Night by Elie Wiesel: Literary Analysis Essay

Elie Wiesel “Night,” by Elie Wiesel is a short story of a hundred pages depicting the most trialing period in the history of mankind (1941-1945). In it, Elie poses questions and attempts to answer them while internally reflecting on the ongoing tribulations. Among the issues tackled entailed Gods way of dealing with people, whereby, a group might be dealt with atrociously while the other group characterized by perpetrators who remain free of punishment. Despite Elies critical valuation of Gods confusing actions and the depraved society, he remains optimistic after transcending over the bitter feelings he harbors. This stands out in his comment about survivors who choose to testify not having any right to deprive future generations of information about the past. Elie reckons that forgetting the dead is tantamount to reenacting their execution (Wiesel xv).

Elie provides a detailed account of the deplorable conditions faced by the victims held against their will in the Nazi concentration camp. He vividly remembers the inhuman massacre of the babies whom Nazi soldiers threw inside gas chambers and mercilessly shot them dead. He also does not forget to mention the paralyzing fear that struck all the detainees during the process of relocating to another concentration camp. His account of the gruesome shifts indicates that many detainees lost their lives. Elie referred to the mass killings of Jews to a heinous act, which he could not rationalize. In his disillusioned state, Elie resorted to sarcasm whereby he applauded Hitler for keeping his promises to rid Germany of the vermin; people of Jewish descent (Wiesel 80). Elie found reassurance and comfort in the fact that his dad remained at his side throughout the arduous years; however, he struggled to comprehend why God allowed such inhumanity to persist. Elie candidly expressed that this put a strain on his belief in God and further destroyed his hope of realizing his dreams (Wiesel 34).

The defeat of the Nazi regime by the Allied led to the liberation of the captives. Elie prompts that his release from the concentration camps compelled him to write the book where he advocates for peace. According to him, teaching children to value and preserve life is the only way to prevent atrocities such as the Nazis inhumane actions. Elie capitalized on his winning the Nobel Prize in Oslo 10th December, 1986 to plead for peace all around the world. He used his speech as a platform to inform people on the importance of reflecting on past experiences (Wiesel 117). Elie claimed that learning about past mistakes enables people not to repeat the mistakes made that might prove detrimental to the peace and stability of a nation. In addition, he urged people to be empathetic to their neighbors suffering by not ignoring them in their time of need (Wiesel 119). He implored people to remain vigilant and hold their leaders accountable for their actions. He argued that Hitler endorsed crimes against the human race because nobody dared to hold him accountable. Elie was of the opinion that the middle level leaders ought not to be blamed for their role in the holocaust because they simply followed orders of a deranged man (Wiesel 120). Despite this, he maintains that everyone ought to be responsible for the entire human race welfare.

In conclusion, Elies optimism in the preservation of the human race is unwavering and is built on the firm belief in the existence of a Supreme power governing the world. It is necessary to note that the books content is not based on technical research; however, it has its foundations on memories of experiences and their cognitive appraisal. Elie remains convinced that the human heart is crucial to the concept of ideal research. Furthermore, he places considerable emphasis on the importance of forgiveness. However, he is against people forgetting the terrible occurrences that transpired. Elie argues that people need to remember negative aspects from the past in order to avoid making mistakes in the present and future. Finally, Elies last plea revolves around people choosing peaceful solutions over violent outbursts that result in the loss of lives.

Work Cited
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Marion Wiesel. Hill and Wang, 2006. Print.