Wiesel’s intention in writing the novel ‘Night’ was to give a testimony of the horrors that took place during the Holocaust; consequently, the themes from the book reflect these intentions.
Themes in the night
When Elie was a young boy, he grew up in a sheltered environment where he assumed that there was little evil in the world. Furthermore, he was such an idealist and had so much hope in the future. However, after experiencing the pain and troubles of the Hitler regime, it became clear that the world was not that hopeful after all. Elie came to see the stark reality of power and death upon people’s behavior. For instance, in his block, one of the heads commented that “Here, there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends” (Wiesel, p. 115). The speaker was trying to dissuade Elie from caring too much for his ailing father because at that point, he was going to be a burden to Elie. He further emphasized how the bowl of soup and bread that his father was taking could have been given to Elie. This exchange made Elie realize how impersonal and selfish people could become even to the point of ignoring their close family members. His eyes were open to the harsh reality of the world. There are several other instances in the book that reveal how Elie changed from being a naive little boy to a realistic and even bitter individual; like “Bite your lip little brother… keep your anger and hatred for another day” (Wiesel, p. 51). The underlying theme in these scenarios was therefore a loss of innocence.
Another strong theme in the novel is the importance of faith. It addresses how human beings tend to question their beliefs in the wake of turmoil. One person next to Elie in the camp commented “He’s the only one who’s kept his promises, all his promises to the Jewish people” (Wiesel, p. 87). At that time the latter individual was talking about Hitler and how he believed that Hitler was the only being that could be counted on. This person had lost faith in his God because he had left them alone in their suffering. Even Elie himself comments that “Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and turned my dreams to dust” (Wiesel, p. 32) To Elie, the cruelty he went through and witnessed was enough to shake his entire spiritual foundation.
One cannot talk about themes without addressing the element of Hatred recurring throughout the novel. The Jews were placed in concentration camps because of the hatred that the Nazis felt towards them. This immense hatred is what justified all the inhumane acts of torture that they inflicted upon the Jews. The latter were thrown in fire pits, hanged, starved, killed, maimed and subjected to all sorts of hideous acts. However, it also got into the minds of the victims themselves because they also began hating their instigators.
One last recurring theme in the novel is silence. This book illustrates how dangerous silence can be because the victims in the book were well aware of the evils around them in the early stages but the chose not to speak out against them. For instance when Elie’s father noticed Nazi imposition in their lives he said “The yellow star? Oh well, what of it? You don’t die of it?” (Wiesel, p. 20). In other words, he was keeping silent. The latter group never spoke when they were banned from public places, they remained silent when isolated in ghettos and eventually they faced their death in concentration camps. They should have been bold enough to stage a revolt in those early stages but they never did. In conclusion, the themes of hatred, silence, faith and loss of innocence in the book are all tied to the existence of Holocaust and the effects that it brought onto the people of Nazi Germany.
Work cited
Wiesel, Eli. Night. NY: Hill and Wang, 1960