Night was written by Elie Wiesel to expose his experiences at a concentration camp.

by maricarmeen19 (student)

International Baccalaureate World Literature

María del Carmen Ortiz Daaboul August 17, 2012

12-1

Night

By: Elie Wiesel

Night was written by Elie Wiesel to expose his experiences at a concentration camp. The book describes the gruesome events of the Holocaust. One of the main messages in Night is Elie’s faith in God. His beliefs go from passionately believing in God, to denying him. “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?”. Eliezer's faith hesitates by witnessing the excruciating death of many innocent lives, the severe conditions of the environment, and the emotional chaos induced by persecution.

The quote from Elie Wiesel’s memoir portrays a series of mixed emotions and confusion. It describes how he questioned God. This happened when he arrived at Auschwitz and both he and his father were directed to go to the left (the crematory). They are being led to death through no fault of their own and still blessing God when inside Eliezer felt as if he had to revolt against it. These flames from the crematory are the flames that consume his faith. The first encounter with horror begins the change in Eliezer's faith forever. As Elie reflects throughout the book upon his horrendous nights in the concentration camp and its lasting effect on his life, he introduces the message spiritual crisis and his loss of faith in God.

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Throughout the memoir, Elie Wiesel, as well as many prisoners, lost their faith in God. The doubt the Jews felt is in religion and above all in their God. Wiesel begins the novel, as with many of the Jews, with a deep faith and devotion to God. By reaching a turning point in his life, the horror of the concentration camps opened his eyes and he became exposed to situations that caused him to lose his faith in God. Soon as the terrible life of being held captive by the Jews progressed, Wiesel reached the point where God is no longer a part of his life. The loss of faith is prevalent in Night along with the continued struggle of the people to believe in the religion in which they seem to be abandoned by. In Night, Wiesel changed drastically towards his religion and towards the end of his novel it is apparent that he has lost all faith in God. The loss of faith in Night shows how extreme circumstances can change a person's belief in their religion till there is nothing left to believe in.

As Eliezer's life at the concentration camps continues, his faith in God decreases every day. Eliezer did not deny the fact that God exists but he doubts the justice God has set for the people. God no longer feels present in their lives and is no longer a source of protection for them, for God allows these atrocities to happen. God is seen to the people has a trusting protection for them. The ones who are now in control of their lives are the Nazis. They have become the ones who now decide their fate and no longer God. His views have changed from concerns about his religion, to what he will eat the next day and if he will make it through one more night.

The young boy who was once dedicated to his religion and God, who had studied it without avail, and who had once wanted to commit his entire life to his beliefs, experienced horrors awful enough to abandon his spirituality. At the start of the work, Wiesel’s beliefs were his top priorities; but after being stripped of his dignity and hope, Wiesel ceased to have faith in “The Master of The Universe”. Wiesel was shocked and angry that the God he grew up worshipping would allow such a catastrophe to occur. Through Night, Eliezer encounters a spiritual odyssey that involves a loss of faith in God. He discovers that God can abandon His people and questions God's absence in times of despair. Eliezer's faith in God is tested and through the difficult times he begins to doubt God's presence. The concentration camps and the abuse he lives through everyday drives Eliezer to the point where the injustice he encounters is blamed on God. Eliezer's radically different view towards God causes him not to stop believing there is a God, but to stop believing that God really cares for His innocent people.