Night is generally considered a time of silence; cars no longer block the roads, restaurants have closed their doors and people are sleeping peacefully in their beds. So it seems entirely appropriate that Elie Wiesel’s Night has so much meaning wrapped up in this theme of silence. In fact, Wiesel's personal account of the Holocaust recounts what might be described as a "silent period" in world history (for various reasons which will be examined). This idea of ​​silence floods Wiesel's story in several forms. This article will attempt to examine three specific types of silence present in Wiesel's short novel: individualistic - as seen specifically through the eyes of the narrator, communal - as it concerns both the Jewish community and its relationship with the Nazis, and spiritual - both in Wiesel's struggle with God and in the apparent silence of the Lord towards his disciples. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayThe first of these is perhaps the saddest example present in Night. Wiesel primarily struggles with what might be described as physical silence, in the sense that he is unable or unwilling to take physical action even though he knows he should. One of the first examples occurs when Idek attacks Wiesel for no apparent reason. Wiesel strives to remain silent, but this is only interpreted as a “challenge” by his attacker (60). This is an example of how Wiesel already seems so crushed by the oppression of his surroundings that he doesn't even consider fighting back. His only reaction is to remain docile and hope that the unprovoked anger subsides. However, one can't help but wonder what might have happened if Wiesel had not remained silent. Which is perhaps even sadder when the same man attacks Wiesel's father. Instead of rushing to his aid, Wiesel becomes angry with his father because he "does not know how to avoid Idek's epidemic" (62). Wiesel quickly became silent in both his obedience to his oppressors and his loyalty to his father. He even acknowledges in the next sentence that this is “what life in a concentration camp had made of me” (62). Wiesel, who was living peacefully in his teenage happiness less than a year earlier, can no longer even bring himself to defend the only person he has left to care about. This is the nature of silent suffering in Night. A third example, again involving Idek, occurs when Wiesel sees him having sex with a young girl and accidentally bursts out laughing. Wiesel is “seized… by the throat,” threatened for not remaining silent, and whipped twenty-five times (64-65). After waking up from the whipping, Wiesel is unable to even respond to Idek. “If only I could have told him I couldn’t move!” (65). Wiesel is beaten into submission simply because he couldn't keep his mouth shut when it really mattered. This illustrates exactly why silence is so prevalent in Wiesel's particular situation; not remaining silent can cost you a beating or even death. This is also well illustrated in the final example of this type of silence as Wiesel watches his father die before his eyes. Wiesel did what he could to ease his father's suffering during his last days on earth, bringing him soup and nursing him in his hospital bed. However, these benevolent acts are not carried out without a feeling of selfishness: Wiesel, speaking to himself, admits: "It is too late to save your old father... You should have two rations of bread" (115 ). Wiesel nourishes the ideathat his life is more important than that of his dying father. But, of course, he only does this to himself, never sharing his thoughts with anyone. Wiesel thus demonstrates the only form of suffering that seemed to exist in the death camps: silence, whether internal or external. And his suffering is only amplified when his father finally dies, whispering his son's name. Weisel doesn't even make him react when his father is literally beaten to death before his eyes: “I didn't move. I was afraid” (116). Wiesel never made a conscious decision to abandon his father; this is simply due to the oppressive lifestyle of the concentration camps. And while this is justifiable in Wiesel's situation, this scene nevertheless shows exactly what happens to a person when they are unable to express their opinions or feelings. The only two options for Holocaust victims seem to be obvious in all of these examples: keep silent or die. This is reflected in the novel not only in Wiesel's struggles but also in the lives of the entire oppressed Jewish race. The Nazis forced these innocent people into these camps where they were massacred for no reason. One of the first images seen by Wiesel in Birkenau leaves a scar representative of this idea of ​​“victims without reason”: the image of babies being burned alive. “How was it possible that [the Nazis] burned people, children, and the world remained silent? …It was a nightmare” (41). Wiesel seems here to speak not only in his own name, but in the name of all humanity. The Jewish people were forced to live a life they had done nothing to deserve. Everything was taken from them, their possessions (43-44), their family (38-39) and even their lives. Six million people were silenced and these poor souls could do nothing but stand there, watch and pray that this would not happen to them. Every now and then, of course, there was an example of the brighter side of humanity shining through, as evidenced by Wiesel's friend Juliek, who manages to hide his violin from the Nazis until his death (100). “He played a fragment of the Beethoven concerto” even though he had been ordered not to (100, 57). Here is the example of a man who broke the silence that the Nazis had imposed on him. They had tried to silence the music Juliek wanted to play, saying, “Jews [are] not allowed to play German music” (57). However, Juliek held on to her very last possession until the end. His violin is perhaps the most significant example of defiance of the Nazis in the entire novel, simply because he plays it proudly and publicly in open rebellion. But unfortunately, this kind of behavior is not typical of Night's Jewish people. Instead, they turn against each other, thus helping the Nazis in their campaign. One of the first examples occurs when Madame Schachter refuses to stay quietly on the train and "some young men force [her] to sit down, [tie] her up and put a gag in her mouth" (34). . The other Jews can't stand his incessant ramblings about "fire" and want nothing more than silence. This actually provides an allusion to the earlier point of silence related to night. These exhausted Jews, who still do not know what awaits them, want nothing more than to be able to spend the night peacefully on the train, which has temporarily become their sanctuary. In this situation, silence is actually better. Another example of Jewish betrayal occurs in a slightly different form when Wiesel witnesses the hanging of a fellow Jew. Ten thousand prisoners watch without a sound. A Nazi commander orders them to uncover their heads as a sign of respect. All ten thousand do what wetold them, then parade in front of the deceased without even a word. Wiesel's only comment on the matter is that he "found the soup excellent that evening" (70). This clearly demonstrates what is already happening to the Jewish victims at this point in the book; they have lost their true sense of mourning, even silently, and now value food more than the death of a man they once knew. The silent “last respects” take on an ironic tone simply because these tortured people no longer seem capable of showing true remorse. In this way, the Jews are actually helping to kill their own because they are incapable of respecting another after his death. An example of this occurs when Akiba Drummer is sentenced to death and he asks Wiesel and others to “say Kaddish for [him]” (83). They promise but end up forgetting when the time comes. In this way, Wiesel reflects the terrible nature that had taken hold of him and his people: prayers were no longer said for the deceased; they were simply forgotten. Human beings were no longer respected enough to remember this. Silence, in this case spiritual, had become a way of life not only for Wiesel but for all Jews in the concentration camps. A final example of this communal form of silence occurs during the snowy race from Auschwitz to Gleiwitz. The Jews are given a brief respite at one point and Wiesel takes the opportunity to lie in the snow with his father. And even though he wanted to die, “something in [him] rebelled against death” (95). He refuses to end up like the other Jews around him: “All around me death was taking hold, silently, without violence. It seized some sleeping being, entered into it and devoured it little by little” (95). This was the true nature of Holocaust death; The Jews had lost their ability to fight. There was no kicking or screaming; death simply took away these sad fragments of people while they slept. In some ways, this seems to fit with the rest of the Jewish experience in the camps. These innocent people had almost unconsciously learned to suffer in silence, and when the final judgment came, they faced it in silence as well. The Jewish spirit had been crushed in this “death march,” and it was sadly fitting that so many met their end the same way they had been forced to live: in silence. But the story of Night is not completely meaningless. of all hope. The few real signs of breaking the silence in this terrible situation come in the form of religious beliefs. Wiesel is certainly not the shining example of undying loyalty to God that the beginning of the story suggests he might be. However, his struggle with God, which manifests itself both in his relationships with others and internally, is certainly a worthy effort. The first example of this valiant, but often silent, fight occurs on Wiesel's first night in the camp, when he speaks of never being able to shake the memory of what had happened to him and his people . "Never will I forget this nocturnal silence which deprived me, for eternity, of the desire to live. Never will I forget these moments which murdered my God and my soul and transformed my dreams into dust. Never will I will not forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself never is" (43). Here we can see Wiesel's first real break with his faith. He goes so quickly from a boy who “believed deeply” (14) at the beginning of the story to a broken man who watches his faith die before him. He also notes the “nocturnal silence” in the aforementioned passage. This is significant because it once again brings thereader to this idea that night is a silent time. The world is supposed to be peacefully at rest. However, in Wiesel's world, silence means nothing other than death; and in this case it is about the death of God. Another example of Wiesel watching God being "murdered" occurs when the Nazis hang three prisoners, including a boy. As the other prisoners pass by, Wiesel hears a man asking out loud where God is in this situation. Wiesel silently answers himself: “Where is he?” Here he is – He hangs on this gallows” (72). This passage speaks volumes not only about Wiesel's own struggles, but also about the real role God plays in the Holocaust. Wiesel has reached a point where he is no longer able to believe in the goodness and justice of God. He never states that he no longer completely believes in it. In fact, this is very important for his further journey. However, for now, Wiesel simply denies that God could care about the Jews, his chosen people. This raises the interesting theme of religious silence, this time from the “perspective” side of God. The Almighty apparently remained silent during the entire ordeal that Wiesel and others like him faced. At least it is not difficult to sympathize with Wiesel and understand why it was impossible for him to maintain his faith in this situation. However, his faith actually seems stronger than he would be willing to admit. An interesting example of this occurs on Yom Kippur when Wiesel decides not to fast in order to defy God. “I no longer accepted God’s silence. As I swallowed my bowl of soup, I saw in this gesture an act of rebellion and protest against Him” (76). Once again, Wiesel mentions the fact that God is silent. He never claims that God is completely dead or that his faith is totally broken. Even when the young boy died on the gallows, Wiesel seemed to simply declare his faith in God dead, not in God himself. This is significant because Wiesel specifically says that he no longer accepts God's silence, and yet this statement implies that he still has some faith in God simply because he recognizes his existence. Wiesel may have become silent in his relationship with the Creator but, as can be seen from the previous examples, silence does not necessarily mean complete detachment. God is apparently silent toward Wiesel and his fellow inmates, so Wiesel remains silent in return. This is probably the lowest point Wiesel reaches in the entire novel. After this act of outright defiance, the reader can see an example of a slight change of mind from Wiesel. This happens during the Death March when Wiesel realizes that Rabbi Eliahu's son had left his own father to die in the snow. This arouses something unexpected in Wiesel: “And, despite myself, a prayer rose in my heart, towards this God in whom I no longer believed. My God, Lord of the Universe, give me the strength never to do what the son of Rabbi Eliahu did” (97). This scene is extremely important because it marks a “breaking of the silence” for Wiesel. He prays to God, despite himself. Of course, this doesn't mean that Wiesel will return to being a seeker of truth, mourning the oppressed student of Torah that he once was. However, this appears to be an encouraging step in the right direction. But like many things good in Night, it doesn't last very long. Wiesel's father soon dies, as we mentioned earlier, and Wiesel simply lives out the remainder of his time in his new concentration camp in relative silence. In fact, the few remaining pages of the novel after the death of Wiesel's father contain no dialogue of any kind. It's almost as if Wiesel was saying that his only reason for communicating.