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Elie Wiesel's Night Essay

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Elie Wiesel's Night

As humans, we require basic necessities, such as food, water, and shelter to survive. But we also need a reason to live. The reason could be the thought of a person, achieving some goal, or a connection with a higher being. Humans need something that drives them to stay alive. This becomes more evident when people are placed in horrific situations. In Elie Wiesel's memoir Night, he reminisces about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust. There the men witness horrific scenes of violence and death. As time goes on they begin to lose hope in the very things that keep them alive: their faith in God, each other, and above all, themselves. …show more content…

And Elie thinks to himself, "Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank him for?" (33). People are easily manipulated when they witness horrors that go against or disprove what they believe in. And when they realize this, it deeply lowers their morale and will to live.
Humans are very social by nature, the idea of family, and friends are things that separate us from other animals. Ask anyone what important to them, and most will reply family, and friends. This is also true during the holocaust; many of the survivors lived only because of the thought of their loved ones. When he arrives at Auschwitz, Elie meets Stein, a relative from Antwerp. Stein tells them that "the only thing that keeps [him] alive is to know that Reizel and the little ones are still alive. Were it not for them, I would give up…" (45). Because of our social nature, humans become connected to one another on a much deeper level. When a person loses those that they care about the most, they also lose the will to live. For some people this happens very quickly, depression sets in and a person will become immune to their surroundings, no longer caring what happens. Elie survives through the holocaust because his father is with him. Because of his

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