In the autobiographical novel, Night, by Elie Weisel, there is a persistent change in theme. The story begins in 1944 where Elie was very focused on learning about his religion from Moshe the Beadle. However, later on, the Jews were forced to move into ghettoes in their city. This began the lowest point in their lives. From then(There? meh), they were taken to various concentration camps such as Birkenau, Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Gleiwitz.
It wasn’t until April 10, 1945 that they were freed. Throughout the advancement of this novel, Elie’s feelings about himself, his family, and his God were altered while in concentration camps.To begin with, Elie’s feelings about himself changed drastically. As Elie moves throughout concentration camps, he begins to see himself as a person with no soul. The quote, “I was nothing but a body. Perhaps even less: a famished stomach.
The stomach alone was measuring time” (Weisel 52) shows that the concentration camps made Elie view himself as only a body. He saw that there was no more meaning in life and not one reason to live. Weisel states, “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left me” (Weisel 115). This quote shows that even though Elie lived through the suffering, he is essentially dead and heartless. Even though he left the camps, he will always have the memories of death being so close to him.
Furthermore, Elie’s beliefs about his family are also changed, specifically his father. The quote, “My hand tightened its grip on my father. All I could think of was not to lose him. Not to remain alone” (Weisel 30) shows that Elie truly loved his father and wanted to protect him from any harm in the beginning.
Elie shows his love for his father by giving him extra rations of food and constantly worrying and checking on him. As their time goes by in concentration camps, Elie’s father becomes fatally ill with dysentery. Just before he is diagnosed, Elie began to feel like his father was starting to become a burden. The quote, “He was right, I thought deep down, not daring to admit it to myself.
Too late to save your old father…You could have two rations of bread, two rations of soup” (Weisel 111) implies that Elie decides that his health is more important than his father’s. Elie does not want to be bothered by the responsibility of taking care of his dying father anymore.Finally, Elie’s beliefs about his God changes throughout the novel. In the beginning, Elie is very excited to learn about his religion from Moshe the Beadle. Weisel states, “By day I studied Talmud and by night I would run to the synagogue to weep over the destruction of the Temple” (Weisel 3).
Initially, Elie believes that his entire life revolves around his God and is very eager to learn something new each day. Although Elie grew up with all his faith in God, his faith slowly began to diminish as he served his time in concentration camps. The quote, “I was not denying His existence, but I doubted His absolute justice” (Weisel 45) implies that the terrors of concentration camps caused Elie to lose all hope and faith in God.All in all, Elie’s beliefs in himself, his family, and his God were shaken because of the Holocaust.
Although these were extreme changes, they were definitely not permanent.
