A Fading Beacon

A Fading Beacon

As humans, we require basic necessities, such as food, water, and shelter to survive. But we also need a reason to live. The reason could be the thought of a person, achieving some goal, or a connection with a higher being. Humans need something that drives them to stay alive. This becomes more evident when people are placed in horrific situations. In Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night, he reminisces about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust. There the men witness horrific scenes of violence and death. As time goes on they begin to lose hope in the very things that keep them alive: their faith in God, each other, and above all, themselves.

To many people religion is a sanctuary. It helps them escape the chaos of their normal lives and become a part of something much bigger. For Jews during the Holocaust, religion helped them survive at first. They remained adamant that God would not allow the genocide of millions of his people. But as time went on, they began to question the existence of god. Elie witnesses the death of one of the inmates Akiba Drumer; recalling, “He just kept repeating that it was all over for him, that he could no longer fight, he had no more strength, no more faith” (76). Many people live for religion; they go on with their lives and no matter how horrific the situation may be, they remain resilient of the fact that god will pull them through any situation. But when this faith is lost, people begin to question their existence. Jewish people grow up knowing that God would always be at their side. The realization that God was not there for them took its toll. Elie loses his faith in God almost immediately after he enters the camp. After witnessing the burning of innocent children, some of the men recite the Kaddish, the prayer for the dead. And Elie thinks to himself, “Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank him for?” (33). People are easily manipulated when they witness horrors that go against or disprove what they believe in. And when they realize this, it deeply lowers their morale and will to live.

Humans are very social by nature, the idea of family, and friends are things that separate us from other animals. Ask anyone what important to them, and most will reply family, and friends. This is also true during the holocaust; many of the survivors lived only because of the thought of their loved ones. When he arrives at Auschwitz, Elie meets Stein, a relative from Antwerp. Stein tells them that “the only thing that keeps [him] alive is to know that Reizel and the little ones are still alive. Were it not for them, I would give up…” (45). Because of our social nature, humans become connected to one another on a much deeper level. When a person loses those that they care about the most, they also lose the will to live. For some people this happens very quickly, depression sets in and a person will become immune to their surroundings, no longer caring what happens. Elie survives through the holocaust because his father is with him. Because of his elderly age, his father did not survive. After his father’s death, Elie states, “I shall not describe my life during that period. It no longer mattered. Since my father’s death, nothing mattered to me anymore” (113). The concept of family separates humans from other animals. Humans require a family because they need the knowledge that someone out their loves them no matter what happens. Without the knowledge that they will be loved no matter what, a person feels worthless and life becomes pointless and ultimately leads to death.

While faith in god and relations with other people are important to a person’s survival, they pale in comparison to the importance of a person’s self-confidence. The first thing that Nazis did during the Holocaust was to destroy a person’s self-image. By humiliating them, and forcing them