Examples Of Kindness In Night By Elie Wiesel

Words: 630
Pages: 3
Open Document
The Holocaust was a devastating time period for all of the Jewish prisoners in the concentration camps due to the many atrocious acts performed within them. However, small acts of compassion and kindness from time to time between the guards and prisoners, and the prisoners themselves taught young Eliezer and his father not give up hope and gave them the willpower to try to survive. These acts of kindness ranged anywhere from prisoners helping one another survive the brutal selections, and the guards speaking kind words that lifted the spirits, to the guards giving words of advice that increased the prisoners’ chances of survival during the selections. Upon arriving to the first camp, Birkenau, an inmate waiting in line came up to Elie and his father asking for their ages, with a plan in mind to help them get through the first selection alive. Upon hearing their ages (fifteen and fifty), the inmate said, ‘“No. You’re eighteen,… No, not fifty. You’re forty. Do you hear? Eighteen and forty”’ (Wiesel 30). This was the first act of kindness in Auschwitz that Elie experienced within a few minutes of arriving there. The prisoner that directed …show more content…
While waiting in line for the selection, the new Blockalteste in charge gave some words of advice to the inmates telling them, ’”Don’t walk slowly...run like the devil was behind you...try to move your limbs”’ (71). Running would not only bring color to their limbs, but would physically show that they’re still capable of performing well and carrying out labor requiring tasks. This greatly improved the prisoner’s chances of surviving the selection. Elie did what his Blockalteste told him to do and ran like the devil was behind him, resulting in him surviving the
Show More

Related Documents: Examples Of Kindness In Night By Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel The Sunflower

population but would offer to forgive him personally. I apply my knowledge from your novel, along with Night by Elie Wiesel, and draw upon films to voice my opinion on your question to readers, "what would I have done?" The most important…

Words 1351 - Pages 6

The Role Of Survival In The Holocaust

On page 56, Elie was asked by another prisoner if he wanted to get into a good unit and that he’d help Elie if he gave up his shoes but he refused to give them up. This emphasizes the fact that Elie needed to be selfish and keep his shoes so he wouldn’t get frostbite, or pain from the weather or just being on his feet so much. This relates to how they needed…

Words 1146 - Pages 5