Most of the time having family during a crisis is a good thing. In the book Night a memoir written by Elie Wiesel a man that lived through the Holocaust himself, he talks about his struggles and unimaginable times he had. His name is Elie Wiesel; the things he witnessed, he can never forget. In one part of the story he explains how being in the concentration camp took away his childhood and changed his life forever. Having family during a crisis can be a good thing and a burden at the same time. In a couple of instances Elie is glad to have his dad and to not have ended up alone. When they first arrived to the camp “men and women were separated Elie stays connected to his dad as best as he could so he didn’t lose him”. In another instance Elie was glad to have his father with him as they struggled through tough times together. As Elie and his …show more content…
In a couple parts of the story Elie’s dad in many ways was jeopardizing Elie’s well being. For instance, when his father was sick. “Instead of him taking the extra bread he had gotten he gave it to his dad” There was no point because his father was gonna die either way so he basically wasted it. Another example of why family isn’t always the best thing to have during a crisis. Is when the “rabbi's son left him when they were forced to run away from the Americans/ Russians”. He did this because he thought his father was dragging him down so he slipped away and left him to ultimately die alone. Which still doesn’t justify what he did, but i’m sure he did it to save his own life because his father was slowing him down. Another example would be when they were on the train the second time and a SS officer threw a piece of bread into the cart just to watch the men fight over it. While they were fighting Elie describes a point where “a man actually beats his own father for a piece of bread”(Wiesel Pg.105). These are just two of many instances throughout the
The one person in Elie’s life that means everything to him is his father. During his time in the concentration camps, Elie’s bond with his father
One of the conflicts that he has with his dad is in the beginning of the book when he feels that his dad doesn’t pay enough attention to him. “My father was occupied with his business and the doings in the community” (Wiesel 18). He feels that his father cares more about other people in the community more than he care about him. This made Elie feel melancholy and isolated.
In the beginning of the book, before experiencing life threatening difficulties, Elie was much more determined to stay with his family (in order to survive). Eliezer thought that his father was what kept him going and gave him strength, he was certain that the right thing to do was to stay with his dad. In chapter 3 Wiesel states, “My hand tightened its grip on my father. All I could think of was not to lose him. Not to remain alone” (30). In these sentences, Elie explains that he and his father needed to stay together. This quote also shows what Elie’s emotions were; he was scared to suffer through the concentration camp alone. Elie also shows his need for family when he says, “Franek, the foreman, assigned me to a corner... ‘Please, sir ... I’d like to be near
Elie’s thoughts and actions reflect his reliance on his father in the camp. When he is going through selection for a komodo, he begs, “I want to stay with my father” page 48.
Throughout the novel, we can understand that in the beginning, the relationship between Elie and his father was not the best because Elie believed his father cared more about the Jewish community than him. However, by the time the father and the son only had each other, they were depending on each other. Elie was only living for his father because he knew his father would not survive without him. They were both helping each other in a ways surviving. For example, Elie gave his father lessons in marching step, to help him survive (55). Also, Elie became less and less emphatic toward his dad during the concentration camp days. The Nazi sabotages the wonderful bond a father and a son had together. Elie could see his own father get beaten up and even than; he had no emotion or anger (39). Once his father got beat up with an iron bar, and Elie did nothing to help him, he just stood there (54). Even thought he had no emotion, even when his father past away, Elie said “I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I was out of tears. And deep inside me, if I could have searched the recesses of my feeble conscience, I might have found something like: Free at last!...
In Elie Wiesel’s Night, he recounts his horrifying experiences as a Jewish boy under Nazi control. His words are strong and his message clear. Wiesel uses themes such as hunger and death to vividly display his days during World War II. Wiesel’s main purpose is to describe to the reader the horrifying scenes and feelings he suffered through as a repressed Jew. His tone and diction are powerful for this subject and envelope the reader. Young readers today find the actions of Nazis almost unimaginable. This book more than sufficiently portrays the era in the words of a victim himself.
In the memoir, Night, author Elie Wiesel portrays the dehumanization of individuals and its lasting result in a loss of faith in God. Throughout the Holocaust, Jews were doggedly treated with disrespect and inhumanity. As more cruelty was bestowed upon them, the lower their flame of hope and faith became as they began turning on each other and focused on self preservation over family and friends. The flame within them never completely died, but rather stayed kindling throughout the journey until finally it stood flickering and idle at the eventual halt of this seemingly never-ending nightmare. Elie depicts the perpetuation of violence that crops up with the Jews by teaching of the loss in belief of a higher power from devout to doubt they
As humans, we require basic necessities, such as food, water, and shelter to survive. But we also need a reason to live. The reason could be the thought of a person, achieving some goal, or a connection with a higher being. Humans need something that drives them to stay alive. This becomes more evident when people are placed in horrific situations. In Elie Wiesel's memoir Night, he reminisces about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust. There the men witness horrific scenes of violence and death. As time goes on they begin to lose hope in the very things that keep them alive: their faith in God, each other, and above all, themselves.
In the beginning of the story Elie Wiesel and his father were not that close. He says his father worked a lot. This is how Wiesel describes him “My father was a cultured, rather unsentimental. He rarely displayed his feelings not even with his family, and was more involved with the welfare of others than of his own kin”(Wiesel 4). He describes him as a man that worked and didn’t really express his feelings to anyone. Him and his father weren’t that close. Throughout all the events that happen to them in the book he then realizes family is the only thing he has now and he doesn’t want to lose him. Later on, they’re sent to camp and Elie Wiesel and his father are together and that is when they become closer. When they were at these concentration camps he says, “ I tightend my grip on my father’s hand. The old ,familiar fear not to lose him”(Wiesel 104). Before they weren’t that close, later on when they went to these camps they were faced with inhumanity. That got them closer. Now, he feared to lose his father. In the end, this demonstrates that when they faced these cruel things they learned to be closer to each other because they don’t want anything to happen to one
Elie mentions several times throughout the novel that he overcame trials by having his father by his side. When separated from his mother and
Just like there are up sides to freedom, there can be positive outcomes from controlling environments as well. In order for freedom to be a positive thing, it needs to be a privilege that people are only granted as much of as they can handle. In high school students are given a range of classes they are allowed to choose from, but ultimately they are still controlled by teachers and parents. As children grow up they are given freedom in stages, a little but at a time so it is never too overwhelming. Until one reaches full adulthood, there will always be other people that have control over certain factors of their life. This is necessary for most children to be successful in school so that they can later reach their aspirations in life. However,
When Elie and his family are sent to a concentration camp, he is fortunate enough to not be separated from his father. At first, this is a relief, and is father is his will to survive. “The idea of dying, of ceasing to be, began to fascinate me. To no longer exist. To no longer feel the excruciating pain of my foot… My father’s presence was the only thing that stopped me. He was running next to me, out of breathe, out of strength, desperate. I had no right to let myself die. What would he do without me? I was his sole support.”(86)
They did this because they felt that their dads were a burden on their shoulders as if they were slowing them down and the kids could survive without them. Elie once had these feelings about his dad when in the book he said that he thought his dad was dead, but Elie instantly regretted these thoughts because he had to protect his dad. Elie thought that if his dad died, he would no longer have a reason to live. Elie felt very strong about his dad because he was always protecting him and not letting him die. In one situation he would not let the other Jews throw him out of the cattle cart when they were on their way to Gleiwitz. Elie also tried his best to stay by his father’s side no matter what, even if it meant almost getting shot; He did this because Elie’s dad also protected him during the marches by not letting him fall asleep in the snow, this was so he would not
In the story Elie was whipped savagely by the Kapo, and all he can think about is his father. Later in the new camp Elie's father is giving up on life and Elie tries to make him move. There is an allied air raid and for the first time Elie leave his father.(wiesel pg. 106) This proves he finally gave up on his father. He started off in the story really caring about his father sacrificing his own safety just so he could stay close to him. After his father was struck ill in the new camp he gave up on him. In the story Elie wanted to keep his shoes even if that meant he would get tormented even more. This show he has a very strong will and loves things that give him a glimmer of hope. At the end when his father died he stopped caring and lost all hope in surviving the
Eventually they stayed alive because they were each other motivation to live. After discovering that the front line was closing on the camp, everyone is worried that they will be killed. When confronted by the news, Elie thought, “As for me, I was thinking not about death but about not wanting to be separated from my father. We had suffered so much, endured so much together”(Wiesel 82). Even though Elie and his father were never that close, since the German occupation, they have started to support each other. Yet when confronted by his own mortality, he still sticks by his father's side. Not only is his father helping him, he is Elie’s motivation to continue fighting the urge to give up. If it hadn't been for his father, Elie would not have made it as far as he