Night Essay
In the memoir Night, the author uses conflict to describe Elie Wiesel. Conflict is the
backbone of a great intriguing memoir. Without conflict, the story would be as boring as a
robot reading a novel. During the memoir Night, conflict helps you understand the characters.
Without conflict, the reader wouldn’t get a good grip on the character’s personality. They
wouldn’t realize how Elie or the other characters changed throughout the book. The Holocaust
was the event behind these many conflicts. In Night, written By: Elie Wiesel, conflict made a
huge impact on all the characters in some shape or form.
The reader comes to understand that Elie doesn’t want to be alone, through the way
Elie acts when they first entered the concentration camp. Elie was very scared and wouldn’t
know what he would do if he lost his father. ”My hand tightened its grip on my father. All I
could think of was not to lose him. Not to remain alone”. While Elie was saying this, he and his
family were being herded out of a cattle car into Birkenau. Elie’s father gave him a since of
safety and security. Elie felt safer, braver, and stronger while he was around his father. If Elie
lost his father now he would have lost hope, which gave him the will to survive.
The internal conflict between Elie and his faith reveals that the holocaust has taking a
toll on him. During Elies first night In Aushwitz, he barely escaped death. “Never shall I forget
the flames that consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that
deprived me for all of eternity for the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments that
murdered my God and my soul and my dreams to ashes”. On this night Elie witnessed the death
of many Jews. Elie was just about to give up on life. It was not his faith that kept him alive.
The conflict between Elie and himself shows that he is disappointed in himself for not
protecting his father. When his father got slapped by the Kapo for asking to go to the restroom,
Elie didn’t stand up to him. “I stood petrified. What just happened to me? My father had been
struck in front of me and I didn’t even blink. I had watched and had kept silent. Only yesterday I
would have dug my nails into this criminals flesh. Had I changed that much? So fast?...”.
Although Elie regretted not attacking the Kapo, there would have been dire consequences if he
did. For example, if he did fight back he would have endangered his life and his father’s. He had
to worry about his safety at that particular moment.
Before I read this book I didn’t think that World War II had a big impact on people’s
lives. This event affected a lot of people. Some people not as much as others. During this time
period, many people lost their friends or loved ones. World War II was the root of almost all of
Elie’s conflicts. Not to mention all other European Jews. World War II greatly affected Elie’s life
and many others.
By: Zachary Korte