Elie and his father can be compared to most other father and son bonds around the world, a relationship filled with great care and affection for each other. However, Wiesel chooses to include the changing relationship in his book to explain that the hatred involved in the concentration camps can alter even the strongest loving connections between two people. When Shlomo is on his death bed and is in a dire need for attention and help, he calls out to Elie. Wiesel writes, “He called out to me and I had not answered… if I could have searched the recesses of my feeble conscience, I might have found something like: Free at last!” (Wiesel 112). Elie’s feelings change because he no longer cares for his father with the same affection as before the camps due to the drastically different circumstances. As Shlomo “called out to” Elie, he does not answer. Elie “had not answered” because it is too much effort to answer his father and care for him when Elie’s energy levels are very low and he needs to preserve his energy for himself. Because of this selfish yet survivalist action, Elie’s father dies and is taken away over the night, and when Elie wakes up in the morning he is sorrowful, but he is relieved and he says that he is “free at last” from the weakness of his …show more content…
However throughout the course of the novel, change is evident in these topics as he grows hatred for the Nazi soldiers, and decides only to take care of himself and forget his father. Elie’s outlook on life and survival are key parts of the plot of the story, and his feelings on these crucial topics determine the outcome of his and his father’s lives at the camps. Wiesel decides to incorporate these vital pieces of information into his story to explain to the reader that the treacherous events of the Holocaust can change the emotions towards the most sensitive topics; outlook on life and survival. When speaking with the Blokälteste, the hairy man tells Elie, “In this place, it is everyman for himself, and you cannot think of others. Not even your father,” (Wiesel 110). After hearing these bold words, Elie’s feelings change as he has a realization that he can only survive if he goes on alone. Elie understands that surviving requires selfish thinking, and it is “everyman for himself” when trying to stay alive in the adverse conditions of the camps. Elie must not “think about others” because the thoughts will only slow him down and handicap him in the long run. He has to put everything out of his mind, “even [his] father” who has played a large role in his life and survival so far. At the start