Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Night: How Elie Changed


2/24/2016
John Zalazinski 

One of the first major changes is Elie's belief in his religion. How it first unravels is when he suffers so much in the concentration camps that he doesn't even believe God can help him. "Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust." He suffered so much he didn't have the will to ask God, and figured he can trudge along the problems he was going through without him. 



Elie had an even harder time believing in his religion towards the middle of Night. After the hanging of two adults two Jewish adults asked where is God, and he answered with, "He is hanging here on this gallows....." This explicitly states that Elie thinks his God is completely dead. Which would also mean Elie would almost no longer rely on him.



Another major change that I noticed in Elie is the connection between him and his father. Throughout the book they go through so much, thick and thin. They had a link that was special, as if the role of father and child were reversed, Elie was mostly taking care of his father. That's why it is heartbreaking when his father unfortunately parishes. "After my father's death, nothing could touch me any more." This quote means that no matter happens nothing can motivate to go on.





1 comment:

  1. John - You mention Elie's views on religion, but do not give us a foundation to build upon because you do not mention what his religious views were before the Holocaust. Therefore we cannot see how he changes. Please provide page numbers for your quotes.

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