Themes in “Night” by Elie Wiesel

THemes 1. ) Mans inhu cosmosity to man Removal of human looks that defined who they are * Same uniform * Cut hair to mop up individuality. * In a few seconds we had ceased to be men 37 * I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name42 The harshness of the camping quickly transformed them into selfish indifferent great deal * I had not even blinked, only yesterday I would have dug my nails into the criminals digit 39 * youre killing your fatherhundred and one * The old man mumbled something, groaned and died. Nobody cared 101 * I shall never forgive myself.Nor shall I forgive the human race for having pushed me against the wall, for having off-key me into a stranger, for having awakened in me the basest, most primitive instincts. Xii * In this place, it is every man for himself, and you can not think of others. Not even your father. In this place there is no such thing as a father, brother, friend. Each of us lives and dies al oneness. * All of a sudden, this pleasant and intelligent young man had changed. His eyes were shining with greed The inhumane treatment of Jews He looked at us like a pack of leprous dogs clinging to action 38 * If one of us stopped for a second, a quick shot eliminated the filthy dog 85 * Two cauldrons of hot, steaming soup had been left-hand(a) untended tyrannical temptation 59 * Hunger was tormenting us we had not eaten for nigh six days 114 * We had been 100 or so in this wagon. Twelve of us left it 103 * The removal of the Jews rights were the first sign of discrimination 2. ) Faith and Loss Loss of human life and integrity * Those whose numbers had been noted were standing apart, discard by the whole world. 72 Faith in immortal and themselves made them stronger * if only he could of kept his faith in God and considered this suffering as a divine test, he would not have been swept away by selection * Have faith in life by unprompted out despair you will move away from death 41 * a prayer to this God in whom I no l onger believed. Oh God master of the universe, give me the strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahus son has done. * we mustnt give up hope, even instantly as the sword hangs oer our heads. Loss of faith in God made them weak Where is God hanging here from the gallows 65 * My eyes had opened and I was only if, terribly alone in a world without God, without man. Without love or mercy. I was nothing but ashes now 68 * But as soon as he felt the first chinks in his faith, he lost all incentive to fight and opened the door to death 77 * I have more(prenominal) faith in Hitler than anybody else. He alone has kept his promises, all his promises to the Jewish people. 81 * I suffer hell in my soul and in my flesh how can anybody believe in this God of mercy 3. ) Kindness in adversity Helping each other out in times of deal Elies father made sure Elie didnt gleam asleep forever in the snow despite his exhaustion. Pg 88 * The French girl risked her life by saying to Elie in almost perf ect German, dont cry. Keep your anger, your hate, for another day, for later. The day will come but not now wait. Clench your teeth and wait * Elie even gave his dying father extra ration out outs, despite being told to stop giving your ration of bread and soup in addition your old father in fact you should be getting his rations. * Working through the struggles together see father son relationships Elie and father * No.Youre xviii Not fifty. Youre forty. Dou you hear? Eighteen and forty. 30 4. ) Father/son relationship * Elie and his father * Elies father made sure Elie didnt fall asleep forever in the snow despite his exhaustion. Pg 88 * my fathers presence was the only thing that stopped me 87 * I had no right to let myself die. What would he do without me? I was his sole support. * Elie even gave his dying father extra rations, despite being told to stop giving your ration of bread and soup too your old father in fact you should be getting his rations. * Rabbi Eliahu and h is son side by side they had endured the suffering , the blows they had waited for their ration of bread and they had prayed pg 91 * he had felt his father growing weaker and, believing the end was near, had thought by this separation to free himself of a burden that could disparage his own chance for survival. 91 * The man on the train and his son * Youre killing your father I have bread for you too for you to 101 5. ) Conscience/remorse/indifference Indifference * Since my fathers death, nothing mattered to me anymore 113 * The old man mumbled something, groaned and died.Nobody cared 101 * we no longer feared death 60 * I was no longer arguing with him but death itself, with death that he had already chosen 105 Manipulated conscience/Remorse * deep deep down me, if I could have searched the recesses of my feeble conscience, I might have found something like Free at last * I shall never forgive myself. Nor shall I forgive the world for having pushed me against the wall, for havin g turned me into a stranger, for having awakened in me the basest, most primitive instincts. Xii * I gave him what was left of my soup.But my heart was heavy, I was aware I was doing it grudgingly 107 6. ) Survival and death Surviving by escaping reality * All I had to do was close my eyes to see a whole world pass before me, to dream of another life 87 * He was forever praying or meditating to some Talmudic question. For him it was an escape from reality, from feeling the blows 86 Stars = Jews Conflagration = the war, demolition The idea of death * A place to rest without suffering Surviving to rebel against God/Germans * Something inside me rebelled against that death 88 * We had transcended everything death, fatigue, our natural needs.We were stronger than cold and hunger, stronger than the guns and the inclination to die, doomed and rootles, nothing but numbers, we were the only men on earth 87 * there was no longer any reason for me to fast. I no longer accepted gods silenc e. As I swallowed my ration of soup, I turned that act into a symbol of rebellion, of protest against him. Just issue through the motions and not losing hope * There were two of us my body and I 85 * Dont think, dont stop, run 86 * No one was praying for the night to pass quickly. Night was an escape from reality, a time of rest. The stars were but sparks of the immense conflagration that was consuming us. The night was not nearly as bad as the day, only sparks of the war The Jews were just a part of the war * Were this conflagration to be extinguished one day, nothing would be left in the sky but extinct stars and unseeing eyes. What would happen if the war is finished?. Unseeing eyes =The holocaust may be forgotten, people choose to not see the light of God (loss of faith) Gods light (stars) will be destroyed God has turned his back on the people nonextant stars = people losing faith in the light of God