Introduction
The essay analyses the novel Night by Elie Wiesel and examines the story of Eliezer’s struggle with his faith. It exposes Eliezer’s great faith and how it eventually weakens due to his experience.
Eliezer’s Struggle to Keep His Faith in God
In the novel Night by Elie Wiesel, great conflict is portrayed through Eliezer’s struggle with his faith. Actually, Eliezer has such a great faith in God that he does not believe in a life without his faith in a divine power. Eliezer holds intense faith in God who he believes is an almighty Being. His struggle against his faith in God is brought about by an atrocious experience in his life. The novel illustrates painful occurrences that a young man experiences during the Holocaust. Basically, Elie grew up in Eastern Europe as a child who was intensely spiritual and passionate in his faith in God. Elie frequents the synagogue and commonly weeps when praying (Devera, 5).
His weeping during prayer portrays his intense passion for his creator. Eliezer’s immense faith in the Almighty is initiated and fuelled by his studies in Jewish mysticism. His studies actually teach him of the presence of God everywhere in the world. He learns that actually nothing could ever exist on the planet without the presence of God and that all things in the physical world actually portray the divine world. The novel shows that Eliezer grows up with the knowledge that everything on the planet represents God’s great power and holiness (Marion & Elie, 56).
Eliezer believes that God can be found everywhere and that his divinity is present in each aspect of his everyday life. Therefore, Eliezer is of opinion that if God is everywhere in the world, then the world should be a good place. Evidently, Eliezer’s faith in God is initially very intense, although it is later shaken by his horrible experience during the Holocaust. The novel illustrates that Eliezer’s faith is significantly affected and shaken after experiencing intense vindictiveness during the Holocaust.
Eliezer witnesses the heinous de-humanization introduced by the Nazis among the prisoners. Eliezer cannot accept that the concentration camps’ heinous brutality can actually depict divinity. He cannot believe that a compassionate God could allow such cruelty to occur. Eliezer’s faith is also negatively affected by the selfishness portrayed by the prisoners. He believes that the prisoners should join forces in order to contest and overcome the tyranny of the Nazis. Eliezer is sure that if the prisoners rebel against the Nazis, this hazard may be seen as an evil that may be overcome. If that had been the case, Eliezer could have managed to maintain his belief in the goodness of mankind.
Basically, Eliezer perceives the Holocaust as an illustration of selfishness, cruelty, and evil that every individual has. He believes that the Holocaust event uncovered the fact that not only the Nazis had the ability of showing brutality, self-centeredness, and evil, but also Jews and the prisoners. The novel also shows how Eliezer begins to think that if the planet is so repulsive and evil, then the Almighty is also disgusting or his existence is actually false.
Conclusion
Therefore, it is evident that the Holocaust experience actually deteriorated his faith. However, Eliezer’s horrible experience does not completely obliterate his faith. Some of the experiences in his life have managed to sustain his faith in God (Sternlicht, 35). Some of the situations in the camp cause him to have moments when he grappled for his faith. Nevertheless, Eliezer’s struggle against his faith during his horrible experiences should not be seen as an absolute abandonment of his faith. It is clear that Eliezer has not ceased in believing in the Almighty. However, it is evident that Eliezer has stopped being so passionate about the creator. It can only be considered as the most unfortunate predicament for any individual of such a great faith (Marion & Elie, 109).
Works Cited
Devera, John. Eliezer’s Struggle to Maintain Faith in God in Night, by Elie Wiesel. Helium. 2008. Web.
Sternlicht, Sanford. Student Companion to Elie Wiesel. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Press, 2003. Print.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Trans. Marion Wiesel. London: Penguin Books Limited. 2012. Print.