Essay On Dehumanization In Night

Words: 1313
Pages: 6

In the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie illustrates the process of dehumanization. In thinking about the concept of man’s inhumanity to man it is often defined as dehumanization; the psychological process of making the other seem less than human and not worthy of human treatment. Elie’s story illustrates his struggles mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Elie’s life altering experiences have changed him forever. Amid this great suffrage a lot is learned through Elie from his experiences in the Holocaust. During times of oppression Elie learns that people lose their faith, begin to dehumanize each other, and how officers viewed prisoners as animals. During times of oppression Elie learns that people lose their faith because they question God’s power during such cruel times. Before entering the concentration camp Elie believed God’s power reflects everything. Elie soon learns that God must be blind to what is currently happening. Through the terrors of the concentration camps Elie loses his faith in God when he witnesses the gas chambers, the crematories and the hangings. Elie says a part of him dies in chapter three, “Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust”(Wiesel.32). Elie has now lost all faith in the God he …show more content…
During times of oppression Elie learns that people lose their faith, dehumanize each other, and what it's like to be treated like an animal by officers when exposed to such horror in the Holocaust. Throughout the novel, examples of individuals questioning God, people betraying one another and human beings treating others with a lack of dignity and purpose. These memories that Elie share, show that the Holocaust arose because individuals dehumanized one another. By the end of the memoir it is clear that Elie has become dehumanized because he no longer defines and views himself as a