The Ones We Love?
Family; a blessing, or a curse? In the book Night, Elie Wiesel offers many significant themes, but the question, “is family a blessing or a curse,” is one of the most prevalent and begging themes in the novel. During the novel, Wiesel often questions if he should try and keep his father around, or if life would just be better without him in the picture. “‘Don’t let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I could use all my strength to struggle for my own survival, and only worry about myself,’ I immediately felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever,” (Wiesel, 111). This is just one example of the internal conflict going on endlessly within himself. In Night, the question asking whether family is a …show more content…
When experiencing the moments that are extremely difficult for Elie and his father, he often thinks how great life would be if he could just get rid of his father’s dead weight. One evening when Elie’s father is very ill, the head of the block approaches Elie and tells him, “‘Don’t forget you’re in a concentration camp. Here, every man has to fight for himself and not think of anyone else. Even of his father. Here there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends. Everyone lives and dies for himself alone. I’ll give you a sole piece of advice-don’t give your ration of bread and soup to your old father, there’s nothing you can do for him. And you’re killing yourself. Instead, you ought to be having his ration.’ I listened to him without interrupting. Heis was right, I thought it in the most secret region of my heart, but I dared not admit it. It’s too late to save your old father, I said to myself. You ought to be having two rations of bread, two rations of soup… Only a fraction of a second, but I felt guilty,” (Wiesel, 115). This passage is just one of the many examples of internal conflicts between Elie’s desire to leave his family behind and his obligation to stay. The words the block officer mutters to Elie are very impactful because of the battle within himself. Though Elie later ignores him, and decides to keep fighting for his father, after all, his father is the only family he has …show more content…
One example of this is towards the end of the book when Elie’s father dies. Wiesel writes, “I did not weep. It pained me that I could not weep. But I had no more tears. And, in the depth of my being, in the recesses of my weakened conscience, could I have searched it, I might perhaps have found something like-free at last!” (Wiesel, 116). In other words, Elie is describing how at this point he has lost all human emotion. If a normal boy’s father died today, he would probably be so devastated, sobbing uncontrollably. But Elie hasd no emotion left to show. Heis was afraid if he searched his soul long enough, he would find something to show, but it might be how happy heis was that this burdenis was finally lifted from his shoulders. Elie still does not want to admit to himself he is happy his father died. He is afraid of who he has become. This proves how torn Elieis was about his father, and
Family; a blessing, or a curse? In the book Night, Elie Wiesel offers many significant themes, but the question, “is family a blessing or a curse,” is one of the most prevalent and begging themes in the novel. During the novel, Wiesel often questions if he should try and keep his father around, or if life would just be better without him in the picture. “‘Don’t let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I could use all my strength to struggle for my own survival, and only worry about myself,’ I immediately felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever,” (Wiesel, 111). This is just one example of the internal conflict going on endlessly within himself. In Night, the question asking whether family is a …show more content…
When experiencing the moments that are extremely difficult for Elie and his father, he often thinks how great life would be if he could just get rid of his father’s dead weight. One evening when Elie’s father is very ill, the head of the block approaches Elie and tells him, “‘Don’t forget you’re in a concentration camp. Here, every man has to fight for himself and not think of anyone else. Even of his father. Here there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends. Everyone lives and dies for himself alone. I’ll give you a sole piece of advice-don’t give your ration of bread and soup to your old father, there’s nothing you can do for him. And you’re killing yourself. Instead, you ought to be having his ration.’ I listened to him without interrupting. Heis was right, I thought it in the most secret region of my heart, but I dared not admit it. It’s too late to save your old father, I said to myself. You ought to be having two rations of bread, two rations of soup… Only a fraction of a second, but I felt guilty,” (Wiesel, 115). This passage is just one of the many examples of internal conflicts between Elie’s desire to leave his family behind and his obligation to stay. The words the block officer mutters to Elie are very impactful because of the battle within himself. Though Elie later ignores him, and decides to keep fighting for his father, after all, his father is the only family he has …show more content…
One example of this is towards the end of the book when Elie’s father dies. Wiesel writes, “I did not weep. It pained me that I could not weep. But I had no more tears. And, in the depth of my being, in the recesses of my weakened conscience, could I have searched it, I might perhaps have found something like-free at last!” (Wiesel, 116). In other words, Elie is describing how at this point he has lost all human emotion. If a normal boy’s father died today, he would probably be so devastated, sobbing uncontrollably. But Elie hasd no emotion left to show. Heis was afraid if he searched his soul long enough, he would find something to show, but it might be how happy heis was that this burdenis was finally lifted from his shoulders. Elie still does not want to admit to himself he is happy his father died. He is afraid of who he has become. This proves how torn Elieis was about his father, and