Night Elie Wiesel Katz Summary

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

Setting (time and place): Early 1940s, during World War Two, Holocaust era. starting in Sighet, Transylvania, and moving throughout concentration camps in Europe.

Yenek was a former holocaust survivor. When he was 10 years old he was kidnapped by the Nazis and was forthwith put into his first concentration camp where he spent one year of his life learning how to survive

After arriving at the concentration camp Gleiwitz there was a selection and Shlomo, Elie’s father, was chosen to die. Elie had a tantrum which caused order to disappear, and Shlomo to slip over to the side of men chosen to live. Three days later Shlomo, Elie and the other men at Gleiwitz were moved to another concentration camp (Dakers 50). The reason for being moved was another attempt to avoid the

Throughout Night, the bond that Eliezer has with his father Chlomo passes through a rocky course, but eventually becomes stronger due to the isolation and ultimately the death of Chlomo. This rocky course has events that that go from being inseparable in Birkenau, to feeling as though he is a burden. In between, there are times where Elizer’s relationship is clearly falling apart and then being fixed. The camps greatly influence the father-son relationship that Elie and Chlomo have, sometimes for the better, and sometimes for worse. Originally in 1941 when the Wiesel family was living in Sighet, Eliezer took Chlomo for granted, as any child would. Little did he know that their relationship would permanently change forever.

Vladek is depicted as a hero who shows countless acts of selflessness and generosity and a villain who is, “opinionated, tight-fisted, and self-involved”. (Brown 6) Art Spiegelman’s book Maus, tells the story of how Vladek and Anja Spiegelman survived the Holocaust. Spiegelman illustrates Vladek as a man who single-handily saved his family from starvation and Auschwitz in World War I. During Spiegelman’s interviews, we get an idea of Vladek’s darker side since the war ended. Mala to speak of her astonishment and disgust in Vladek’s character. Which leaves us to question how truthfully these stories are being told. In the end, Vladek’s unsuccessful heroism is a constant reminder of his failure; survival with Anja was always easier, after her death, Vladek pushes everyone away with his “guilt and manipulation” (Brown 7)

More than once Eliezer experiences the rupture of the bond a family shares between both the

When Elie and his father first entered the camps, his father was struck and Elie did nothing to help his father: "What had happened to me? My father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked. Only yesterday, I would have dug my nails in this criminal's flesh" (39). This shows that, although Elie did not share a close relationship with his father, he still feels that he should stand up for his fahter for the fact that they are father and son. Elie is very violent in that he would have "dug his nails in the criminals' flesh." Evidently, Elie is furious towards the offender. Unfortunately, Elie does not do anything when his father is struck because he does not want to draw attention to himself. Nevertheless, the bond between Elie and his father does strengthen: "And what if he were dead, as well? He was not moving. Suddenly the evidence overwhelmed me: there is no longer any reason to live, any reason to fight" (98-99). Elie reveals that he truly depends on his father for survival. Because he believes his father is no longer alive, he loses all hope for surviavl. Although Elie expresses anger towards his father from time to time because he is being a burden, he still feels that his survival is meaningless without his father. The strong bond that the two developed once they entered the concentration camps proves that nothing can come between them so easily.

Before Elie went to Auschwitz, he possessed many positive character traits, such as being curious, responsible, and disciplined. Weitsel writes, “Together we would read over and over again the same pages of the Zohar. Not to know it by heart but to discover the very essence of divinity” (5). Studying with his tutor and mentor was something Elie loves to do. He grew up in a small town as a strict Orthodox Jew. He loves to learn and read about religion, but he longs to gain a deeper understanding of God and spent many hours with his tutor Moishe, which shows his curiosity for knowledge and discovery. Elie also shows great responsibility in these miserable and anxious times. “Go and wake the neighbors, said my father. “They must get ready…” (Weisel,14). His father asks Ellie to go warn the others in the Ghetto that they must pack their belongings and be ready to leave. Elie’s father trusts him and treats him as an adult. He is often asked to help

Night by Elie Wiesel is a short book about Wiesel's experiences in the Auschwitz sub-camps. The theme developed by Wiesel throughout the text is the idea of loss and dehumanization, which are prevalent during the entire book. Wiesel writes this book from his own perspective, but he alters the character slightly to distance himself from the horrible events that occurred. The book is organized into parts, each with differing times which in turn cover the five years of his experiences. This essay will describe the relationship between Eliezer and his father, Schlomo. The relationship development aspects I will discuss occurred at the fire pits of Birkenau, the constant beating of Schlomo at Buna, and finally, Schlomo's death in Buchenwald.

The Nazi’s not only dehumanized Eliezer, but they reduced his father from a human being into a “thing” that was merely a nuisance. The Nazi’s believed that they were on a higher level than the Jews, so they tried to take whatever dignity the Jews had remaining. Wiesel proves this when stating “he slapped my father with such a force that he fell down and then crawled back to his place on all fours” (Wiesel 39). The instant that the officer hit Eliezer’s father, Eliezer was in utter shock. His

Have you ever had to make an instant decision that would significantly impact your life?

As a child growing up in Sighet, Eliezer and his family looks much like an ordinary and close knit family today. That is until they were “taken away” where all control over life is striped away and as a result has his destiny chose by chance (Wiesel 22). During his time in Auschwitz, he has no choice of what he does. His only choice is to fight to survive. Eliezer simply does what he is told, when he is told, so he is not punished.

When Stein, a forgotten relative, approached Eliezer and his father on their eight day of living in the concentration camp, Auschwitz, he wanted information on his wife and two kids whom Eliezer's mother had corresponded with in the past. Stein and his family had been separated two years ago and he desperately wanted to know how they were doing. While Eliezer did not have any knowledge about Stein's family, caught between indecision, he decided to lie. He

When Eliezer arrived at the concentration camp, he became a number. 'I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name.' Not only did Eliezer lose his name, he lost his family. He was allowed to stay with his father in a slave labor camp because he lied about his age. The rest of his family was separated. After his release, he learns that his mother and youngest sister were taken to the gas chamber to be executed, but his two other sisters