Heather Shertzer Shertzer 1

Mr. Hershey

English II

October 23, 2008

Night Essay

Pain, suffering, and oppression are all words most Jews in Europe would use to describe their life during the holocaust. Elie Wiesel portrays one account of these tough times in his autobiography, Night. In the book Elie wrote, he describes the processes of deportation, suffering, and disease. When Elie first deports to a concentration camp, he is lucky enough to be with his father. Throughout Night though, Ellie’s relationship with his father changes dramatically.

When Elie first arrives at the concentration camp, he becomes dependent on his father for comfort and support. Kelly Winters, a freelance writer, describes this bond between Elie and his father when she writes, “He clings to his father, contriving to stay close to him in the camps; this closeness is his sole source of reassurance and safety, although he knows it is precarious” (Winters 276). This type of relationship also reveals itself when the SS men command the women and men to separate into different lines. As

Elie scrambles over to his line he states, “There was no time to think, and I already felt my father’s hand press against mine: we were not alone” (29). Elie was scared after seeing his mother taken away so he wanted his father to protect him and to guide him.

Ellen S. Fine, author of Witness of the Night, illustrates the importance of Elie’s father by implying, “For a child of fifteen entering the perverse world of the concentration camp, the “residue of humanism” is the presence of his father” (Fine 55). Elie demonstrates his determination to be with his father when one of the tent leader’s aides asks if he would Shertzer 2 like to get into a good Kommando as he replies, “Of course. But on one condition: I want to stay with my father” (48). Elie’s attitude towards his father changes eventually, but when they first arrive at the concentration camp, Elie is dependent on his father for moral support and protection.

After Elie becomes accustomed to camp life, Elie develops more of a peer-like relationship with his dad. Elie and his father represent this stage in their relationship when Elie’s father keeps getting in trouble for not marching in line with the other prisoners. Elie decides to help his dad when he narrates, “I decided to give my father lessons in marching in step, in keeping time. We began practicing in front of our block.

I would command: “Left, right!” and my father would try”(55). A little further in the book, Elie and his father reveal a peer-like relationship during a cold night when they do not want to fall asleep. “Come, Father. It’s better there. You’ll be able to lie down.

We’ll take turns. I’ll watch over you and you’ll watch over me. We won’t let each other fall asleep. We’ll look after each other” (89). With these words, Elie portrays himself as being equal to his father in a physical and mental aspect. As they fight for survival, both

“Father and son struggle to remain human, acting as lifelines for each other. They fight to keep alive by mutual care and manage to create a strong bond between them in the most extreme of circumstances” (Fine 55). It is evident through these examples that Elie develops a peer like relationship with his father after they become accustomed to the camp.

Near the end of their time in the camp, Elie becomes the willing caretaker of his ill father. As Elie begins to take care of his father, one author notes, “Here we see the reversal of roles: the transformation of the once-powerful paternal authority into a weak, Shertzer 3 fearful child and that of the dependent child into an adult” (Fine 57). Elie begins to take care of his father when he encouraged his father when they first arrived in Buchenwald, when he howled, “Father! Get up! Right now! You will kill yourself…” (105) This encouragement to not give up helps his father not to give in to death at this moment. Elie also portrays the role as caretaker after the first night in Buchenwald, when Elie does not know where his father is. After a long night without his father, Elie finally finds him when he shouts with concern, “Father! I’ve been looking all over for you for so long…

Where were you? Did you sleep? How are you feeling?”(106) Although Elie was willing at first to take care of his ill father, it did not take long for Elie to feel reluctant to do these deeds for him. At one point, Elie converses with the head of his block, and he mentions his father is very ill. The head of his block suggests that Elie should not give to his father his ration. This provoked Elie to think, “He was right. I thought deep down, not daring to admit it to myself. Too late to wave your old father…You could gave two rations of bread, two rations of soup…”(111). This thought again comes to Elie when his father dies and he ends up feeling almost relieved:

I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I was out of tears. And

deep inside me, if I could have searched the recesses of my feeble conscience, I

might have found something like: free at last! (112)

Elie’s actions reveal that he becomes the resentful caretaker of his father and then he becomes relieved at his father’s death.

Throughout Elie’s time in the concentration camp, Elie has gone from being a rebelling son to being dependent on his father. From that role, Elie becomes more of a peer to his father. Elie then transitions to taking care of his father, and then being Shertzer 4 resentful of the actions he did for him. For Elie and his father, the Holocaust causes reversal of the normal father-son relationship by forcing Elie to be the caretaker of his father. This exchange of roles has been viewed as, “Not a father leading his son to be sacrificed, but a son guiding, dragging, carrying to the altar an old man who no longer has the strength to continue” (Fine 58). Although that is not the worst problem Elie and his father had to deal with, it was a major one in Elie’s life. The Holocaust impacted many thousands of people, including Elie and his father. While most stories may never be revealed, Elie’s story portrays a real life experience that many Holocaust victims can relate with. Works Cited:

Fine, Ellen S. “Witness of the Night.” Modern Critical Interpretations. Ed. Harold Bloom.

Philadelphia, PA: Chelsea House Publishers, 2000. 54-63.

Wiesel, Elie. Night. 1958. Trans. Marion Wiesel. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006.

Winters, Kelly. “Critical Essay on ‘Night.’” Nonfiction Classics for Students. Ed. David

Galens. Vol. 4. New York: Thomson Gale, 2002. 274-7. Gale Virtual Reference

Library. Gale. Conestoga Valley High School Lib., Lancaster, PA. 27 Oct. 2008

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