Examples Of Belonging In The Holocaust

In night there were many times when Elie and his dad wanted to give up but they did not because they had each other. They used family to get through the terrible things that were happening to not only them but millions like them. Before the concentration

Family is something everyone cherishes, from the time you are born till the time you die. In the book Night by Elie Wiesel, this is shown very clearly. This book follows a young boy named Elie through his struggle with the Holocaust. Elie is a jew who lived in a small Jewish community, but when people came and began changing the way they lived Elie decided to stay with his family no matter what happened. Throughout the book, Elie is put through much more grief due to staying by his father's side. Strong family bonds can sustain people through tragedy and hardship.

The one person in Elie’s life that means everything to him is his father. During his time in the concentration camps, Elie’s bond with his father

In a couple of instances Elie is glad to have his dad and to not have ended up alone. When they first arrived to the camp “men and women were separated Elie stays connected to his dad as best as he could so he didn’t lose him”. In another instance Elie was glad to have his father with him as they struggled through tough times together. As Elie and his

Nearing the end of their arduous journey, the mutual dependence was slowly dwindling as Elie began to have to take care of his father. One example of this is when his father was sick and in the camp infirmary and had not been fed so Elie “gave him what was left of [his] soup. But [his] heart was heavy. [He] was aware that [he] was doing it grudgingly,’ (107). Being that he did this grudgingly, the reader is shown that, to Elie, taking care of his father had become more of an unwanted task rather than a kind action coming from his heart. Elie begins to see his own father as a thorn in his side much rather than his source support. His father is no longer there as a person who will provide motivation to survive but now instead a burden. In another instance, still in the infirmary, when his father pleaded for water and the officer came to silence him, Elie states, “ I didn’t move.

One internal conflict Elie experienced was the loss of all of his family. While he was in the concentration camps, he and his father were the only ones in his family that were left. “My hand tightened its grip on my father. All I could think of was not to lose him. Not to remain alone,” which was stated on page 30, explains how he and his father were all that were left and his father would have to be there for Elie during that time. They fought hard together through the cold nights

It was extremely difficult for survivors to rebuild their lives back in their home town. This is because “Jewish communities no longer existed in much of europe”(United States Holocaust Museum). And when the survivors tried to return to their houses most “just didn't feel welcome”(United States Holocaust Museum); “ they found that in many cases, their homes had been looted or taken over by others”(United States Holocaust Museum). On top of their houses often being stolen from their possession, there had been “anti-Jewish riots [that] broke out in several Polish cities” (Levine). Struggling with PTSD and attempting to find their lost relatives and friends that were more times than not killed in the holocaust, survivors really did not have a place to call

Attempting to stay with family members proved only to become a huge burden in the end. Though good in theory, sticking together with family only formed unwanted dependencies and burdens, and often resulted in loss of faith, broken hearts, and death. During his time in the concentration camps, Elie saw many people give up on their families, Rabbi Eliahou and his son were one exmple. While running to s different camp, the Rabbi’s son deliberately ran ahead of his father, in an attempt to lose him in the crowd. Elie knew that the Rabbi’s son had seen his father limping toward the back of the column, but still continued forward, letting the distance between them grow. When Elie saw the Rabbi being abandoned by his own son, he swore he would never do that to his father. “My God, Lord of

After losing his mother and sister in chapter three of Night, Elie says, “All I could think of was not to lose him [His father]” (30). This quote shows the importance of family because it say that the only thing that Elie could think about is not losing his father. “The baton pointed left. I took half a step forward. I first wanted to see where they would send my father. Were he to have gone to the right, I would have run after him” (32). This quote shows how much Elie’s father means to him. Knowing full well that he would get beat by a guard if he ran to his father, he would have just to be with him. Elie’s relative, Stein, shows how family is important to him by repeatedly saying, “The only thing that keeps me alive, is to know that Reizel and the little ones are still alive. Were it not for them, I would give up” (45). Overall, these three quotes show the importance of family to Elie, his father, and Stein, his

When the war ended in 1945, millions of Jews had perished. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime had almost entirely wiped out a single race of people in what would become known as the Holocaust. However, the Jews were not the only people who had been stripped of their dignity and killed. There were other groups who the Nazi’s persecuted against. The Roma, homosexuals, the mentally and physically disabled, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Political Prisoners were all systematically gathered up and killed. When the Holocaust gets mentioned, many don't talk about the other millions of innocent people who were murdered alongside the Jews. Many don't see these people as victims at all. The number of people murdered during the Holocaust reaches close to eleven million people. “Contragenics” is the term used to talk about all of the groups who were murdered under the Nazi regime during the Holocaust. These innocent lives were lost in the Holocaust, and while history hasn’t forgotten, humanity has.

In the beginning of the book, before experiencing life threatening difficulties, Elie was much more determined to stay with his family (in order to survive). Eliezer thought that his father was what kept him going and gave him strength, he was certain that the right thing to do was to stay with his dad. In chapter 3 Wiesel states, “My hand tightened its grip on my father. All I could think of was not to lose him. Not to remain alone” (30). In these sentences, Elie explains that he and his father needed to stay together. This quote also shows what Elie’s emotions were; he was scared to suffer through the concentration camp alone. Elie also shows his need for family when he says, “Franek, the foreman, assigned me to a corner... ‘Please, sir ... I’d like to be near

Then, throughout the middle of the novel, the strength of family bonds of the Jews is tested. After the run, a Rabbi asks Elie if he had seen his son, Elie tells him that he had not. Then Elie realizes that he had seen his son on the run, but he does not tell the Rabbi because his son left him behind on purpose. The text states, “He had felt his father growing weaker… by this separation to free himself of a burden that could diminish his own chance for survival” (Wiesel 91). This is where the reader begins to see the toll that the concentration camps are having on the families. Elie includes this to show, that now, family members see each other as burdens rather than a blessing. Later in the novel, family members go as far as taking a life. One old man

Elie’s thoughts and actions reflect his reliance on his father in the camp. When he is going through selection for a komodo, he begs, “I want to stay with my father” page 48.

But that wasn’t the best situation to be in. He wondered why Elie didn’t go with his mother. at that moment Elie realized that “he did not wish to see his only son go up in flames.” (33). Imagine seeing and knowing that your own flesh and blood will sooner or later die because of who they are and you couldn’t do anything about it. That thought finally hit elies fathers mind and finally sunk in and he started opening up and showing the true love he had for elie and since than they have been getting closer than ever. After that all they wanted to do was stay close to each other, to be in each other’s comfort. while being assigned to stations elie said “ please, sir… I’d like to be near my father.” (50) , all elie wanted was to be next to his father the whole time, the one he knew would never give up on him.

After witnessing the abandonment of a father via his son, Elie hopes that he does not become like that. But soon, when hunger tears at him, he thinks about taking his father’s food for his own. Another inmate tries to convince him to take his father’s portion and Elie thought, ”He was right, I thought deep down, not daring to admit it to myself”(Wiesel 111). Elie thought of betraying his father, even if for a second and this shows the change in Elie. In the start of the book, Elie was selfless, caring for both him and his father. But, the longer he stays in the camps, the more resentful he becomes, but not only at his God and the Nazis, but also at his