Night Research Paper

Superior Essays
Abby Kalis Mrs. Menden English 11 06 March 2024 The Death of a Survivor Six million Jewish lives were taken during the Holocaust according to an article written by the National Wall Museum. 245,000 Holocaust survivors remain alive today. Having so few still alive means that their survivor stories become substantially more important. Oftentimes the only things about the Holocaust that are revealed are the tragic events, but how these events changed people is equally as important. Elie Wiesel’s novel, Night, displays how many of Elie’s relationships evolve as time passes, including, his relationship with food, his father, and his religion. Firstly, Elie’s relationship with food changed considerably from the beginning of the novel. Throughout …show more content…
Since sleep is hard to find, hearing that when Elie does dream it is about soup shows us how important it is to him. A large shift in the relationship between Elie and food from the beginning to the end of the literature occurs due to the conditions of the concentration camp. Secondly, Elie’s relationship with him and his father improves throughout the course of the book. When his father is first introduced, the reader sees the opinion of his father, “My father was a cultured man, rather unsentimental. He rarely displayed his feelings, not even within his family, and was more involved with the welfare of others than with that of his own kin” (Wiesel 4). This gives the reader Elie’s perspective on his father. The townspeople look up to Elie’s father, and go to him for guidance and advice. Elie, however, does not look up to his father, instead he believes that his dad cares more about everyone else than him. One moment that reveals the relationship is in fact improving is during a selection. Elie’s father has had his number written down and believes he is going to die. “ ‘Here is the knife,’ he said. I don’t need it anymore. You may find it …show more content…
He gives up valuable time and energy just to have time to pray. The first time Elie starts to doubt his God is the day he arrives in Auschwitz. He passes by people who are reciting the prayer for the dead for themselves and thinks, “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). This is where Elie starts losing faith. He has never seen people pray for Kaddish for themselves. He wondered why his God, that he loves so dearly, would let something so tragic and ruthless happen to innocent people. Elie truly lost all of his passion for his religion during a sacred Jewish holiday, called Rosh Hashanah. During Rosh Hashanah people are meant to fast, but Elie states, I did not fast. First of all, to please my father, who had forbidden me to do so. And then, there was no longer any reason for me to fast. I no longer accept God’s silence. As I swallowed my ration of soup, I turned that act into a symbol of rebellion, of protest against Him. 69. Rosh Hashanah is one of the most important Jewish holidays. Elie chose not to fast because he wanted to act against his

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