I am going to try and do something with this post that I seemed to have been unable to do with my previous posts for some reason. I am going to try and describe all the raw emotion I felt coursing through myself at the end of this book. I feel as if Wiesel drags you into his innermost core and forces you through these memories with him, and in the end, you do come out a better, more compassionate person. I started the book just as confused as Wiesel was, not knowing exactly what to do or what to expect. Then I was overcome by the things that he saw and went through; terror washed over me like waves crashing through an ocean of shattered hopes, dreams, and love. I was sickened and forced to turn cold at some of the things that I encountered. And then there were moments, the kind Frenchwoman, the brave men being hung, the moment Wiesel chose not to desert his father, that sparked hope in me, hope that is ever-forgiving and ever-given. A hope that will sprout and grow no matter what the conditions, as long as it's allowed to hit the ground.
I think Elie Wiesel may be one of the bravest people I've ever had the honor to get to know, if even just a little. He could have done what so many others did, forget family and friends and become what his surroundings wanting, a creature to use and abuse. Instead he kept his humanity from destroying him through all the pain by finding his center in his father, his only family, and detaching himself from everything else as long as he could afford. He willingly made the choice never to leave his father even though it could mean death for himself. He never took out his anger on those around him, instead he became a totally unbiased human being who could not die by mortal hands because he walked arm-in-arm with Death, and they were friends who never doubted each others' company.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Viki Response 3 (85-120)
I literally just finished the book minutes ago on my drive home and I have to mention right away my thoughts on the end before my first reactions slip my mind.
First of all (and it will be out of order) I want to mention one of the things he said in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech; "I remember he asked his father, 'Can this be true? This is the twentieth century, not the middle ages. Who would allow such crimes to be committed?'" (p. 118) For some reason, I feel like these things will always happen, not always so drastically, but I think there will always be at least a little bit of hate between people who are inevitably different from other people. For example, a few months ago I saw an article (I follow LGBT news very closely) about transgender issues I will post a link below including examples of torture, killings (often described as hate crimes, but I classify them as a form of genocide) and even arrests simply for being different, for being transgendered. Is that fair in any form of the word?
Also the last lines of the memoir, "From the depths of the mirror a corpse was contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left." (p. 115) These words are haunting me. He described himself as a corpse and in the third person, and for some reason him referring to himself that way concerns me-it makes me feel like he doesn't feel like he knows himself anymore at all.
The only other point I'd like to make tonight is how he explained the death of his father. After reading the preface I don't think he does the event justice by putting it so simply, I seriously almost missed it. I was reading through half distracted by the music playing and almost missed the fact that this was when his father died. He spoke of it so vaguely, as if it was something painful. If I didn't already know why his father's death isn't spoken of explicitly I would confuse his lack of detail for sadness, maybe it was too hard for him to speak of this. This however isn't the case. In the original Yiddish, he speaks in great detail of his father's death. He goes on for a page and a half describing his father's cries and how he was so afraid of being beaten himself that he ignored his father's last wishes and stood feet away blind deaf and dumb. Before editing in the new translations, these thoughts and details of his fathers death, things that were so powerful at least to me, were cut from the text perhaps to guard the readers from the pain they cause-Isn't the power in the pain and the harshness? Isn't one of the purposes here to never let this happen again? How can we do that if we don't have the darkest details, the most painful bits? The tragic details are what makes the stories so powerful, without them someone reading wouldn't get nearly as much of the impact.
Anyways, how can we expect these things to happen again. I mean it's the twenty-first century. Noone would let this happen again.
Yeah, right.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pete-subkoviak/lgbt-leadership-splitting_b_1093522.html
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Alicia Albuquerque Response #3
After finishing Night, I can better understand the constant struggle to stay alive Wiesel and his father had to face. It was shocking to me how bad the conditions became and how terrible the Jews were being treated. They were shown no mercy, no matter how tired they were or how cold it was outside. I find the Germans extremely hypocritical. They push the Jews until their breaking point; until they physically and mentally cannot go on. The Germans force the Jew to run to their next camp, over twenty kilometers. The Germans run with the Jews to make sure they don't stop but when the Germans get tired, they switch out with another person. The Jews have to keep running the entire way and cannot take any breaks or they will risk being shot. The Germans do not feed the Jews for days at time and expect no one to complain while they are getting meals everyday. The Jews go through so much pain and suffering. Wiesel truly amazes me. He is incredibly strong to be able to survive the Holocaust and be able to tell about his struggles afterward. He never gave up no matter what, not even when his father died or when he thought he had no reason to live. Wiesel is an inspiration to the world. His story teaches us never to give up no matter what the conditions. Wiesel never gave up and he ended up surviving. Surviving the Holocaust is something to be extremely proud of. Wiesel deserves every award he has ever received and all the credit he can get.
Lindsay's Third Reader Response (Page 85-120)
After I finished Night and set it down once more, I reflected upon the contents of this most heartwrenching story. The insufferable horrors seem so unreal, and I still cannot seem to fathom how any of it could have ever actually happened. It seems as if the story was simply a truly riveting fictional piece, though I know this is certainly not the case, no matter how much I wish it could be. As the story progressed, I had hoped Elie's situation had finally improved. However, it only seemed to be getting worse, and my heart raced and ached along with his. I became very angry when, at the beginning of this third section of the text, the SS officers were treating the Jews so inhumanely. Their march, or run, seems so unreal to me. Elie recalls, "From time to time, a shot exploded in the darkness. They had orders to shoot anyone who could not sustain the pace. Their fingers on the triggers, they did not deprive themselves of the pleasure. If one of us stopped for a second, a quick shot eliminated the filthy dog" (85). The simple comparison to a dog really struck me. It illustrates how the officers viewed the prisoners as no more than animals, helpless creatures who could easily be disposed of and replaced at the drop of a hat. I was also appalled at the mention of the pleasure felt by the officers upon killing an Jew. How could one feel joy at another's expense? How could one feel happy about killing another human being? The idea simply baffles me, and this is why I was so surprised as well as angry whilst reading this portion of the text.
Another part of the text that really bothered me was the whole issue of the father and son relationships. It seems that this was mentioned over and over again during the later part of the story, and each time it seems that a son gave up on a father. For example, when the deceased lay upon the snow, Elie says, "Sons abonded the remains of their fathers without a tear" (92). Another example of this heartbreaking scenario arose when bread was thrown into one of the cars holding the Jews. An old man tried to eat a piece, but his son beat his own father to death in order to attain it himself. The son was killed as well. However, the most profound example of this resided with Elie and his own father. When his father fell gravely ill, Elie detached himself from his father emotionally in order to survive. He stopped answering his father's cries, and he looked on as the officers attack him. He acknowledged his guilt upon wishing his father was gone so that his life would be easier, yet he longed for the extra soup and bread he could have if he stopped giving it to his dying father (111). I was greatly disturbed by this. I cannot imagine being in this situation with my family, and giving up on their survival so that I could live myself. I really don't think I could ever do that to my own mother, father, or siblings. I would want them to live as badly, or more badly, than I wanted to live myself. He also did not cry when his father died, and I can't imagine why. I certainly would have if I had gone through such an ordeal and had lost the only thing that was holding me together, albeit by even a single thread. However, how could I judge Elie? He survived a horrendous ordeal, something I would never wish upon anyone. As much as I try to put myself in his shoes, I know I could never accurately picture it unless I had gone through it myself. As horrific as the story was, I'm glad I had the opportunity to read Night; it truly made me appreciate what I have, and I know that, even when things seem bleakest, they could always be a lot worse.
After I finished Night and set it down once more, I reflected upon the contents of this most heartwrenching story. The insufferable horrors seem so unreal, and I still cannot seem to fathom how any of it could have ever actually happened. It seems as if the story was simply a truly riveting fictional piece, though I know this is certainly not the case, no matter how much I wish it could be. As the story progressed, I had hoped Elie's situation had finally improved. However, it only seemed to be getting worse, and my heart raced and ached along with his. I became very angry when, at the beginning of this third section of the text, the SS officers were treating the Jews so inhumanely. Their march, or run, seems so unreal to me. Elie recalls, "From time to time, a shot exploded in the darkness. They had orders to shoot anyone who could not sustain the pace. Their fingers on the triggers, they did not deprive themselves of the pleasure. If one of us stopped for a second, a quick shot eliminated the filthy dog" (85). The simple comparison to a dog really struck me. It illustrates how the officers viewed the prisoners as no more than animals, helpless creatures who could easily be disposed of and replaced at the drop of a hat. I was also appalled at the mention of the pleasure felt by the officers upon killing an Jew. How could one feel joy at another's expense? How could one feel happy about killing another human being? The idea simply baffles me, and this is why I was so surprised as well as angry whilst reading this portion of the text.
Another part of the text that really bothered me was the whole issue of the father and son relationships. It seems that this was mentioned over and over again during the later part of the story, and each time it seems that a son gave up on a father. For example, when the deceased lay upon the snow, Elie says, "Sons abonded the remains of their fathers without a tear" (92). Another example of this heartbreaking scenario arose when bread was thrown into one of the cars holding the Jews. An old man tried to eat a piece, but his son beat his own father to death in order to attain it himself. The son was killed as well. However, the most profound example of this resided with Elie and his own father. When his father fell gravely ill, Elie detached himself from his father emotionally in order to survive. He stopped answering his father's cries, and he looked on as the officers attack him. He acknowledged his guilt upon wishing his father was gone so that his life would be easier, yet he longed for the extra soup and bread he could have if he stopped giving it to his dying father (111). I was greatly disturbed by this. I cannot imagine being in this situation with my family, and giving up on their survival so that I could live myself. I really don't think I could ever do that to my own mother, father, or siblings. I would want them to live as badly, or more badly, than I wanted to live myself. He also did not cry when his father died, and I can't imagine why. I certainly would have if I had gone through such an ordeal and had lost the only thing that was holding me together, albeit by even a single thread. However, how could I judge Elie? He survived a horrendous ordeal, something I would never wish upon anyone. As much as I try to put myself in his shoes, I know I could never accurately picture it unless I had gone through it myself. As horrific as the story was, I'm glad I had the opportunity to read Night; it truly made me appreciate what I have, and I know that, even when things seem bleakest, they could always be a lot worse.
Megan Hayward
Reader Response #3 (P.85-120)
These final few chapters Knight were heartbreaking. It seemed as if before things could get better, they became much worse. Eliezer and his father had to endure the rough journey of vacating one camp and moving to another. Many people had very little food and were not able to keep up with the group. Once they finally arrived at a vacant town, they still couldn't rest. Elie recalls what his father told him about sleeping. He warns, "It's dangerous to fall asleep in snow. One falls asleep forever. Come, my son, come...Get up" (88). It is terrible how after many hours of physical activity in the frigid weather, they could not even sleep for a few hours. Elie's father is very wise. Sometimes falling asleep seems harmless, but in the snow it is deadly. This reminds me of Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer because those who were able to resist falling asleep in the snow and ice had a much higher survival rate. Both Eliezer and his father were desperate for rest, but they had enough willpower to resist the temptation. I find their determination remarkable.
Unfortunately, just a short time after arriving at the new camp, Elie's father became deathly ill and was unable to survive with his son. Even though he did die, he and his son were fighters. Even through all of their struggles, these two individuals are able to surpass the amount of time in which most people survived in these concentration camps. He describes the condition that many people were in. He explains, "I tried to distinguish between the living and those who were no more. But there was barely a difference" (98). Imagine how it must feel to look around and everyone looks as if they are on the verge of death. This can't be very motivating. However, Elie and his father somehow found the strength to continue. One quote that touched me was when he explains how far they had come. He says, "We had been a hundred or so in this wagon. Twelve of us left in it. Among them, my father and myself" (103). Wow! That is really my only reaction. It is incredible. How did they manage to survive even though they hadn't eaten in days? Would either of these two have survived if they had to endure this journey alone?
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Mary's "Night" Post #2
One of these many details is how easy it is for Elie Wiesel to lie to the dentist and not have to deal with any immediate consequences. For instance, when the dentist tells him he's going to remove Wiesel's gold crown, Elie blatantly lies saying, "Couldn't you wait a few days sir? I don't feel well, I have a fever" (52). And before the dentist can call him back to remove his crown, he is hung and Wiesel is allowed to keep his crown for a while, even though he ends up having it taken from him eventually.
The two hangings that I read about in this section shocked me because I had never even realized that two events, carried out the exact same way, could turn out so differently. The first hanging, the one in which a man had been condemned to die for stealing a ration of soup left unattended, was almost inspiring. The way he defied everything around him for a bowl of soup! And his last words, they almost remind me of the Declaration of Independence in the way that they must have sounded that day, "Long live liberty!" (62). It must have given the other prisoners something to hope for because that night, "...the soup tasted better than ever" (63), on that night, I'm sure the soup tasted like the hope for a second chance at surviving. Sadly, this was quickly buffeted by the storms of a death that should never be, the long, slow, agonizing, and cruel death of a child who does not even way enough to end his own suffering or cry out his defiance before his people, his faith, and himself. The soup was right to taste like corpses that night because what those people witnessed was something dearly akin to God hanging on the gallows, struggling to end the suffering.
I can only hope that Wiesel does not kick himself over the decision to leave the camp with the evacuation. He had know way of knowing how close liberation was and like the others around him, he was expecting only the worst, which is completely logical and reasonable.
One of these many details is how easy it is for Elie Wiesel to lie to the dentist and not have to deal with any immediate consequences. For instance, when the dentist tells him he's going to remove Wiesel's gold crown, Elie blatantly lies saying, "Couldn't you wait a few days sir? I don't feel well, I have a fever" (52). And before the dentist can call him back to remove his crown, he is hung and Wiesel is allowed to keep his crown for a while, even though he ends up having it taken from him eventually.
The two hangings that I read about in this section shocked me because I had never even realized that two events, carried out the exact same way, could turn out so differently. The first hanging, the one in which a man had been condemned to die for stealing a ration of soup left unattended, was almost inspiring. The way he defied everything around him for a bowl of soup! And his last words, they almost remind me of the Declaration of Independence in the way that they must have sounded that day, "Long live liberty!" (62). It must have given the other prisoners something to hope for because that night, "...the soup tasted better than ever" (63), on that night, I'm sure the soup tasted like the hope for a second chance at surviving. Sadly, this was quickly buffeted by the storms of a death that should never be, the long, slow, agonizing, and cruel death of a child who does not even way enough to end his own suffering or cry out his defiance before his people, his faith, and himself. The soup was right to taste like corpses that night because what those people witnessed was something dearly akin to God hanging on the gallows, struggling to end the suffering.
I can only hope that Wiesel does not kick himself over the decision to leave the camp with the evacuation. He had know way of knowing how close liberation was and like the others around him, he was expecting only the worst, which is completely logical and reasonable.
Alicia Albuquerque Post #2
As I have continued reading Night, I have found myself more and more interested. Wiesel has been through so much, and is an increadibly strong person to overcome these tough times. One situation that particulary distured me was when Wiesel, a teenage boy at the time, had to watch adults and young children die. He was forced to watch the cerimonies of people being hanged and then had to walk by and make eye contact with the dead bodies. It got so bad that he started to question his faith. He wondered how God could such terrible things. He didn't understand how God could create terrible places like the concentration camps. Eventually he started to loose his faith. At one point, he even rebelled against God by not fasting when he was supposed to. Before the concentration camps Elie depended on his faith. He studied religion on a daily basis and prayed reagularly. He also follwed all the rules his religion believed in. Things must have been at their worst for a faithful man like Wiesel to give up on his religion. How could God do such terrible things? or create such terrible people? It was shocking to me how cruel people can really be. Before reading Night my knowledge on the Holocaust was very limited, but now my eyes are opened to the terrible times people had to suffer through.
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