Humanity

The Nazis caused more destruction than just killing innocent Jews, they destroyed their

peace, God, and humanity. Elie Wiesel's Night, illustrates that by telling his experience

in the concentration camps. Elie begins to question his strong feelings for God. He is

left only with is memory of having privacy and peace as he did in Sighet. Elie loses his

respect of being treated as a human rather than an animal. The experience of Night is

fatal to Elie as it destroys his peace, his God, and his humanity.

Elie's faith for God weakens more and more. In the beginning, Elie's love for the Lord is

very powerful. "During the day, I studied Talmud, and at night, I run to the synagogue to

weep over the destruction of the temple. (1)" Elie practices Judaism every day by going

to the synagogue where he prays. Elie first sees the crematories and the ditches that

were deaths to so many Jews. "For the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me. Why should

I bless his name? The eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All-powerful and Terrible was

silent. What had I to thank him for? (31)" Elie is unsure about God and what he is doing

to them. Elie is finally convinced that God has given up on him. "I felt very strong. I

was the accuser, God the accused. My eyes were open and terribly alone in the world

without God and without man. (65)" Elie no longer relies on God. He is on his own. By the

end of the book, Elie's faith for God has been so watered down, and it will take him a

long time to regain that faith.

In the beginning of the book, Elie and his family lived undisturbed and very peacefully.

"A wind of calmness and reassurance blew through our houses. (7)" Elie and his family had

their own personal space and just went with the flow. When Elie arrives at the camps, he

soon realizes that it won't be like at home at all. "Even if you were simply passing from

one to the other, several times a day, you still had to go through the baths every time.

(38)" Elie knew he would no longer have any privacy and peace as he is used to. Near the

end of the book, Elie witnesses a boy name Juliek who had brought his violin with him

because he loved playing so much. "When I awake, in the daylight, I could see Juliek,

opposite me, slumped over, dead, near him lay his violin,

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