Essay of “Night”

By Eliezer Wiesel

 

 

 

 

Essay written by: Lesley Mayhew

Professor:  Ms. McG

December, 18th 2009

 

 

 

Ultimately, Night by Elie Wiesel was a whirlwind of emotions. Although the most prevalent emotion displayed throughout his entire memoire was fear. This memoire exemplifies the most disturbing of fears experienced by the victims during

the Holocaust: Fear of the certainty of losing each other was indefinite, as was fear of pain experienced, and lastly fear of

death.

    Although fear of pain and death were always existent, the captives of these work camps were always fearful of losing friends and family. Even before Elie and his family entered the work camps, fear of losing each other was apparent,

  “I wanted to return to Sighet to describe to you my death so that you might   ready yourselves while there is still time...But I wanted to warn you.”(Wiesel 7)

When Moishe the Beadle had a near death experience, he returned to Sighet for the single purpose of being fearful that Elie and the kind people of Sighet would be lost. He could not bear to have them experience the same as he had. Another example that displays fear of losing each other would be when the Wiesel family inhabit the small ghetto (Wiesel 20), and a former maid known as Maria finds them and begs the Wiesel family to take refugee with her family. This shows how Maria was trying in earnest to not lose her dear friends by offering them protection. In the same manner, the Wiesel family did not want to endanger Maria or separate themselves. Thus by rejecting Maria’s offer they did not have to fear losing each other as they were together. Even though fear of losing each other was most prominent in the beginning, it was also associated to fearing pain.

    Moreover, fear for pain was neck and neck with fear for losing each other. Upon entering these work camps, Elie had associated the initial shock/fear of the monstrosities he had seen and the pain that had been inflicted immediately after.

 “Dozens of inmates were there to receive us, sticks in hand, striking anywhere, anyone, without reason.” (Wiesel 35)

Therefore after having just seen horrific cruelties happening to innocent people, and being beaten, Elie and many others associated their dread with their pain and consequently fear it extremely. The SSI (German officers) and those in charge would use that fear to their advantage striking when need be and making threats.

“Listen to me you son of swine! So much for your curiosity. You shall receive  five times more if you dare tell anyone what you saw!” (Wiesel 58)

When Idek had threatened Elie, it was after Elie had just been whipped twenty-five times, therefore making Elie all the more frightened of pain. Elie and many others were very frightened/ fearful of pain and it was incomparable to the fear of death.

    Under normal circumstances, when people pass away, those around them are entitled the opportunity to mourn. Victims of the Holocaust, however, were never given this opportunity in the work camps, making them evermore fearful for the unjust deaths of loved ones, but possibly their own deaths as well.

  “Do you see that chimney over there? See it? Do you see those flames? (Yes we did see the flames) Over there-that’s where you’re going to be taken. That’s your grave, over there.” (Wiesel 28)

The very existence of the inmates was not important to the Germans; their lives could blow out like a flame and the Germans would not care.  Everyone was appalled at what secrets were kept in these camps, but they were most fearful of whether or not their own lives would be lost in the flames.

“We were all going to die here.” (Wiesel 98)

Despite their fears, death was quite certain all the more at these work camps, short-living the lives of many innocent people.

    The emotion that was displayed extensively throughout this memoire was fear. Elie and many others feared for loved ones, for the pain that had been always oncoming, and for that of their own lives. Each individual fear was intertwined, creating a chain-reaction of emotions, but ultimately fear itself was the core. Fear was the most extensively displayed emotion, in Wiesel’s memoire.