Wednesday, October 12, 2016

In Night by Elie Wiesel, what was the impact of the father's death?

By the time Elie Wiesel's father dies in his book Night, everyone has suffered so much, that the death is almost an aside. Death has become a part of life, and the Jewish people in the camps see it every single day, multiple times. Elie has stuck by his father's side throughout. Early in the book, he looked to his father for comfort and as his caretaker. As the story continues, the roles of father and son reverse, and Elie is the one watching out for his weakening father. By the time Mr. Wiesel dies, Elie is exhausted, and though he wishes he could cry for his father, the overwhelming feeling Elie has is one of relief. 



"I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I had no more tears. And, in the depths of my being, in the recesses of my weakened conscience, could I have searched it, I might perhaps have found something like--free at last" (Wiesel 106).



Elie was so weak himself at this point, that he couldn't even feel anymore. The Nazis had taken even that away from the Jewish people. 

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