Elie Wiesel is a human being who has gone through some of the most terrible inhuman conditions this world has ever seen. The holocaust was a tragic time period for Europe, leaving about 11 million jewish people dead under the rule of the Nazis and Hitler. The book Night by Elie Wiesel is a direct correlation on Elie Wiesel’s story through numerous concentration camps and his struggles to keep him and his father alive. Throughout the book it is seen that Elie through his character Eliezer, battles with keeping his faith strong about if God is really up there.
Furthermore Elie Wiesel’s other book, the Testament is a further explanation of the holocaust through three character stories and the ideas of Paltiel Kossova. The article “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” by Eli Pfefferkorn shows Elie Wiesel’s vision and techniques in writing the Testament. Furthermore Night and “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” are similar in that they both have the holocaust as the main topic, the role of religion in Partiels eyes as well as Eliezer’s in Night, and lastly in both The Testament and Night every sentence is powerful and meaningful.
Night and “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” both talk heavily on the holocaust and the effects the holocaust had on the jewish people. In Night this can be seen throughout the whole book but especially when Elie Wiesel explains his purpose on writing the book, “There are some who tell me that I survived in order to write this text. I am not convinced. I don’t know how I survived; I was weak, rather shy; I did nothing to save myself. A miracle? Certainly not. I have could or would perform a miracle for me, why not for other more deserving than myself? It was nothing more than chance. However, having survived, I needed to give some meaning to my survival. Was it to protect the meaning that I set to paper an experience in which nothing made any sense?”(Wiesel, viii)
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In this quote from the preface of Night Elie is opening up about his feelings about the holocaust and his experience. Not only does Elie open up on how he feels about himself he also shows how he feels about himself and surviving. By expressing the question like “Why not for others more deserving than myself?” shows how Elie still questions why he survived but millions of others died. Just like in Night, the article “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” also features the holocaust. For example the text states, “Whether drawing on his own concentration camp experiences or on other witness accounts, or on historical documentation, Wiesel goes to great lengths to set the plots of his stories in realistic backgrounds.” (Pfefferkorn, 4)
This quote shows that in “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” the author, Eli Pfefferkorn talks about the holocaust. The quote itself sheds light upon Wiesel in the demeanier that he cares very heavily on what he writes and how he writes it. Especially by in this quote it mentions about how he goes to great lengths to show that he knows what he is talking about and to get it historically right so he does not wind up offending anyone. In Night and “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” both pieces of writing talk heavily on the holocaust and the effects it had on individuals.
The role of religion in both Night and “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” show strongly through Eliezer in Night and the explanation of Paltiels battle through religion in “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament”. In the beginning of Night Eliezer believes heaveally and faithfully in his jewish religion and in his God, however as the book progresses it can be seen that Eliezer starts to lose faith.
For example a quote from Night states, “And so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death, writhing before our eyes. And we were forced to look at him at close range. He was still alive when I passed him. His tongue was still red, his eyes not yet extinguished. Behind me, I head the same man asking: ‘For God’s sake, where is God?’ And from within me, I heard a voice answer: ‘Where He is? This is where—hanging here from the gallows…’”(Wiesel, 65).
This horrendous and disturbing scene from Night shows just how brutal the Nazis could be. Eliezer being very religious as stated in the beginning of the book shockingly is starting to lose his faith. When witnessing this poor little boy not only being hanged but suffering through it he finds himself searching for where God is and if he is even there. Simillery in “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” by Eli Pfefferkorn, the mentioning of Paltiel questioning his faith also can be seen as the same as Eliezer questioning his faith.
In “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” Paltiel is seen to be questioning his religion after being exposed to the brutal conditions he witnessed during the holocaust time period. A direct quote from “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” states, “The process of initiation of the Marxist would slowly take hold of Paltiel but it never impregnates his entire being. Through intellectually, Marxism wins the upper hand over Judaism, emotionally the Jewish heritage remains embedded in the depth of his soul. The split between the novel, as is manifested in his adherence to the phylacteries which become a symbolic landmark of Paltiel report to Judaism”(Pfefferkorn, 6).
This quote is showing that Paltiel then being exposed to the idea of Marxism is suddenly drawn to the ideas when he is vulnerable about the ideas of his religion, Judaism. However the quote goes on to say that even though he is fascinated in the ideas of Marxism he never truly losses his faith in Judiasm and as time progresses he finds himself reconnecting with Judaism. In both Night and “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” the role of religion is dominant by Eliezer and Paltiels views.
In Night, every sentence is powerful and meaningful as is in “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” by Eli Pfefferkorn the book The Testament by Elie Wiesel is mentioned and is also said to have every sentence being powerful and meaningful as well. Night is a very heartbreaking distraught filed book and with Wiesel’s passion in writing a book that tells the story of what really happened he pours power and meaning in every sentence. For example In Night Wiesel writes, “I soon forgot him. I began to think of myself again.
My foot was aching, I shiver with every step. Just a few more meters and it will be over. I’ll fall. A small red flame… A shot…Death enveloped me, it suffocated me. I stuck to me like glue. I felt I could touch it. The idea of dying, of ceasing to be, began to faciscante me. To no longer exist. To no longer feel the excruciating pain of my foot. To no longer feel anything, neither fatigue nor cold, nothing. To break rank, to let myself slide to the side of the road…”(Wiesel 86) Every sentence in this quote can touch an emotion.
Wiesel in this passage makes it powerful and meaningful by showing the power to live by Eliezer even though he is in excruciating pain he keeps running for miles knowing if he stops he will be wiped of the face of the earth forever. In comparison in “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” the mentioning of the book the Testament and how in the Testament the author Elie Wiesel, also makes every sentence special and meaningful. This quote shows how Weisel through the character Paltiel, shows meaning through every sentence, “In writing his ‘Testament,’ Paltiel Kossover had sought precision first of all.
Every word containing a hidden meaning; every sentence sums up a wide range of experiences.”(Pfefferkorn 5) The interpretation of this is that in writing his “Testament” every word is important and contains a hidden meaning. In addition it states that every sentence sums up a wide range of experiences. In both Night and in “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” the mention of how in the book Night and the book the Testament show meaning and power behind every sentence and word.
Elie Wiesel lived during a time that a monster ruled named Hitler. Hitler felt as though his mission was to exterminate the jewish population and unfortunately during his reign he killed more than 11 million jewish women, children, and men. Wiesel with millions of others had to go through the brutal concentration camps ruled by Hitler’s army. During the time he spent in the concentration camps with his family he was the only one who survived.
After coming to terms on what really happened he decided to write about his struggles and adventures during the time he spent in the concentration camps. He wrote the book Night as an autobiography about himself and his family. Wiesel later went on to publish the Testament which just like Night talked primarily on the holocaust. The article, “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” by Eli Pfefferkorn, is an article that analyzes Elie Wiesel’s book the Testament.
Night and “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” both are similar by both have the holocaust as the main topic, the role of religion in Patients eyes as well as Eliezer’s in Night, and lastly in both The Testament and Night every sentence is powerful and meaningful. Both the book Night and the article “Elie Wiesel: The Inward Eyewitness in The Testament” leaves the reader with a sense of disappointment in the world on how their country treated these poor citizens so inhuman.
