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Elie Wiesel Reflection

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Family first.This is what Elie Wiesel might be thinking every time he dodges being freed from the terrible Holocaust just for his father. Every single time he could be free from the pain, struggle, and atrocity of the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel is a Holocaust survivor that sees hundreds of people killed per day and is labored vigorously, and is starved until he is only skin and bone. He survives the Holocaust but not before going through hard labor and seeing many unseeable things. Elie Wiesel survives the Holocaust and leaves a different person than before, going through physical, emotional and spiritual changes.
Elie Wiesel goes through physical transformations because of the Holocaust since he is forced to complete grueling tasks. In the beginning, Elie is a healthy 15-year-old boy living in Hungary, but his conditions plummet as soon as he enters the concentration camp.For example, a Kapo named Idek is very upset and takes it out on Elie like so, “Idek was venting his fury, I happened to cross his path. He threw himself on me like a wild beast, beating me in the chest, on my head, throwing me to the ground…”(53) This demonstrates how Elie was harmed for many reasons, some just out of fury, or to show power over another him. After seeing something he should not, Elie gets beaten until the state of unconsciousness. He writes, “ ‘Ten...Eleven!...’ His voice was calm and reached me as through a thick wall.’Twenty-three…’ Two more, I thought, half unconscious.”(58) This experience teaches Elie that the SS officers are not afraid to whip until he is unconscious to create an example to the other prisoners. Because of this, Elie Wiesel gets very hurt and has to be sent to the camp infirmary. Food at the camp also changes Elie physically. After running many kilometers to Gleiwitz, a camp far away, Elie explains his conditions saying, “The SS shoved us inside, a hundred per car: we were so skinny!” (97) This shows how the physical condition of Elie is just getting worse through this grueling time that seems like ages. In addition, Elie and his father are not being fed nearly enough. That leads to Elie’s father getting sick and getting dysentery. It is evident that Elie’s physical conditions changed greatly over his

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