesel prays to find the strength to not do the same thing
Eliahou’s son did, as Wiesel remains one of the few characters to care for his family.
Another instance of self-preservation is shown in Wiesel after his father died. The
only person Wiesel really cared about was his father, and when he died, he felt empty because
his father was all he had left. A couple of months after his father died, Wiesel said, “I spent my
days in total idleness. With only one desire: to eat. I no longer thought of my father, or my
mother. From time to time, I would dream. But only about soup, an extra ration of soup”
(Wiesel, 113). Without his father, he no longer cared about anything. All he could think of
was himself and sometimes his food. However, Wiesel might have felt a sense of relief when
he lost his father, showing that he was already starting to think more about himself, and
the epitome of the topic of survival, and more importantly, self-preservation in Night. Elie Wiesel
uses characters such as Eliezer Wiesel and Rabbi Eliahou to show just how important it was
to keep yourself alive during the Holocaust. There were even instances where Jews would kill
their own friends and family just for food. Throughout the book, survival and self-preservation
were common topics and were crucial to staying alive during the Holocaust.
One instance of self-preservation was the son of Rabbi Eliahou. Eliahou and his son
have stuck together for three years, from camp to camp, without ever letting go of eachother,
until one march, his son left his father …show more content…
A terrible thought
crossed my mind: What if he had wanted to be rid of his father?” (Wiesel, 91), Wiesel was
worried that Eliahou’s son may have finally left his father for good because it diminished his
own chances of survival. Also, Wiesel prays to find the strength to not do the same thing
Eliahou’s son did, as Wiesel remains one of the few characters to care for his family.
Another instance of self-preservation is shown in Wiesel after his father died. The
only person Wiesel really cared about was his father, and when he died, he felt empty because
his father was all he had left. A couple of months after his father died, Wiesel said, “I spent my
days in total idleness. With only one desire: to eat. I no longer thought of my father, or my
mother. From time to time, I would dream. But only about soup, an extra ration of soup”
(Wiesel, 113). Without his father, he no longer cared about anything. All he could think of
was himself and sometimes his food. However, Wiesel might have felt a sense of relief when
he lost his father, showing that he was already starting to think more about himself, and