Theme of Decisions in Night by Elie Wiesel Essay Example

Elie Wiesel, The author of the book "Night," made many tough decisions throughout his life. With luck, some of these decisions helped him survive, while some were not so lucky. 

My first example is when Elie did not believe Moishe as he tried to warn them about the concentration camps. He was in disbelief because he didn’t believe that such horrible things could happen. To show this in the text it states, “ ‘Jews, listen to me! That’s all I ask of you. No money. No pity. Just listen to me!’ he kept shouting in synagogue, between the prayer at dusk and the evening prayer. Even I did not believe him.” This shows that Moishe tried to warn them about the camps, but everyone thought he was imagining things and only wanted their pity. They choose to not believe him. If Elie believed him, Elie would avoid the camps and wouldn’t have gone through all the suffering. 

For example, Elie made a tough decision whether or not he should lie about his age. After seeing what would happen to the people who were too old and too young to work, he changed then his decision. To show this in the text, it states, “ ‘Your age?’ he asked, perhaps trying to sound paternal. ‘I’m eighteen, my voice was trembling. ‘In good health?’ ‘Your profession?’ Tell him that I was a student? ‘Farmer,’ I heard myself saying.” This decision positively impacted his life. It changed his identity because, at the time, he was a 15 year old clueless about the things that were happening around him. After he saw the truth and the harshness of the camp, it changes who he is as a person. He questions his religion and if this is reality. He wonders why these horrendous things are happening around him and is no longer an innocent child. 

Another decision he made that impacted his life was when he decided to stay in the infirmary or evacuate with the others. To show this in the text states, “ ‘Let's be evacuated with the others.’ I said. He didn’t answer. He was looking at my foot. ‘You think you’ll be able to walk?’ ‘Yes, I think so.’ ‘Let’s hope we won’t regret it, Eliezer.’ ” This demonstrates how decisions could change everything. This decision affected Elie because his father passed away because of it. It also caused Elie to go through all the struggles to survive and go through a long journey. He ran almost nonstop with a wounded leg through the ​​relentless weather and saw horrible things that would stay in his memories forever. He saw people get trampled by the people behind, and if people were to slow down, they would have gotten shot by the SS. People were so desperate that they were willing to kill for food. He went to extreme starvation, dehydration and had to eat snow. Overall this decision affected him negatively. 

In conclusion, this all shows that the decisions Elie Wiesel was forced to make had a significant impact on his life. They decided his survival and the future hardships he faced.