Amy Hernandez

Period 4, English

Mr. Goldman

March 19, 2018

Night Explication

In Elie Wiesel’s Night, Wiesel preserves a new collective memory how the Jews were

dehumanized through their mental and physical abuse, in order to prevent future tragedies from

occuring. Dehumanization is the act of strpping away a person’s human qualities. In Night, the

Jews become dehumanized through physical and mental abuse. They are stripped of their

individuality and identity which further dehumanizes them. The dehumanization of the Jews, led

Wiesel to convert from a firm believer in his Jewish faith to an apathetic and pessimistic person.

The holocaust lasted from 1941-1945, killing 6 million Jews. Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet,

Romania. Wiesel was 15 when he and his family were forced into small ghettos in Sighet, after

ignoring warnings given to them by Moishe the Beadle. Moishe the beadle had given them

warnings to escape, because of his horrible experience with the Gestapo. They were later

transported to concentration camps, in 1944. This was the peak of World War 2. Wiesel is finally

rescued in 1945. He and his older sisters were the only ones who survived.

“In the afternoon, they made us line up…We were told to roll up our left sleeves and file

past the table. Three “veteran” prisoners, needles in hand, tattooed numbers on our left arms. I

became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name.” (Wiesel, Ch.3, p. 42)

Wiesel starts off in Night as an innocent, young, pure boy. He identifies himself as a firm

believer in the Jewish faith. In Night, Wiesel becomes stripped of his identity through
horrendous activities he was forced to partake in. The Nazis forced Jews to shave their hair, get

tattoos, strip off their clothes, separate from their families, witness other Jews’ death, and more.

The Jews were forced to remove many physical things that made them an individual such as,

cutting their hair, removing thier clothes, forgetting their families etc. Removing these physical

things, stripped them of their identities. Not only did the Jews become deprived of their

individuality, many of the things they were forced to do, contradicted their religion. The “veteran

prisoners” “tattooed numbers” on their “left arms” and Wiesel was given the number “A-7713”.

These “numbers” given to the Jews were the only way to identify them. When the Jews got

“numbers” “tattooed” on their “arms”, they became objects. They became products,

manufactured by the inhumanity of the Nazis. These tattoos makes the Jews lose their identity

and individuality even more. Progressively through the book, Wiesel starts losing his faith in

God. Being forced to get a tattoo is just another obstacle that Wiesel had to face, in order to keep

his connection with God alive. Wiesel mentions that we should preserve the collective memory

of the holocaust, in order to honor those who didn’t get to be buried in a Jewish cemetery. Most

Jews avoid getting tattoos because it supposedly taints the body that God gave you to honor, and

those with tattoos weren’t allowed to be buried in a Jewish cemetery. After getting “tattooed” the

“numbers” “A-7713” on his “left arm”, Wiesel no longer feels pure. He becomes one of many

objects that have been manufactured by the Nazis. Nothing can distinguish him from the rest.

This affects both his relationship with God and his identity.

“On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the last day of that cursed year, the entire camp was

agitated and every one of us felt the tension… Blessed be God's name? Why, but why

would I bless Him? Every fiber in me rebelled... Because He kept six crematoria working
 day and night, including Sabbath and the Holy Days? Because in His great might, He had

created Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna, and so many other factories of death? How could I

say to Him: Blessed be Thou, Almighty, Master of the Universe, who chose us among all

nations to be tortured day and night, to watch as our fathers, our mothers, our brothers

end up in the furnaces?… And I, the former mystic, was thinking: Yes, man is stronger,

greater than God.” (Wiesel, Ch.5, p. 67)

Wiesel starts off in Night, very faithful in “God” and very optimistic. In the beginning,

Wiesel doesn’t want to be separated from his dad, because its all he has left besides his faith in

“God”. Wiesel’s strong faith leads him to believe that “God” will watch over him and his fellow

Jews. His faith is strong enough that he believes that “God” won’t let anything happen to them.

Wiesel has faced many obstacles throughout the holocaust that led him to question his faith in

“God”. Some include, the “crematoria”, “factories of death”, and the separation from his family.

After going through such tragedies, Wiesel questions “why” he should “bless Him”. “Why” after

all the “death” and “torture” should he continue to praise “Him”. During “Rosh Hashanah”, one

is supposed to repent and reflect after their actions in the past “cursed year”. During this time,

they are being judged by “God”. Wiesel is angry that the “God” that he believed in, would cause

such destruction and because of this, he feels that “every fiber in” him “rebelled” against “Him”.

He doesn’t understand how he can repent for his actions while “God” is causing his “brothers” so

much sorrow and “torture”. Weisel realizes that “man is strong, greater than God”. According to

Wiesel, “God” is nothing without “man”. I believe that at this point Wiesel has no faith left in

“God”. God hasn’t watched over him or his fellow Jews. By the end of Night, Wiesel has no

faith. He ends up very pessimistic and apathetic. Towards the end, Wiesel feels like his dad is a
burden. He doesn’t want to care for him anymore. He is tired of dragging another person with

him. Wiesel believes he survived the holocaust out of luck. God had no part in his survival.

I believe that Wiesel’s message in Night, is to preserve a collective memory of the

oppressed. To keep alive the memory of how the Jews become dehumanized through mental and

physical abuse. It is important to keep holocaust stories alive, so that no one forgets the tragedy

that millions of people went through. Keeping this memory alive will hopefully prevent future

tragedies like this from happening again. It is upsetting to think how millions of people were

dehumanized in such cruel ways. I imagine it was probably very difficult for survivors to go

back to normal, after being deprived of every human quality they had. I agree with Wiesel’s

message to keep the collective memory of the oppressed alive. Keeping the Jew’s memory alive

means that no human being should ever have to experience dehumanization again.

After reading Night, I realized that a man needs more than shelter and food to survive. He

needs hope, faith and comfort. Wiesel’s reason for living was his dad, because it was all he had

left. His dad was once his reason for living, but he becomes his burden towards the end of the

book. Wiesel dramatically transforms throughout the holocaust, but who wouldn’t after living

through such horrendous conditions. Wiesel goes from a pure, faithful, optimistic boy, to a man

stripped of his identity and human qualities.