Critical Analysis of Elie Wiesel's NIGHT

Wiesel’s harsh experiences cause him to question his companionship with God. Wiesel shows the reader the major role that God plays in his life, by starting his memoir with Moche, the beadle. Moche is Wiesel’s teacher in the mysteries of the Kabbala,

The head of Wiesel’s block in Buchenwald tells him that everyman must fight for himself in order to survive. Deep down inside, Wiesel knows that this man is right, but he is afraid to admit it. He feels that if he chooses himself over his father, he will totally diminish his humanity. Wiesel’s major conflict is whether or not he will betray his father in order to survive. Wiesel witnesses many instances in which sons betray their fathers. He prays to God that he will never be like those boys. This proves that he is different, but he will still do almost anything to survive. When Wiesel’s father gets very ill, Wiesel knows that his father doesn’t have much time left. He contemplates whether he should take his father’s rations of food for himself to make him stronger, or give it to his father. He knows that the food will not change his sick father’s condition. This is the first time that he actually considers betraying his father for his own survival.

Forgetting the possibility of escaping, Wiesel worries that it would be selfish for him to leave his father alone in such a world of chaos. Wiesel can’t help to wonder if fate plays a role in keeping him and his father together through so much. “Eliezer becomes obsessed with the need to hold on tightly to his father’s hand, the only object of life in a universe where every moment holds the possibility of death” (Fine 98). Maybe God is to blame for their unity. When Wiesel’s father dies, Wiesel ends his memoir abruptly. It seems as though Wiesel feels guilty for outliving his father. When looking in the mirror at the end of Wiesel’s memoir, he sees himself as a cadaver. This image is the result of his guilty conscience for letting go of his father. The death of Wiesel’s family has left him isolated in the world of the living.

Several sufferers disagree with the assumption that God is dying. These people feel that God is alive and just doesn’t care about the Jews and their suffering. God doesn’t do anything when children are massively killed in the crematories. He doesn’t do anything when thousands of people starve and freeze to death. On Rosh Hashanah, Wiesel refuses to pray because he feels that God isn’t listening to him. Toward the end of his memoir, Wiesel rarely considers praying to God. Wiesel’s refusal to praise Him brings him closer to his seclusion from God.

The competition among the Holocaust sufferers is also shown when the SS officers throw breadcrumbs into the wagon. Dozens of starving men fight each other to their deaths, just for a few crumbs. Wiesel does not take part in this stampede over a few crumbs. Wiesel has learned from other people’s mistakes, and he understands that he can’t compete with the others. He knows that he will not win because he is so outnumbered. Wiesel stays isolated from the competition between the others so that he can refrain from getting killed by them.

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