Dialectical Journal For Night By Elie Wiesel

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

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.

The entire novel Night itself is actually an allusion or a symbol. Night refers to the darkness or the loss of religion throughout the novel. This is from Eliezer, himself, losing his religion throughout the novel and letting the darkness of suffering from the Nazi’s overcome his faith. Eliezer has no remorse for others anymore in the novel and this includes his father. In the novel, the prisoners from the camp are forced to run from the red army that have slowly been gaining on the Nazi’s. Eliezer and his father have to run for miles upon end in the snow without any shoes, food, or rest the entire time. This is when Eliezer realizes that if he leaves his father behind when he becomes to slow that he will survive even if his father doesn’t.

The first and most prevalent example of symbolism in the book is the title itself. By calling the novel “Night” it is apparent to the reader that the Holocaust was a dark experience, full of terror and suffering. The entire novel is filled with “last nights”. Elie experiences the last night withEl his father, the last night in Buna, the last night in the ghetto, and several others throughout the book. The term “night” also references to a life without a God. Wiesel often says that God does not

“For a second, he seemed to be looking at himself in the soup, looking for his ghostly reflection there. Then, for no apparent reason, he let out a terrible scream, a death rattle such as I had never heard before an, with open mouth, thrust his head toward the still steaming liquid.” (Page 59 & 60)

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.

In Night the setting is symbolic. The author Elie Wiesel uses symbolism by the street name being synonymous to evil or the devil. Wiesel writes “The street we lived on, Serpent street, was in the first ghetto” (11). In the story of Adam and Eve, Eve is tempted by the devil who takes the form of a serpent. The Nazis naming a street in the ghetto where they put the Jews Serpent Street symbolizes that they view the Jewish people as evil or like the devil. Symbolism is also found when they are in the cattle car. The quote “The world had become a hermetically sealed cattle car”(24). By saying that the world is a hermetically sealed cattle car it is symbolizing how their world is getting smaller and how they have no control over where they go or

Elie describes that night saying “never shall I forget that smoke, the small faces of children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky, and those flames that consumed my faith foe ever”. I think that reading what Elie says we imagine a difficult moment he is passing through because he as a child could be traumatize by looking at what he is saying. Also, looking how people get burned we might think that we could be next to get burn in death. In that moment to Elie this event results in a loss of faith, for he cannot fathom how his God would allow innocent babies to perish in such a way. We might think that in that moment Elie don’t trust in God because how can God let people to kill each other or Why does God not help those people who are getting killed. Another image to never forget from the book is when Elie and his father separated from his mother and sister. This moment is unforgettable to Elie and me because the relationship with a mother is strong that when we get separated from a mother in a bad way it’s like something on our heart breaks into pieces and because we don’t know if Elie will see her mother and sister again of if they are going to be burn in death. A sad image from the book is when the SS Officer hangs the little pippel. The little pippel was nice, young innocent kid, but he didn’t

In the novel “Night”, by Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor suggests that when humans are faced with protecting their own mortality, they abandon their morals and values. This can be seen in both the Jewish and German people. The German’s are inhumanely cruel to protect their own jobs and safely by obeying government commands. The Jewish captives lost their morals as they fight to survive the concentration camps. Elie Wiesel encountered many obstacles that made many of his ideals changed drastically for Wiesel which was his loss in humanity throughout the book he explains the many ways he does not see people as people anymore. He also explains how all of his natural human rights were no more during the time in the Holocaust. He had to find a sense of self because he could have easily fallen apart. He could not have done anything different, he knew it was going to end poorly. Silence is a very important and prominent theme in this book as silence represents many key symbols such as. God’s silence: Eliezar questions God’s faith many times throughout this book and wonders how he could just sit there and be silent while people are mass murdering people.

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

Symbolism: the artistic and poetic use of a phrase, object, or relationship to express a deeper idea. Night, by Elie Wiesel, is a retelling of Wiesel’s sacrifices and experiences as a young Jewish boy who had spent many years in concentration camps. Throughout the book, Wiesel uses an overwhelming amount of symbolism to express the deeper thoughts and feelings of the Jewish people as they did all they could to survive. Wiesel’s relationship with his father, Juliek’s violin, and the rations of food the Jews are provided with all symbolize the remnants of humanity that still remain in the Jews, who have been stripped of basically everything.

The Holocaust was the mass murder of Jews under the control of Hitler during the period 1941-1945. More than 6 million Jews, as well as members of other groups, such as gypsies and homosexuals, were murdered at concentration camps the biggest camp was Auschwitz. They got tea for their morning meal, for lunch prisoners would be given a litre of soup that was watered down. If they were lucky, they might find a piece of a potato peel. One of the survivors of the holocaust stated “Your bowl was your life, without your bowl you didn’t eat.” (Kitty - Return to Auschwitz, YTV 1979) Hunger caused the Jew inmates to do things they normally wouldn't do.

An interesting passage is, “I have nothing to say of my life during this period. It no longer mattered. After my father’s death, nothing could touch me anymore” (Wiesel 82).

Elliezer and his father Shlomo saw with their own eyes suffering, starvation, violence, deaths but, the most horrible scene they saw was a big truck carrying babies and throwing into big flames where they burned them. That’s why he said he will never forget those things. ”Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky”. (Night 34)