// How do Elie's experiences during the Holocaust change him as a person? //
Throughout the novel Night there are many instances that show that Elie Wiesel is changing as a person, including his belief in God and his views/thoughts to cruelty, brutality, and survival. Elie is forced to grow up very quickly when he is first put into a ghetto, and from there on, he has to witness horrific events that changed him.
By the end of Night, Elie has changed significantly towards his views on his religion. In the very first few pages of the novel, Elie compares living to practicing his faith. Elie writes, ""Why did I pray? ... Why did I live? Why did I breathe?" (2) This comes to show that his faith and his belief in God was the highest priority in life that it might as well have been on the same level as something that without it, you wouldn't be able to live. In the beginning of the novel, Elie also described his day with only two things he really cares about doing. Elie said that ""During the day I studied the Talmud, and at night I ran to the synagogue to weep over the destruction of the Temple." (1) This shows that all Elie really counted as doing in his day was practicing his religion by reciting the Talmud, and then mourning over the loss of the place where he spent special time with his God.
As Section 2 starts to come up, it is the first time that Elie is starting to rethink his religion; by this time, his family has been deported to Birkanaue, the reception center for Auschwitz. When Elie saw the crematory for the first time, and he saw babies being the victims of the flames, he had a sudden, but drastic change within him. Elie says that "For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, choose to be silent." At this point, I think that Elie really ins't sure what to think because he had always believed that everything he had ever gotten and seen was a gift from God, but he couldn't believe that his God would allow the murder of innocent infants. Here, you start to see how Elie is petrified at the sights he sees, and he questions God because of it.
In Section 3 of the novel, Elie talks from his present day perspective for a little bit, to talk about how the first night at Birkanue had changed him. Elie writes, "Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul.." (32) This shows that when Elie reflects on his time in Birkanue, it is the time that made him doubt God, the person whom he had devoted his entire life to. As time progresses, onto the rest of the novel, Elie starts to mention God and his beliefs less, until he completely stops mentioning him. I believe that this signifies that Elie had completely lost all of his faith of God because of what he had to go through and what he had to see others go through. By the end, Elie has lost everything he ever knew in his life; his entire family, himself, and his life, and he felt like it was on God to blame for his loss.
Elie also has a huge change in his personality; as I read on in the novel, Elie starts to only think of himself first, instead of others, including his father. In the first two sections, you could see that Elie is a very sympathetic and kind person. When Elie is explaining who Mochè the Beadle is, he said that everyone else in town didn't like him and they didn't pay any attention to him. Elie, on the other hand, said that he "liked his wide dreamy eyes, gazing off into the distance." I think that thsi really revealed who Elie was. Everyone else in town didn't care about Mochè the Beadle, they didn't even interact with him. I think that because Elie said that he was actually really fond of him, even though he was the poor, homeless man in town, he took sympathy and actually liked talking to him.
Personally, I don't see any change in Elie, until Section 4. At this point, Elie and his father have already arrived at Auschwitz. Elie and his dad are both working but Idek is in one of his bad mood and Elie's father is the victim. Idek beat Elie's father with an iron bar, and Elie says that his dad "seemed to break in two like an old tree struck by lightning." (52) Elie's reaction was pretty surprising, and I think that this was the first and biggest change in him. Elie said, "I had watched it all happening without moving. I kept silent. In fact, I thought of stealing away in order not to suffer blows... That was what concentration camp had me me." (52) This shows how Elie would sacrifice his father so that Elie wouldn't have to suffer.
Moving on to Section 6, I believe that this is the biggest section in which the reader gets to see the change that camp life has caused in him. In this section, it is very obvious that Elie does not care for the other prisoners, as long as he survives, he is okay. When Elie and his father had to run in the ice cold, on the way to Gleiwitz, a young adult from Poland was running next to Elie, and he said that he couldn't go on. Elie tried to keep him going, but the boy, named Zalman, soon collapsed and died. Elie believed that instead of an SS officer shooting him, he was trampled to death. After that Elie said, "I quickly forgot about him. I began to think of myself again." (82) This shows that Elie really didn't care for Zalman because Elie was fine; even after seeing a boy die right next to you, and you were the last person to ever talk to him, the death didn't big Elie. Also in Section 6, another selection was happening and Elie had been separated from his father, Elie sacrificed others lives so that he wouldn't have to go through pain. Elie tried to run to his father, and SS officers were pushing him back, while this happened many others switched lines, and Elie and his father were soon reunited. But because of Elie's actions, "there were some shots and some dead" (91) The way that Elie says "some" like brushing it off, basically saying that its okay, is pretty scary because he now has no sense of sympathy for anyone else.
Finally, in section 7, Elie shows a lot of signs of his indifference towards the other prisoners, including his own father. When Elie's father died, Elie felt guilty because he felt like he could have done more. In the text, Wiesel writes, "I had known he was at the end, on the brink of death, and yet I had abandoned him." (101) This shows that even though Elie knew that his father was about to die, he decided to go on and eta his soup, to go on and enjoy a shower while leaving his father outside when it was snowing. Secondly, when Elie had lost his father in the line for the shower, Elie was debating whether or not he should look for his father. In the text it says, ""But at the same moment this thought came into my mind: 'Don't let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I could use all of strength to struggle for my own survival, and only worry about myself." (101) I believe that, that piece of evidence is the biggest and most explicit piece of evidence that shows how self preserved Elie has become. He really thought that by leaving his father, his life would be better because he wouldn't have to have a 'burden' on him any longer. Finally, before Elie's father passed away, Elie was giving his father a piece of ration, and he had brought hims cup of coffee that Elie only took a sip of. When Elie was giving his father his own ration of food, he "felt that I(he) was giving it up to him against my will." (102) This shows that even when his father actually needed that food because he was too weak to even walk, Elie felt like it wasn't right and if he could, he wouldn't give his father the food. At this point in the story, you could tell that in Elie's mind, the best thing to happen would be his father's death because it would not only 'relieve the burden' that he had mentioned earlier, but Elie wouldn't have to give up his ration of food to help his father.
Overall, Elie changed significantly as a person because he started to lose himself to the camp life. Being in the concentration camp changed Elies mind completely from being a devoted Jew, to not believing in God at all. Being in the concentration camp also made hi lose himself from making, human, emotional, and caring decisions.
As Section 2 starts to come up, it is the first time that Elie is starting to rethink his religion; by this time, his family has been deported to Birkanaue, the reception center for Auschwitz. When Elie saw the crematory for the first time, and he saw babies being the victims of the flames, he had a sudden, but drastic change within him. Elie says that "For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, choose to be silent." At this point, I think that Elie really ins't sure what to think because he had always believed that everything he had ever gotten and seen was a gift from God, but he couldn't believe that his God would allow the murder of innocent infants. Here, you start to see how Elie is petrified at the sights he sees, and he questions God because of it.
In Section 3 of the novel, Elie talks from his present day perspective for a little bit, to talk about how the first night at Birkanue had changed him. Elie writes, "Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul.." (32) This shows that when Elie reflects on his time in Birkanue, it is the time that made him doubt God, the person whom he had devoted his entire life to. As time progresses, onto the rest of the novel, Elie starts to mention God and his beliefs less, until he completely stops mentioning him. I believe that this signifies that Elie had completely lost all of his faith of God because of what he had to go through and what he had to see others go through. By the end, Elie has lost everything he ever knew in his life; his entire family, himself, and his life, and he felt like it was on God to blame for his loss.
Elie also has a huge change in his personality; as I read on in the novel, Elie starts to only think of himself first, instead of others, including his father. In the first two sections, you could see that Elie is a very sympathetic and kind person. When Elie is explaining who Mochè the Beadle is, he said that everyone else in town didn't like him and they didn't pay any attention to him. Elie, on the other hand, said that he "liked his wide dreamy eyes, gazing off into the distance." I think that thsi really revealed who Elie was. Everyone else in town didn't care about Mochè the Beadle, they didn't even interact with him. I think that because Elie said that he was actually really fond of him, even though he was the poor, homeless man in town, he took sympathy and actually liked talking to him.
Personally, I don't see any change in Elie, until Section 4. At this point, Elie and his father have already arrived at Auschwitz. Elie and his dad are both working but Idek is in one of his bad mood and Elie's father is the victim. Idek beat Elie's father with an iron bar, and Elie says that his dad "seemed to break in two like an old tree struck by lightning." (52) Elie's reaction was pretty surprising, and I think that this was the first and biggest change in him. Elie said, "I had watched it all happening without moving. I kept silent. In fact, I thought of stealing away in order not to suffer blows... That was what concentration camp had me me." (52) This shows how Elie would sacrifice his father so that Elie wouldn't have to suffer.
Moving on to Section 6, I believe that this is the biggest section in which the reader gets to see the change that camp life has caused in him. In this section, it is very obvious that Elie does not care for the other prisoners, as long as he survives, he is okay. When Elie and his father had to run in the ice cold, on the way to Gleiwitz, a young adult from Poland was running next to Elie, and he said that he couldn't go on. Elie tried to keep him going, but the boy, named Zalman, soon collapsed and died. Elie believed that instead of an SS officer shooting him, he was trampled to death. After that Elie said, "I quickly forgot about him. I began to think of myself again." (82) This shows that Elie really didn't care for Zalman because Elie was fine; even after seeing a boy die right next to you, and you were the last person to ever talk to him, the death didn't big Elie. Also in Section 6, another selection was happening and Elie had been separated from his father, Elie sacrificed others lives so that he wouldn't have to go through pain. Elie tried to run to his father, and SS officers were pushing him back, while this happened many others switched lines, and Elie and his father were soon reunited. But because of Elie's actions, "there were some shots and some dead" (91) The way that Elie says "some" like brushing it off, basically saying that its okay, is pretty scary because he now has no sense of sympathy for anyone else.
Finally, in section 7, Elie shows a lot of signs of his indifference towards the other prisoners, including his own father. When Elie's father died, Elie felt guilty because he felt like he could have done more. In the text, Wiesel writes, "I had known he was at the end, on the brink of death, and yet I had abandoned him." (101) This shows that even though Elie knew that his father was about to die, he decided to go on and eta his soup, to go on and enjoy a shower while leaving his father outside when it was snowing. Secondly, when Elie had lost his father in the line for the shower, Elie was debating whether or not he should look for his father. In the text it says, ""But at the same moment this thought came into my mind: 'Don't let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I could use all of strength to struggle for my own survival, and only worry about myself." (101) I believe that, that piece of evidence is the biggest and most explicit piece of evidence that shows how self preserved Elie has become. He really thought that by leaving his father, his life would be better because he wouldn't have to have a 'burden' on him any longer. Finally, before Elie's father passed away, Elie was giving his father a piece of ration, and he had brought hims cup of coffee that Elie only took a sip of. When Elie was giving his father his own ration of food, he "felt that I(he) was giving it up to him against my will." (102) This shows that even when his father actually needed that food because he was too weak to even walk, Elie felt like it wasn't right and if he could, he wouldn't give his father the food. At this point in the story, you could tell that in Elie's mind, the best thing to happen would be his father's death because it would not only 'relieve the burden' that he had mentioned earlier, but Elie wouldn't have to give up his ration of food to help his father.
Overall, Elie changed significantly as a person because he started to lose himself to the camp life. Being in the concentration camp changed Elies mind completely from being a devoted Jew, to not believing in God at all. Being in the concentration camp also made hi lose himself from making, human, emotional, and caring decisions.
The main detail that I liked about your blog post is that you wrote in essay form which makes the reader understand the true meaning of Night. The introduction and conclusion paragraphs were great they captivated the viewer's attention and made the reader think more about the concentration camps. The blog we had to do this week reminded me of the thematic essay we did for TKAM. I noticed that you overall only one grammar error in the last paragraph of your post for Night. Great Blog Post.
ReplyDeleteCitlalli - You did a very thorough job in showing how Elie changes throughout his memoir, complete with excellent textual evidence. Kudos to you!
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