Night - Elie Wiesel

As a future teacher I am not looking forward to teaching such dark events and materials to my students.  But, since I am a Social Studies Major with an English Minor I’m sure to come across it in my curriculum.  After reading Night by Elie Wiesel, I have to admit that I am glad I did not pick it for my Mini-Lesson.  I’m not going to say that I liked this book, but I found it to be highly interesting and very upsetting that such horrendous acts were taken out on people.  The author has a wonderful way with words; describing his experience with the justice it deserves but leaves out enough that it’s appropriate for younger audiences to read.  

Out of all of the experiences that Wiesel wrote about, there is one that I think will haunt me for the rest of my life.  About halfway through the book, he describes how he had to have surgery on his foot and was allowed to stay in the hospital while it healed.  While he was recovering the camp he was in was given orders to evacuate because of an impending attack.  Because he was scared that if he remained in the hospital that he would be killed.  So, he and his father opt to evacuate with the other prisoners instead of staying.  He found out later that those who stayed, “…were quite simply liberated by the Russians two days after the evacuation".  This absolutely broke my heart, and I put the book down for several days before I would finish it.

A theme from the book that I found heartbreaking to follow was his falling out of his faith with God.  I will never be able to identify with what any of the Holocaust survivors have gone through, but I have to admit I’m not surprised if many of them lost their faith; walking away from God never to return to praising Him.  I myself can never imagine a time where I would turn from my faith, but reading Wiesel’s words showed me that he did not make the decision lightly.  However, reading his Nobel Peace Prize exception speech led me to believe that since his experience, he had come to accept his faith again.