The Holocaust was a tragic time in the mid 1900s of Germany and other parts of Europe in which up to six million Jews died. At this time, Jews in the residential areas of these places were deported to ghettos and concentration camps, where they suffered tremendous physical pain and were left mentally destroyed. In the novel Night, by Elie Wiesel, it tells of the real experiences that he faced during the terrible years of the Holocaust and how it affected him. The theme, faith, impacts Elie by diminishing over time.
In the beginning, Elie still has faith and is eager to learn more. In Chapter 1, he is upset that no one is teaching him about Zohar. He listens to Moishe the Beadle talk about revelations for hours after everyone has left. He devoted himself to studies and believed this is what would help him to eternity. Later in the early stages of the book, after being ordered to ghettos by the Jews, he would drop to the ground and pray to God for mercy. Even after arriving at the station in Auschwitz, he states, “Suddenly we felt free of the previous nights’ terror. We gave thanks to God.” (27). This quote shows that in the early stages of the Holocaust, Elie still placed his faith in God.
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After Ellie had endured physical pain and was being mentally scared, he starts to find himself agreeing and replying to those questioning why God would let these terrors occur and where he was in their time of struggle. When a young, “pipel,” was being forced to death by hanging due to a failure at an electric camp, Elie answered to the shouting of people his head by saying, “Where He is? This is where- hanging here from this gallows…”. (75). By seeing these horrors, disloyal thoughts about God run through his mind as he is experiencing doubts of his
Elie’s faith before being exposed to the concentration camps is apparent and he works hard to strengthen and grow his faith. All throughout Night, Wiesel shows the eminent effect faith has on individual’s actions and attitude. At the beginning of Night, Elie’s faith is a key feature of his lifestyle and attitude. Studying under the wisdom of Moishe the Beadle, Elie can put his faith in retrospect as he says, “In the course of those evenings I became convinced that Moishe the Beadle would help me enter eternity, into that time when question and answer would become one” (Wiesel 5). It is very clear that Elie is very emotionally and physically invested in his faith. Before camp Elie was so eager to expand and connect to his faith in which he becomes, “convinced” that he fully understands his faith proving him to be a devout Jewish boy. Thus because, Moishe the Beadle is helping him “enter eternity” and build his faith. Elie’s whole life revolves
We encounter Elie’s lost of faith throughout the book. Once he was separate he was brought to an area where bodies were being thrown into a fire. He started losing his faith in humanity once he saw the cruel things that were happening. When people lose there faith, they lose their faith in God and themselves. They start looking on the negative side of life and just lose their focus for what they wanted. Elie would want to study the Cabala but his father didn’t approve of it. He would always look out for not just his family but the people around him. Elie would always pray but wouldn't know why. He fascinated with Judaism so he goes without his father’s permission to learn more. “Never shall I forget those flames, which consumed my faith forever.” on page 45 clearly tells us that his faith was lost due to the fact that bodies were being thrown into the flames. As the book
Over the course of his time there, he is worked hard and witnesses horrific deaths. Because of all the traumatic events that occurred, he lost faith in the God he once believed in unconditionally. John Roth, author of In the Beginning, explained that the holocaust could only have happened if there was no God (35). However this is not true. In actuality, Eliezer explains that there is a God, he just does not believe in His power anymore. Elie does not say that he has become an atheist or that God had died as many people believe” (Brown 72). Elie simply does not believe in Him because of all the events that occurred while he was in the concentration camps.
When the 3 men were hung publicly by the SS officers others reacted as, “”Where is God? Where is He?” someone behind me asked.” (Wiesel 71) Other prisoners start to question why is god not protecting them. Whether god is really watching over them, protecting them. He had just let 3 innocent men die and does not seem to punish those who have killed them. Elie continues to rant on later, “Why, but why should I bless Him? In every fiber I rebelled. Because He had thousands of children burned in His pits? Because He kept six crematories working night and day, on Saturdays and feast days?” (Wiesel 74) He wonders and seems to had lost hope in humanity and faith. He wonders if there really is a god why would he allow such treachery to these people who only praised his name. Thus he had lost faith in everything he knew about god
In Night, by Elie Wiesel, Elie loses faith in his religion and begins to focus on survival as he continues to live in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. His desire to believe in God is clear because he wants a reason to live, such as the purpose that religion makes him feel. In the beginning of the memoir, Moishe the Beadle told Elie that “man comes closer to God through the questions he asks Him”(5). Elie is shown searching for God when asking Him questions, such as, “Why do you go on troubling these poor people's wounded minds”(65)? He is referring to the torture God is allowing. Elie is questioning the justice behind God’s actions, showcasing the beginning of his loss of faith. Other Jews told Elie that he must trust in God
We as people are built to be strong mentally and physically, but when we stir off course and hit very extreme and violent hardships we tend to accept defeat. In the case, of World War II, the Jewish concentration camp prisoners had to overcome these challenging obstacles in order to survive. In particular, their faith in God was demolished when they faced horrible conditions and violence in the camps. Specifically, the Nazi soldiers beat, tortured, and killed, innocent victims every day. As a result, prisoners like Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and author of the book Night, lost his faith in God over the time in the camps during World War II. Even though the human mind overpowers the body allowing the Jews to stay strong throughout their
In “Night”, by Elie Wiesel , A very brave contender, who slowly began to lose faith in God.
The Faith of Elie Wiesel In the Holocaust, many things happened. A boy confused about his religion. A boy named Elie Wiesel. Elie went through three hard phases during the book Night.
Faith in God can’t save anyone. Many Jewish and Catholic people believe that God can save them in challenging situations. Once one is dependent on Him, he/she realizes that He cannot actually save anyone. In Night by Elie Wiesel, the protagonist, Eliezer, and his Jewish family, live in Sighet and are extremely religious. Eliezer prays often and trusts God to protect him.
First, Elie’s faith can be seen beginning to spiral when he watches as children and babies, deemed useless to SS, are being thrown into a burning pit. Watching this he cannot believe the compassionate, graceful, and loving God he believes in would let this happen. The men in his line start saying the Kaddish, a
January 30, 1933, one of the worst time periods in history began: The Holocaust. During the Holocaust, the Jewish men and women were separated and forced to go to different concentration to be separated, tortured, and killed. Elie Wiesel's published story,Night, tells everyone the terrifying events that happened during the Holocaust and the reason behind it. The book also helps people learn from his perspective and realize how bad of a period it was. Due to the atrocities witnessed and experienced during the Holocaust, Elie Wiesel, a once deeply religious individual, loses his faith in himself, God , and mankind.
The Narrow Line of Belief Godliness, as well as the doctrine of one’s faith, is always a mystery. Many believe that man comes nearer to God through their piety and doubt given towards Him. From this rests faithful talk. One’s faith and doubt leads to humanity asking for answers. Yet, sometimes one’s faith may not reveal the true answers, moreover, recognize answers relinquished to them.
"I was very, very religious. And of course I wrote about it in 'Night.' I questioned God's silence. So I questioned. I don't have an answer for that.
Elie is in a time period when everything was going bad for the jews. Throughout the book we see Elie trying to survive the Holocaust. His life starts off by strongly believing in God and wanting to practice the Cabbala. He talks about how he studied the Talmud during the day and attends the synagogue at night. As the story continues, he starts to lose faith in God in which Elie is questioning who can allow such immense and suffering. During the hanging of a young boy, somebody behind Elie was questioning where God was: “Where is the merciful God, where is he? ”(Wiesel 64). The guy continued to ask where God was when the three chairs were tipped over and the third rope
Faith. Unbearable. Compassion. In the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel it's based upon Elie and his father during the Holocaust.