In the novel "Night," by Elie Wiesel, the horrors of the holocaust are illustrated by someone who experienced them first hand. As a survivor of the holocaust, he endured many challenges and presents them to his readers through this very moving and tragic novel. The main character of the book, Eliezer, was confronted with horrific trials that conflicted him mentally and emotionally. Thousands of Jewish citizens were deliberately killed within these concentration camps, and Eliezer was surrounded by these sickening activities. He struggled to maintain his faith in god and a compassionate human race. It is unquestionable that he was faced with, and put through, terrible experiences that changed his life forever. .
One of the main symbols within the novel is simply the symbol of night. The author makes clear to the fact that the most dreadful events take place during night-time, like the night they were transported to Auschwitz, for example. To a man of faith, night-time and darkness represent a world without God. This idea alone would have made these trying times much harder for Eliezer and his family as they were deeply religious. Though, night-time was the least of their worries on this fearful night. In Eliezer's case, he was unable to see out the window of the train while they were being transported. This made the chatter of others speaking of fires and smoke much scarier for him. As if matters couldn't get any worse, they also began to smell what they would later discover to be the smell of human flesh burning in the scalding hot fire. The transportation that the Jews went through was absolutely stomach-churning and would be a struggle for anyone in the situation. Little did Eliezer know, this was just the beginning of the struggles he would endure.
A famous quotes from this novel is, "Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live.
