Reoccurring Motifs In Elie Wiesel's Night

Night, written by Elie Wiesel, recounts the oppressiveness of Nazi Germany in the inhumane treatment of many “undesirables”. As the author elucidates the situation, he has an assortment of motifs, such as night, to depict his life in the concentration camps. One of the most reoccurring motifs is night. In Night by Elie Wiesel, night, one of the several motifs in his account of the Holocaust, emblematizes the suffering, death, and religious hole in Elie. This is significant because Wiesel’s autobiography illustrates what inhumanity will do to one’s life and beliefs. Throughout the plot of the autobiography, misery takes place unremittingly. It all commences the night when Elie’s father arrives home from a Jewish Council meeting with the commanders of the …show more content…
He yearns to study the text so badly, he asks his father for a master who could guide him in his studies. His father replies to him saying, “You are too young for that. Maimonides tells us that one must be thirty before venturing into a world of mysticism, a world fraught with peril” (4). So Elie continues to study the Talmud, however things are about to change. During the beginning time of life in the concentration camp, Elie still is devoted to the Talmud and the Jewish beliefs. As days turn to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years, and Elie incessantly observes the toiling of not only his father, but others too, and he begins to falter about God’s justice. The biggest rebellion of Elie’s a spiritual belief takes place on Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement. There is an immense debate on if fasting is appropriate. Some say that it is too precarious to not fast because they must show God that they can still sing His praises. The others say that fasting will only bring a quicker death. Elie agrees with the anti-fasting group and eats his ration. As he devours his crust he “[…] felt a great void opening”