Megan Hayward
Reader response #1 (Preface- P.46)
From the first page of this text, I found myself very interested. However, as much as I wanted to continue reading, the farther that I fell into the text, the more I wanted to close my eyes and reach for a pleasant fiction book. Thus far, Night is very similar to my independent reading book Room in the Heart by Sonia Levitin. The locations slightly vary, but occur around the same year. Something that I was shocked about in the first book was the element of surprise that the Jewish families faced. In both cases the German armies came to their homeland and claimed that they were not a threat. Just a short time later they were taken from their homes and were to be shipped off to a mysterious location. Julie's family in my independent reading book was able to escape because they had a fair amount of warning. I wonder if the Wiesel family could have safely avoided being taken to Auschwitz. It seems as if they were given so many opportunities to leave and not have to look back. If the Hungarian police officer had helped them sooner, they may have been able to leave with him (14). Also, the ghetto where they were moved to wasn't monitored very closely. He even states, "One could enter and leave as one pleased" (20). They were offered a home by Maria, their friend that worked for them at one time (20). I just don't understand why his father refused to take the offer. Reading the preface, it is obvious that these individuals saw many deaths. Could taking this offer have saved them? Was the risk that was holding them back or was it that they couldn't leave their fellow Jews to suffer alone?
Before even entering the camp, the Jews had to face agony. This was an indication as to what would come. As if leaving their homes and families wasn't terrible enough, what was to come would be grueling. Something that was particularly terrible was the mindset of these individuals after having to live in the camps for mere days. Wiesel explains how they were basically brainwashed. He elaborates, "Our senses were numbed, everything was faded into a fog. We no longer clung to anything. The instincts of self-preservation, of self-defense, of pride, had all deserted us" (36). The fact that these brave people were able to force themselves to live their lives is incredible. The new "homes" of these Jews were so miserable and they were treated so awfully that they seemed to lose all hope very quickly. Without hope there is no motivation. If these men and woman are able to survive through these struggles, they must have had the slightest sense of optimism that they could one day be free.
I agree with many of your statements above. Although I knew it could not be the case, I had hoped with all of my heart that the Wiesel family would have escaped the dire situation they faced before they were transported to the camps. As you mentioned, I wish they had left with Maria and gone to live with her. Maybe, just maybe, they would have been safe. I also find it astonishing that the Jews knew so little about the impending circumstances that were about to unfold. Perhaps, if they had known more, they would have tried harder to evade capture and transportation. Clearly, this is all entirely speculation. In regards to your assumption that the Jews were, in a sense, brainwashed, I don't necessarily concur. I think that the Jews simply lost hope, and thus their faith. Some may have simply lost the want to live, for they may have given up on survival completely. Again, this is only speculation, for we cannot question the victims who have died. However, I do agree that the survivors must have been optimistic in some form or another, or they probably wouldn't have made it out of such a situation alive.
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