Night Dehumanization Essay free essay sample

To deprive of human qualities or attributes; divest of individuality. This definition scarcely scratches the surface of the horrifically inhumane conditions the Jewish people were placed under by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel was dehumanized, and as a result of this dehumanization he became numb. At the beginning of the novel, Elie was a naive young Jewish boy with an incredibly strong faith, who wept â€Å"over the destruction of the temple† (Wiesel 14). By the end, years of concentration camp life have broken his spirit and Elie is no longer fazed by the death and torture occurring all around him (Wiesel 103). This numbness manifests itself in varying ways throughout Night, each more disheartening than the last. First, Elie loses his faith in God. He then becomes selfish, disregarding others completely at times. Finally, Elie loses his will to live, deciding that suffering is no longer worth it. Dehumanization occurs countless times during this memoir, and affects each of its victims differently. We will write a custom essay sample on Night Dehumanization Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Detachment due to dehumanization causes Elie to stop believing in God and His power. Before his family is deported, Elie is a very devout believer who reads Jewish texts on a daily basis and aspires to study the religion’s mysticisms for a living (Wiesel 14). Gradually, Elie stops thinking of the Lord as his Rock, questioning how He could allow such injustice to occur to His â€Å"Chosen People† (Wiesel 74). Eventually, Elie decides that he is actually stronger than God because he is incapable of making his problems simply go away (Wiesel 75). This clearly caused numbness for Elie because he speaks of a â€Å"great void† in the depths of his heart (Wiesel 76). Elie’s faith had been a huge part of his personality. Losing his relationship with God was the beginning of a total loss of his original identity. Suffering from dehumanization robs Elie of his compassion, and he becomes a rather selfish boy. When they first reach the labor camp, Elie’s only desire is to stay with his father, and he believes that everything will be all right as long as they are together (Wiesel 44). But later on after their separation, Elie learns of the selection, where the weak prisoners are â€Å"selected† to be sent to the crematory, and he is hyper-focused on his own life. The thought of his own father doesn’t even cross Elie’s mind until a full hour after the announcement (Wiesel 77). When his father is on his death bed, the head of Elie’s block explains to him that it is impossible to maintain any relationships in a concentration camp. â€Å"Everyone lives and dies for himself alone,† he says, and unfortunately Elie comes to believe him after fighting it for so long (Wiesel {}). Selfishness is a heartbreaking outcome of the numbness that follows dehumanization. Lastly, dehumanization takes away Elie’s desire live. He is incredibly disturbed by the killings occurring at the beginning of Night, which one would expect given what he was seeing (Wiesel 41). Near the end of his journey however, Elie ceases to bat an eye at the death occurring all around him (Wiesel 109). In fact during the long march towards the final camp, he begins to wish it upon himself. Wiesel writes â€Å"Death wrapped itself around me till I was stifled. It stuck to me. I felt that I could touch it. The idea of dying, of no longer being, began to fascinate me. Not to exist any longer. Not to feel the horrible pains in my foot. Not to feel anything, neither weariness, nor cold, nor anything. To break the ranks, to let oneself slide to the edge of the road. † (Wiesel 92). All of the suffering he had undergone took from Elie the drive that had kept him going for so long in the first place, his yearning to survive. Elie Wiesel became a completely numb person because of all of the dehumanizing experiences he endured during the Holocaust. He strayed away from God, his father, and ultimately, himself. Dehumanization is an awful process, and no one should ever feel entitled to treat another person as less than human.