Emotions in Elie Wiesel's Night Essay Example

During the Holocaust, Elie metaphorically died when he lost his emotions. Clearly, before the Holocaust, Elie had emotions. When Elie told his father’s friend they were liquidating the ghetto, he stated, “My throat was dry and the words were choking me, paralyzing my lips. There was nothing else to say” (Wiesel 15). At that moment, Elie was overwhelmed by the situation. In fact, he was so overwhelmed that he finds it hard to talk. This can lead the reader to understand that Elie had emotions before the Holocaust. As a result, Elie lost his emotions during the Holocaust. After Elie’s father was killed by the Nazis, he explained, “I remained in Buchenwald until April 11. I shall not describe my life during that period. It no longer mattered. Since my father’s death, nothing mattered anymore” (Wiesel 113). When Elie was being liquidated from the ghettos, he is seenas emotional. But now, Elie felt that he could not care less about anything that is happening in this world. Even though people were dying and getting murdered, it didn’t matter to Elie since he was so immune to the aura of death around him. Undeniably, Elie lost his emotions during the Holocaust.

During the Holocaust, Elie lost his faith in humanity. In addition, before the Holocaust, Elie believed that people would not hurt each other. Before the Germans took over Elie’s town, he states, “Yes, we even doubted his resolve to exterminate us. Annihilate an entire people? Wipeout a population dispersed through so many nations? So many millions of people! By what means? In the middle of the twentieth century!” (Wiesel 8). This is important because Elie does not believe that someone could be this cruel and wipe out all of the Jewish people. This indicates that Elie had believed people would not be cruel to each other. On the other hand, Elie lost his faith in humanity during the Holocaust. When Elie was describing his first night in the concentration camps, he notes, “Not far from us, flames, huge flames were rising through a ditch. Something was being burned there. A truck grew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies! Yes, I did see this with my own eyes… children thrown in the flames.” (Wiesel 32). This is essential since this is the moment Elie finally understands how badly Nazi soldiers have been treating the Jewish people over the past few years. Elie loses his “childish” ideas and thoughts that everyone was peaceful and didn’t want to hurt each other. Therefore, Elie lost his faith in humanity during the Holocaust. 

During the Holocaust, Elie lost his vales. Naturally, Elie had his values before his father became sick. When Elie heard of a son who ditched his father, he wrote, “And in spite of myself, a prayer formed inside of me, a prayer to this God in whom I no longer believed, ‘oh God, master of the universe, please give me the strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahu’s song had done,” (Wiesel 91). Throughout the entire story, Elie’s father was a figure Elie valued and loved since the rest of Elie’s family were separated. Once Elie finds out that Rabbi Eliahu’s son left his father for his own good, Elie sends a prayer to God to make sure this never happens to him. At this moment in time, Elie still has values. On the contrary, Elie lost his vales once his father was sick. When Elie’s father doesn’t receive a ration of soup Elie expressed, “I gave him the rest of my soup, but my heart was heavy. I was aware I was doing it grudgingly. Just like Rabbi Eliahu’s son, I had not passed the test,” (Wiesel 107). After the death march, Elie’s dad was extremely sick. The sick were no longer fed since they were going to die anyway and so there was no use in feeding them. So, Elie gave his father some of is ration of soup even though Elie was starving. Although this seems as if Elie was still valuing his father, Elie states that he was unhappy with giving his father the soup. This means that Elie has lost his value of his father. Overall, Elie lost his values during the Holocaust.