Elie Wiesel Essay
Elie Wiesel Essay
Elie Wiesel Essay
Freewrite #1:
How has Elie’s faith changed throughout the novel? Think of examples or scenes from the
memoir to support your ideas.
Elie’s faith changed throughout the novel through his overall speech in his prayer and his
attitude towards life. This change is shown through Elie’s progression in Auschwitz and
throughout his story. In the beginning of the story, Elie is so pious that he actually cries over and
prays at the ruins of a destroyed temple in town, that he never even attended! After a few months
to a year, Elie begins to question god for his supposed cruelty. In time, he starts to directly defy
god. One strong example of this is his refusal to fast during Rosh Hashana. In the Jewish
religion, people often fast or refuse to eat for periods as long as one week. This act of defiance is
a turning point in the story. From that point on, Elie seems to turn into a mindless slave of the
Nazi tyranny. He is no longer religious and seems to barely have the will to live. Elie’s faith is
also altered through his loss in trust for god. On numerous instances, he exhibits malicious
sarcasm towards god in is prayers. Elie acts like a jerk and blames god for all of the evils
commited in the Holocaust. After Elie’s father dies, he actually states that there was no more
reason for him to live. This displays Elie’s dislike for god, and as a result, his inner numbness
and abandonment of god. He attempts to push himself away from god many times in the story,
and he ends up with quite Atheistic perspectives throughout the progression of the novel
“Night”. In conclusion, Elie begins “Night” as an extremely devout boy, but ends up losing all
Pretend that you are the modern day Elie Wiesel who wrote “A Prayer for the Days of Awe”.
Write a letter to your younger self with encouraging words to help you get through the
Holocaust.
I understand that you are going through some very tough times now. Please persist. That
is all I can say: please persist. Do hear me out, Eliezer, for I have many things to speak of with
you. Regardless of what happens, do not give up. Further tragedy than what you’ve already faced
will confront you soon. Hold onto your hope. No matter what happens, just do persist through
the turmoil. Your father is a great man, Elie. Realize that, and respect him. At the same time,
though, realize that everything and everyone has their limits. Great trouble is near, Elie. Do not
let that discourage you. God does not wish for this to happen. Respect god, for he is all you have
left in Auschwitz. Once you lose god, you lose everything. Do not let yourself lose him. He will
always be with you as long as you believe in him and trust him. Without his help, there would be
nothing. Do not blame yourself or god for what is happenning right now. These factories of death
are creations of evil men. While god may have created evil men, he did not create what evil men
created. Do not allow these evil men to discourage you. You and only you can make it through
the tortures ahead. Elie, you shall turn into greatness one day. You shall fight these evil men in
ways they cannot defend against, and you will represent those who died during these days of
darkness. Whatever you do, though, my younger self, always remember: please persist. Thank
Sincerely,
Old Elie
Night Text Online:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9787474/Night-by-Elie-Wiser
Actual Essay:
Intro Paragraph:
Faith is a belief a person has that is often based on myths and legends. It is a story and
reputation, rather than solid, reputable, and refined evidence. Faith has been a topic of debate for
many centuries amongst many people. Elie Wiesel, a man of Jewish faith in the book “Night”,
has been through degrees of hell rarely experienced or known to our modern world. As a
survivor of the Holocaust, Elie recounts the horrors he faced during his stay at Auschwitz, a
German concentration camp. Elie also addresses his horrendous Holocaust experience through
an article in the New York times called “A Prayer for the Days of Awe” which is more of a
reflection of his faith many years later. There are many differences between the novel and the
article, especially in regards to Elie’s faith. The novel portrays Elie as a boy starting with great
faith, but losing it as a result of his stay at Auschwitz, while “A Prayer for the Days of Awe”
shows Elie’s reflection on his faith at Auschwitz, and his regrets towards his original questioning
of his faith.
Elie starts the story as an extremely religious boy who seeks to be more educated in
Judaism, but as the story progresses, Elie begins to shun God and to lose his faith. His original
untainted faith becomes bleak, and eventually, virtually nonexistent and wry. Elie also has very
deep hate towards God in “Night”. “Why, but why should I bless Him? In every fiber I rebelled.
Because He had had thousands of children burned in His pits? Because He kept six crematories
working night and day, on Sundays and feast days? Because in His great might He had created
Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna, and so many factories of death?” (Night 79) Elie changed drastically
during his imprisonment at Auschwitz. At first, he was one of the most religiously keen people
his age, but after experiencing the cruelty of the Holocaust, his faith left him entirely. This quote
demonstrates the change of belief and care before entering Auschwitz and deep into his stay
there. In “A Prayer for the Days of Awe”, though, Elie Wiesel explains his regret. “In my
testimony I have written harsh words, burning words about your role in our tragedy. I would not
repeat them today.” (Wiesel 2) This quote demonstrates how Elie Wiesel’s views of faith
changed from his ideas in Auschwitz to his modern day feelings to god. Comparing the two, Elie
is now upset with himself for thinking that god was evil.
Elie smites god near the end of “Night”, but in “A Prayer for the Days of Awe”, he
almost forgives god for the unfair judgement he did to the Jews in the Holocaust. In the article,
Elie compares his ability to forgive god to his own ability to accept the events the Holocaust
brought. “Does this mean that the wounds in their soul have healed? They will never heal. As
long as a spark of the flames of Auschwitz and Treblinka glows in their memory, so long will my
joy be incomplete. What about my faith in you, Master of the Universe? I now realize I never
lost it, not even over there, during the darkest hours of my life.” (Wiesel 1) On the other hand, in
“Night”, Elie gives an example of how he began to push the Jewish faith out of his life. “I did
not fast, mainly to please my father, who had forbidden me to do so. But further, there was no
longer any reason why I should fast. I no longer accepted God's silence. As I swallowed my bowl
of soup, I saw in the gesture an act of rebellion and protest against Him. And I nibbled my crust
of bread.
In the depths of my heart, I felt a great void.” (Night 83) This act represented Elie’s sadness and
anger in the holocaust and blamed God directly for all of it. This shows Elie’s extreme emotions
attacking god and his overall clarity of thought after the events which caused him so much pain
ended.
Elie demonstrates different views on his emotions after the Holocaust. In “Night”, Elie
almost feels numb or too weak to go against the fascists. “[insert Night quote here]” Elie seems
to no longer have the strength to go against the anti-semetic Germans and to fight for the other
Jews in Europe; it almost seems like he blames god for this mess more than he blames the Nazis.
Although Elie states in the novel that he did not think of revenge, he does explain in the poem
that he never will recover from the pains of Auschwitz. “Oh, they do not forgive the killers and
their accomplices, nor should they. Nor should you, Master of the Universe. But they no longer
look at every passer-by with suspicion. Nor do they see a dagger in every hand.” (Wiesel 1) Elie
no longer had a reason to be frightened of standing against facism. In comparison to the book,
Elie gained lots of mental and emotional strength after undergoing the Holocaust.
Conclusion:
Elie Wiesel’s views on faith changed throughout the course of his life. In the beginning
of “Night”, which represents his pre-holocaust childhood and life, he is extremely devout.
Towards the middle and end of “Night”, which would represent his adolescent life, he had
absolutely no faith or respect for god whatsoever. Finally, in “A Prayer for the Days of Awe”,
which represents Mr. Wiesel’s modern-day life, he returns to faith, but with taintings and
confusion of his past thoughts. Although Elie began as a very pious boy in the beginning of the
novel, he later in the story becomes quite Atheistic, but through evidence provided by the poem,
he lives today with his former religious views and recalls his days of non-belief with sorrow.
1. Elie's transition from pure, young faith to having an absolute lack in faith
2. "Night" also showing how Elie seems to turn into a faithless, mindless zombie, and in "A
Prayer for the Days of Awe"
3. Elie returns to his thoughts on faith through a different light; not no faith at all, but not quite
pure faith either.