Shadows In Night By Elie Wiesel

Night is a memoir by Elie Wiesel describing his experience as a victim of the Holocaust. When Wiesel decided to write about his experiences, he was challenged with adequately expressing the terror beyond words. What resulted was a powerful and heavy story that changed how people around the world think about the Holocaust. The numerous motifs throughout the story, like soup and fire, are one of the reasons why this story is so impactful. In fact, motifs are a pivotal aspect of the story, and without them the story would not be as impactful.

Although there are many different stories about the holocaust, Elie Wiesel's story is very vivid and full of the jarring reality of his experiences. He doesn’t hold back any of the cruelness and torment he was forced to endure as an adolescent. In Night, Elie Wiesel uses repetition, imagery, and symbolism to illustrate the deprivation of his former self during his traumatic experiences during his time in the Nazi work camp.

"The night seemed endless" (Wiesel 26) on the train to Auschwitz. In the memoir "Night" by Elie Wiesel, Night is symbolic, and its meaning can be interpreted in multiple ways. Night epitomized fear whilst also serving as a haven from the torture in the camp. The horrors Elie witnesses in the camp are relieved, even if it be for a little while, at night. Night is not just a period of respite, but also a time of anxiety for the coming day of torture.

Elie Wiesel uses several types of figurative language in Night. In his novel, Elie’s use of symbolism is most important in helping the reader understand the horrors of his experience during the Holocaust.

Often, the theme of a novel extends into a deeper significance than what is first apparent on the surface. In the novel Night by Elie Wiesel, the theme of night and darkness is prevalent throughout the story and is used as a primary tool to convey symbolism, foreshadowing, and the hopeless defeat felt by prisoners of Holocaust concentration camps. Religion, the various occurring crucial nights, and the many instances of foreshadowing and symbolism clearly demonstrate how the reoccurring theme of night permeates throughout the novel.

One of the main themes throughout the book is the title of the book “Night”. There are references from Eliezer about night during the book, which are full of symbolism. The word “night” is used repeatedly, and Eliezer recounts every dusk, night and dawn through the entire book. For instance, Night could be a metaphor for the Holocaust—submerge the family and thousands of Jewish families in the darkness and misery of the concentration camps.

In the memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel, the word night is repeatedly used as a metaphor symbolizing the conditions and emotions that the Jews struggle with during the Holocaust. Elie’s personal struggle with his experience evoke connotations of darkness that describe the inhumane treatment that Elie and the Jews are forced to endure throughout the memoir. In the beginning, Elie's town is invaded by German soldiers and soon, the Germans force all of the town's Jews to evacuate. After being thrown onto a freight train to Auschwitz, Elie experiences a whole new world filled with fear and hatred. Elie uses “night” to describe the struggles and hardships that he encounters throughout his experience. The literal meaning of the word night is simply the period of darkness everyday between sunset and sunrise. However, the metaphorical meaning of night, in this memoir, is far more sinister. As depicted in Night, the title metaphorically refers to the evil, hopelessness, and emotional coldness that the Jews are constantly forced to face throughout the Holocaust.

Night: a pitch-black time of day in which no light is shown, other than the reflection of sunlight off of the moon's surface. Darkness is scary when alone and can also be dangerous to those not cautious. Elie Wiesel is a survivor of something so gruesome but inspiring to all people who have read the Nobel Peace Prize winner's novel. Elie was trapped in a darkness he could not escape until the world once realized it was not all about themselves. To be free and living a life worth living then in a matter of seconds, being confined as though you are a zoo animal. Only to be observed at a distance with no pity or thought that lies behind those caged doors; And once that caged animal is released, not all of it is free.

On one night the Wiesel and the other jews have to leave the concentration camp to another one. Wiesel tells of the darkness of this night and that they were accompanied by “[h]undreds of SS [that] appeared out of the darkness”. The opened gates ahead of him leaded to a “darker night”(Wiesel 84) ahead of them. This unsettling image symbolizes the everlasting uncertainty they have to live in the concentration camps. Furthermore the image conveys heavily on language relating to darkness and night.

Elie Wiesel writes a powerful and moving novel titled “Night” detailing his journey throughout what we now know today as the Holocaust while also bringing in elements of symbolism and imagery to strengthen the novel and deliver a story that is not only incredible but impactful as well. Throughout the book Elie slowly begins to lose his faith, his father, and his dignity which is shown through the symbol of night. "We were given no food. We lived on snow; it took place of the bread. The days were like nights, and the nights left the dregs of their darkness in our souls"(Wiesel 94).” In this quote Elie states what the nights would bring to the Jews which is darkness. This reveals his feelings of being alone with no God and the dark of night that

Night by Elie Wiesel focuses on giving the reader a precise understanding of the Holocaust from the perspective of a man who endured it. In order to vividly describe the situation, Wiesel uses specific words or phrases to signify the importance and value behind it. Wiesel writes, “Night. No one was praying for the night to pass quickly. The stars were but sparks of the immense conflagration that was consuming us. Were this conflagration to be extinguished one day, nothing would be left in the sky but extinct stars and unseeing eyes” (Wiesel 21). “Night” is used abundantly throughout the book. In today’s American society, night is for rejuvenation, peace,

There are many important themes and overtones to the book Night, by Eliezer Wiesel. One of the major themes from the book includes the protagonist, and author of his memoire, Elie Wiesel’s ever changing relationship with God. An example of this is when Moche the Beadle asked Elie an important question that would change his life forever, as the basis of his passion and aptitude for studying the ancient texts and teachings of Judaism, “When Moche the Beadle asked Elie why he prayed, Elie couldn 't think of an answer that truly described his faith, and thought, "a strange question, why did I live, why did I breathe?" (Wiesel 14).

After releasing from the police station, Elle’s father told his friends and relatives that, “The news is terrible, TRANSPORTS!” (Wiesel, P.13). The Jews thought that Hitler had given up his plan about the annihilation of Jews. They relaxed for a few months but Elle’s father had made people scared. They thought the German would kill all of them. After that, most of the Jews were not able to sleep and felt worried about their futures. At the same time, Night also told significant things in the Jews’ minds. One of the most touching things was about Elle’s friends, Juliek. Despite the cold weather during the transportation to another concentration camp, Juliek was persistently playing violin and he played a song during the night time. Elle mentioned in the book, “The darkness enveloped us. All I could hear was the violin, and it was as if Juliek’s soul had become his bow.” (Wiesel, P.95). It was important as many people in the concentration camp had lost their friends, families, or even interests. However, Juliek didn’t lose his interest in playing violin and his persistence became much stronger than German’s weapons. Night was symbolic in the Jews’ minds. It emphasised the helpless of the Jews, but at the same time, Night also witnessed lots of important things in the camp, which made them unforgettable.

I feel like the book Night lets off a very sad a depressing mood. The setting of this book is a various amount of concentration camps that Elie and his dad go to. The main central idea of Night is to explain the experiences in the Holocaust. I personally think that this book is a good book for young adults and not kids because it uses some language and it’s very descriptive.

When children think of darkness they think of lack of light which causes them to become scared. As we grow older, we begin to not only realize the lack of light, but the objects inside the dark which can be more frightening. We start understanding how darkness makes us feel. Darkness makes one think of unusual scenarios that are not real, but seems so real at that moment. Once we start believing in those scenarios, they start to overcome us and we no longer stay ourselves. There are multiple definitions of darkness and they all go with these two authentic stories, Heart of Darkness and The Dead. In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, darkness is defined as: partial or total absence of light, wickedness or evil, unhappiness, secrecy and lack of spiritual or intellectual enlighten. Comparing, Heart of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad and The Dead written by James Joyce, each author brings out darkness and the living dead into the main character and shows how much it changes them for the worse and/or for the better.