preview

Elie Wiesel Character Reflection

Decent Essays

Every year, about fifty million people die. During the holocaust, over 16 million people were killed. That is almost half of the average amount of deaths that occur each year added to the total rate. The holocaust is responsible for the killing and damaging of many people such as Elie Wiesel. From a sheltered boy to a mentally scarred young-man, Elieser’s overall character drastically changed. In “Night” by Elie Wiesel, the main character, Elieser, was transformed throughout the book by his experiences he had in the concentration camp located in Auschwitz. Initially, before Elie was taken to the concentration camp he was a powerless, curious, and kind boy. Wiesel wrote, “ I don’t know how I survived: I was weak, rather shy.” (vii) This evidence explains how Elie believed that he wasn’t the strongest one out of the group and was weaker, leading him to question how he made it through the holocaust. Also, this sentence shows that his physical figure may have been smaller along with his mental state being undetermined or weak. In continuation, Elie states in the book, “For the youth of today, for the children who will be born tomorrow. He does not want his past to become their future.” (xv) This evidence talks about how Elie does not want history to repeat itself and wishes that this tragic event will never happen again. Adding onto that, these sentences prove that Elie was a kind enough person to share his torture filled experiences with the world to further educate the youth and the older generations. Even though it pains him thinking of that depressing time in his life, he continues to stress how he would never want that to happen in the future and tell of his story. In the book, Wiesel wrote, “ Why do you pray?, he asked after a moment. Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?” (4) This text discusses how when Elie was praying, Moishe the Beadle began asking him very meaningful questions he didn’t know the answer to. This evidence leads me to believe that Elie was a very curious and lost person because it gives off a feeling of not knowing his true self or his meaning. Also, Elie is constantly wondering about life’s many secrets and eventually begins questioning God. Prior to the

Get Access