An old man named Rabbi Eliahou came into the shed looking for his son, who was separated from him while running through the snow. Rabbi Eliahou is a good man, admired by all, and his son stayed with him for three years in the concentration camps. When it seemed the end was near, fate had separated them. His son was younger and stronger, so he was able to run through the snow, but when he noticed his father falling behind he kept on running. His son had been trying to get away from the burden of looking after a weak father, and concentrate on surviving himself. Elie prays to God, "My God, Lord of the Universe, give me strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahou's son has done." Eliezer is disgusted with the horrific selfishness he sees around him, and how sons are horribly mistreating fathers. This proves that humans can become intense even to those they love.
German workmen began to throw bread into the car and stood around watching as the prisoners tear each other to death for scraps. Meir’s father gets some bread and crawls away with it in his hands. His son attacked him and beat him to death, “Meir…you’re hurting me…you’re killing your father…” Then, the son was killed for the same bread, and both father and son lied dead side by side. They were no longer living in a world of social responsibility, and it made perfect sense for them to behave as animals, without any regard to familial ties. The prisoners had been starved for ten days and were willing to kill each other for bread. Instead of comforting each other in times of difficulty, the prisoners responded to their circumstances by turning against one another. This demonstrates how inhumane and beast-like people can behave.
Elie had stayed with his father throughout the novel. He tried to do his best in helping his father, as well as staying alive himself. He depended on his father for support, and his love for his father allowed him to endure the cruel circumstances. Their relationship demonstrates that Eliezer's love for his father was stronger than his instinct for self- preservation. Eliezer's father had given up and no longer wanted the responsibility of trying to stay alive. Eliezer's father simply wanted to lie down and rest in the snow, even though it meant sacrificing his own life, “I cant go on…This is the end…I’m going to die here….” The next day, his father had been replaced by another invalid and taken to the crematory. Despite the love and care he had shown to his father, Eliezer felt that he had somehow sacrificed his father for his own safety.
We can see that Night demonstrates that the most unpleasant and painful of conditions can take part on even the most loving of relationships. It is the result of the hostile experiences with Nazi persecution, but it is also the result of the cruelty that fellow prisoners inflict upon each other. The entire experience in the war shows how horribly people can treat one another, even to the ones they love. All of these moments of cruelty are provoked by the conditions the prisoners are forced to endure. In order to save themselves, these sons sacrificed their fathers.
