How Does Elie Lose Faith In God's Justice

Words: 430
Pages: 2
Open Document
A loss of identity often leads to physical, emotional, and spiritual distress, silencing an individual’s freedom of thoughts. This was the case for Elie and his family. They were driven out of their home by German soldiers. There, they experienced horrific things they never thought they will experience. Elie survives the Holocaust through a battle of conscience: first believing wholeheartedly in God, then resisting that faith, and finally reclaiming his faith.
Throughout the Holocaust, Elie loses faith in God’s justice through different ways like abstaining from praising, praying and fasting to God. Elie experienced a feeling of rage when he listened to people blindly praising God. He asked himself, “ Why should I sanctify his name … What was there to thank him for ?”(33). Elie felt there was no …show more content…
This was the case for most of the Jews because they believed that God will set them free from their bondage. However, nothing happened, which discouraged their faith in God. A sense of betrayal can also be sensed from the quote because Elie felt it was unfair to let innocent people go through the wickedness they went through. Elie also chose not to intercede because God was still unfair and silent. Elie decreed,“ I had ceased to pray… I doubted His absolute justice.”(44). He did not choose to not to pray because he did not believe God did not exist, but because he doubted God’s justice. Elie also ceased to prayer because prayer is to provide comfort, however, he did not sense any comfort. Ceasing to pray was a big step for him because he was brought up to pray. Choosing not to pray was a sign of rebellion against God. Lastly, Elie decides to abstain from a religious observance as a rebellious act against God and because he believed it was not worth his survival in camps. He mentioned that “ There was no longer any reason for me to fast… I turned that act into a symbol of
Show More

Related Documents: How Does Elie Lose Faith In God's Justice

Examples Of Loss Of Innocence In Night By Elie Wiesel

was a tragic event when France and Britain declared war on Germany, calling it the Holocaust. When Germany was faced with this catastrophic event, the innocent people of Germany were at loss of hope and faith when being sent to concentration camps. In Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night, he shows how Elie, himself, faces difficult problems and struggles to survive the Holocaust. Wiesel describes his experience as a young Jewish boy during the holocaust as terrifying and his innocence was lost, when the Jews…

Words 662 - Pages 3