Night Book Review

The book Night by Elie Wiesel is an influential and terrifying account of a boy and his family in various Nazi concentration camps. The story is told from the point of view of the author Eliezer as he is experiencing the situation and begins with the families’ transition from their regular lives to life during the Holocaust. The German’s call for deportation causes the separation of the family. Moving from one concentration camp to the next, Eliezer and his father experience an immense amount of emotional and physical pain. At Auschwitz, Buna, Gleiwitz, and Buchenwald their experiences teach them how to survive and have the will to go on. Through the descriptions of cruelty towards the prisoners, its obvious how Eliezer gained an attitude of apathy towards the pain inflicted upon him and the rest of the Jews, ultimately leading to his will to survive.

Eliezer of Sighet Transylvania is the main character in this book and the author. As the story moves forward, the thoughts and actions of Eliezer change with his surroundings and experiences. Towards the start of the book the innocence of his character is shown. He describes his desire to learn more about Judaism and his descriptions of his environment are that of a young boy, noticing only what is clearly visible. However as his journey begins a new attitude of responsibility is gained. Not only does he learn how to survive on his own, he also takes responsibility for his father who progressively grows weaker as time goes on. On the first trip to the first concentration camp Eliezers father holds his hand and guides him along. In comparison, the second trip describes Eliezers determination to keep his father moving and motivated. Under his situation Eliezer had to learn how to be strong for himself and