Night Elie Wiesel Analysis

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In the beginning of Night, Eliezer’s identity is that of an innocent child, a student of Talmud, and a devout Jew. But the concentration camps experience strips him (and his fellow Jewish prisoners) of his identity. Eliezer’s hair is shaved, he’s dressed like all of the other prisoners, and in facing the atrocities of the camp, he loses his innocence (he’s no longer a child) and his faith in God (he’s no longer a devout Jew or student of Talmud). Eliezer and all of the other prisoners are given numbers instead of names. They are no longer individuals, but prisoners, "creatures," and eventually simply bodies. The longer they remain in camps, the more they are reduced to a mere physical presence, losing themselves to their self-preservation instinct, and…show more content…
However, he was fortunate to be able to stay with his father. Wiesel and his father are moved to two other camps: Buna and then Buchenwald where his father dies, and Wiesel is liberated. Through the first person narration, the author forces the reader to spend each day with him in the camp. His imagery and descriptive language make it impossible not to go with Eliezer as he struggles to survive and to keep his father alive. Wiesel is an admirable character. Many other sons in the camps completely lose their humanity. One story is told of a son who kills his father for bread. Harboring guilt for his feeling that his father is a burden, Wiesel attempts to nurse his father and defend him. More than once, he is conflicted about the support of declining father. Wiesel knows that he is barely able to take care of himself. During the night, Elie falls asleep. In the morning, he finds that his father has died and been taken to the crematorium. Within his mind, he feels guilty relief for himself and for the suffering of his father. When his father dies, he becomes so lost that all he does is eat to keep alive. The death of his father discontinues the rest of the story at Buchenwald. To Wiesel, nothing
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