How Does Elie Wiesel Show Courage

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” During the Holocaust, the Jewish people demonstrated courage while being oppressed by the Nazis. In the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel, he recalls his experiences from the Holocaust when he was placed into numerous Nazi concentration camps. Elie took many risks while he was living in the concentration camps. The risks Elie took ultimately lead to him surviving to share his experiences. Through Elie’s experiences, he demonstrated that courage can come when we least expect it.
Often times courage is sparked in someone when they are put in a difficult situation. It is strenuous to know what prompts someone to be courageous. In Night, before they were transported to the ghettos, Wiesel thought, “We were ready. I went out first. I did not want to look at my parents. I did not want to break into tears,”(19). When …show more content…
However, courage is stronger depending on the instance that people are placed in. During a selection on the third day his stay at Gleiwitz, Elie recalled, “I inched my way through the crowd. Several SS men rushed to find me, creating such confusion that a number of people were able to switch over to the right- among them my father and I,” (96). In this situation, instead of obeying the SS officers orders, Wiesel and his father chose to rebel. On the first night after the Jews’ long journey to Gleiwitz, Elie recounted Juliek playing the violin he brought along, “He was playing a fragment of a Beethoven concerto,” (95). Courage is standing up for what you want and having strength in the face of grief. Juliek spread his strength throughout the camp by standing up against the Nazis and playing what they did not approve of. Ultimately, his risk ended in his demise but empowered others to keep on fighting by bringing light into the darkness of the concentration camp. Despite the belief that courage is in everyone, courage sometimes is

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