Night

A detailed Summary of Night

Night by Elie Wiesel is a compelling story of one boy's survival of the Holocaust. Elie starts describing his early years in the town of Sighet in Transylvania. Here his father was a prominent member of the Jewish community and Elie devotes his entire life to his religious beliefs. "During the day I studied the Talmud, and at night I ran to the synagogue to weep over the destruction of the Temple." His beliefs ran so deep that he would always weep when praying without knowing why. When asked why he prayed he responded, '"I don't know why." He then asked himself, "Why do I pray?" A strange question. "Why did I live? Why did I breathe?"' This alone shows a passion for his beliefs that is often overlooked in today's society.

1. As a young boy of twelve, Elie's way of life was deeply shaped by his individual religious sensibilities, and his encounters within the Jewish society. As his life went on, a horrible act of humankind not only destroyed his family, his way of life, his people, but also his conception of God. It is this destruction that he focuses on and explains as only a person who has lived through such a horror can. The central thesis of Night focuses on one little boy's experiences during the Ho

moment that I began to hate them, and my hate is still the only link between us today. They were our first oppressors. They were the first of the faces of hell and death." After this incidence they arrived at Birkenau, the reception center for Auschwitz. It was here that he was separated from his family except for his father. It was this separation point where he lost his family forever, and one more nail was nailed into the coffin for his hatred of God. All around him was suffering, confusion, and most of all the chimneys where black flames were gushing out and the smell of flesh filled the air. The older ones begged their children: "You must never lose faith, even when the sword hangs over your head. That's the teaching of our sages..." But, how could a God who called the Jews his chosen people subject them to this kind of treatment? Elie would soon join the Jews who already felt this way. Elie had not been at Birkenau for an entire day when already he felt his first revolt against God. As they stood waiting for their destiny, someone began to recite the Kaddish, the prayer for the dead. "'Yitgadal veyitkadach shme raba...May His name be blessed and magnified...'whispered my father. For the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me. Why should I bless His name? The Eternal, lord of the Universe, and All-Powerful and Terrible, was silent. What had I to thank Him for?" However, a few steps later when he was face to face with death, he himself started to recite the same prayer as his father had. He may have recited this prayer, but it was not a heart-felt prayer. It was a prayer he had been taught since birth. That first night in the camp was the turning point for Elie's life. "Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames, which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments, which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself. Never." From this point on, the experiences compound upon this feeling of a death of faith.

2. Night by Elie Wiesel contributes to the study of religion through personal experience. Many philosophers or religious texts are grounded in personal experience. However, Elie's experience was so different from those of other writers. Most people write of how

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Approximate Word count = 1842
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Religion