Cruelty And The Holocaust In Elie Wiesel's Night

Words: 466
Pages: 2
Open Document
Cruelty and the Holocaust
Cruelty in the theme of man’s inhumanity to man shows frequently during the time of the Holocaust. Night, a memoir by Elie Wiesel, includes both the Nazi’s cruelty to the Jews and the Jew’s grown cruelty toward each other. This novel Describes Elie’s long journey in the concentration camps and the horrors he has witnessed.
Upon first arrival, Elie and the others are shocked to see the large fire that the Nazis are burning adults and children in, despite if they are alive or not. He could not believe what he was seeing. It was on that first night that he was introduced to the horrors of the concentration camps.“I could not believe that human beings were being burned in our times; the world would never tolerate such …show more content…
They get very few rations of food a day, many people did not last but a week or two, and minor interjections or misdemeanors resulted in beatings. The Nazis treated them like pigs; they forced them to starve, and live like objects. As Stein, a relative of the Wiesel's, states: “The weak don’t last very long here…” (70)
Near the end of Night, The forced prisoners must run for days in the snow to escape the liberating army. They run until some of them drop dead in the snow, and others want to stop and just collapse. “The idea of dying, of ceasing to be, began to fascinate me. To no longer exist. To no longer feel the excruciating pain”. (86) When they finally get to their destination (another camp), the exhausted Jews collapse into a pile on top of each other; thus, some people suffocate and die.
When they leave that camp, they board a train which is where Elie sees the Jews show cruelty toward each other. The trip on the train lasts ten days with very little food and water, so many of them die. Because they are starving, some of them are willing to do anything for food. A few German workers take to throwing bread into the train cars and watching the Jews fight to the death over the pieces. As they are fighting, Weisel describes them as “beasts of prey unleashed, animal hate in their eyes.” (101) One man, he says, even kills his own father to get
Show More

Related Documents: Cruelty And The Holocaust In Elie Wiesel's Night

Essay Diminishing Faith

Diminishing Faith Elie Wiesel struggled with his faith due to his experience from the Holocaust in memoir, Night; Elie Wiesel shows his difficulty in maintaining his faith of a benevolent god in the face of extreme adversity. For the reader to comprehend the tribulation of keeping ones faith in the face of adversity, the reader must understand Jewish religious customs. In the memoir, Wiesel’s tells of his great commitment to the Jewish religion and of his thirst for greater knowledge of his religion…

Words 300 - Pages 2

Maus And Night: Literary Analysis

The Holocaust is the most atrocious event in human history and is taught to high school students all over the world. Over the years, countless authors have written works in what is now known as the Holocaust genre; of these books, high school teachers have to decide which one is best suited for teaching their students about the Holocaust. Between Artie Spiegelman's graphic novel Maus and Elie Wiesel's autobiographical novel Night, Maus is better at teaching high school students about the Holocaust…

Words 1620 - Pages 7

Stephannie Linares night essay

17, 2014 Mrs.Rousseau Period 3/ English II NIGHT Night is a literary memoir of Elie Wiesel’s tenure in the Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel created a character reminiscent of himself with Eliezer. Eliezer experienced cruelty, stress, fear, and inhumanity at a very young age, fifteen Through this, he struggled to maintain his Jewish faith, survive with his father, and endure the hardships placed on his body and mind. Night is a prime example of this inner struggle and…

Words 481 - Pages 2

Personification In Night By Elie Wiesel

“Night” by Elie Wiesel is considered one of the greatest pieces of literature to emerge from the ashes of the Holocaust. Wiesel’s unique voice and writing is able describe themes of humanity, faith, hope and family in a way that transverses boundaries. In the novel Night, young Wiesel and his family were transported to concentration camps during the Holocaust. Along the way, they were forced to separate and work with very little amounts of food. Elie and his father stuck together throughout each…

Words 1215 - Pages 5

How Did Elie Wiesel Survive The Holocaust

families who had no hope to survive...mothers and fathers who went through cruelty and pain every single day...children who cried nonstop and missed the warmth of their parents’ embrace. The Holocaust was an event millions of people would like to forget, or wish to had never lived through. Just the thought of the large number of unfortunate Jews who died, reminds us how lucky every survivor is. Elie Wiesel, a survivalist of the Holocaust, learned to accept death as did every other child in the concentration…

Words 1254 - Pages 6

Identity In Night By Elie Wiesel

harrowingly intimate description of life under the Nazis. In Wiesel’s simplistic retelling of Elie’s experience he gives the memoir immense power by weaving many sub-layers of meaning under what the reader absorbs at face value. Which prompts them to peel back the layers of hidden meaning in order to reach the core. This essay is an attempt to peel back the layers to expose the core of the effects of identity and faith imposed on Elie. Changes to Eliezer’s identity as well as his characterisation…

Words 1350 - Pages 6

Essay about Holocaust/Genocide

The Holocaust was one of the greatest tragedies that occurred in the twentieth century that happened because of isolationism politics, anti-Semitism and fear. It was a traumatic event that showed the world just how cruel humans can be. The things people will do in the name of religious faith astounds even today. The actions of Pope Pius XII’s during the Holocaust is considered controversial. He presented a public front of indifference and remained silent while the Germans committed…

Words 1554 - Pages 7

Examples Of Dehumanization In Night

Dehumanization in Night Dehumanization is to deprive a person or group of human attributes, qualities, and personality; which the Nazis were effectively able to do with only a series of numbers and letters. In the memoir, Night, Elie Wiesel explores his own experiences during the Holocaust and his transformation from a human being to A-7713. To emphasize, the dehumanization tactics used by the Nazis in concentration camps were horrific. They aimed to reduce prisoners to little more than cattle…

Words 499 - Pages 2

Elie Wiesel: An Unforgettable Nightmare

An Unforgettable Nightmare Elie Wiesel himself was a victim of Auschwitz, and spent a certain period of time in a prisoner-of-war camp at the very end of the war. In his autobiographical work Wiesel mentions that in 1945 his foot was operated on and he was ordered to be on bedrest for 2 weeks or so. Russians were supposed to release the prisoners soon and hospital patients had to choose whether to stay in the camp, be evacuated or released by the Russians. Wiesel chose evacuation. Later, he mentioned…

Words 1075 - Pages 5

Inhumanity In Eliezer Wiesel's Night

The Holocaust was arguably the worst tragedy to have ever been forged by the human race. Millions of Jews, homosexuals, disabled people and more were slaughtered by Nazi Germany. There are hundreds of novels and movies telling the stories of those who lived to tell their story of being in the Holocaust. While their stories may have varied, there is always one underlying similarity: inhumanity. Whether the injustice came from SS soldiers or the victims of the Holocaust themselves, brutality and cruelty…

Words 1002 - Pages 5