Theme of Power in Night by Elie Wiesel Essay Example

In the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie expresses how the power dynamic between Jews and Germans led to the terrors the Jews experienced in the camps, dehumanizing them to the point it affected their relationships with one another and themselves; this portrays the deeper motif of how humans can be the most inhumane creatures breaking each other apart to lesser beings, showcasing the cruelty of human interactions. 

The fear of the Germans, gave them power leading to Jews becoming more self-preserving. For example, “I was thinking of how to get farther away so that I would not be hit myself. [..] any anger I felt at that moment was [...] against my Father” (Wiesel 62). Elie’s father Shlomo was hit by Idek, the Kapo because he was moving too slow. This shows the power Germans had over Jews because Idek had his fit of rage due to being watched by German soldiers. The power they had instilled fear into the Jews caused many to crack under pressure like Idek who needed to look good in front of the Germans so he beat his father. Elie was so scared of getting beat by Idek that he watched his own Father get beat but chose to be silent and was even enraged by his Father for not knowing better. The author chooses to show Elie’s thoughts because it describes how life at camp was, the cruel beatings and treatment they went through daily made them want to save themselves. Elie’s fear and rage portray the idea well which affected his relationship with his father. He became more worried about himself and thinking to save his father did not cross his mind at all. The quote's importance is to express the idea of self-preservation that slowly began to develop in Jews for fear of their treatment in the camps by the Germans. It also showcases the inhumanity of Germans breaking apart the Jews into lesser beings that they can only act for themselves, leading to them hurting others in the name of survival. In other words, “‘... Mier, my boy! Don’t you recognize me? I’m your father… you’re hurting me… you’re killing your father! I’ve got some bread… for you too…” (Wiesel 106). Elie and others are being transported to Buchenwald, they were in wagons passing by towns where pieces of bread were thrown in. A child began beating his father, a person who brought him to life just for a small piece of bread to feed his hunger. This shows how fear of survival was drilled into Jews reflecting their behavior and relationships. This fear shows the power Germans had over Jews to make them worried only for themselves than any bonds they had. The ellipses help add disparity to the tone so the audience can feel the inhumanity of the Germans and their actions towards the Jews. The importance of the quote shows the inhumanity the Germans treated the Jews with made them reflect that on their relationships, dehumanizing each other for fear of survival. Jews became more focused on their well-being than others out of fear of how they would be treated by the Germans. 

The Jews' inferiority to the Germans allowed them to strip Jews of their identity, affecting interpersonal realtionships. The author states, “I became A-7713. After that I had no other name” (Wiesel 51). Elie and others get a roll call number engraved into their arms. German’s stripped Jews of their identity, by giving them a number they took apart a crucial part of their identity: their names. Their names gave them some semblance of individuality that would help them at least see themselves as humans. Their name gave them a sense of self that they were actual people than just animals like Germans would treat them. Jews did not have the power to go against the Germans either because of their lack of identity. They felt as if they were losing themselves which shows how cruel humanity can be to each other. Humans stripped other humans just as equal to them to the loss of sense of self. The author’s true purpose is to use fragmented sentences to show how fragmented Elie’s identity and self-perspective had become. He longer views himself as a human he became nothing but a number and a body showing the German's power they had. It also shows the impact it had on Elie’s relationship with himself, he started to dehumanize himself by referring to himself as the number given. Furthermore, “He leapt on me, like a wild animal, hitting me in the chest…” (Wiesel 60). Elie is getting beaten by Idek in one of his bouts of rage. It shows one way Germans stripped Jews of their identity, they made Kapos or guards beat many. The Jews getting tortured and beaten day by day made many Jews lose their humanity and sense of self. It shows the cruel power of the Germans, dehumanizing Jews to lesser beings through torture. It connects to Jews being inferior to the Germans to do anything about their inhumane conditions and affects their confidence shattering their identity. The author uses animal imagery as a metaphor to describe how they were beaten and illudes to their treatment in the camps. It also is a metaphor for what the Germans belittle them to, animals. To the Germans, they were bodies slowly rotting away, and even worse than animals. The Jews didn’t even see themselves as humans, taking their humanity away was taking their identity away. The author does this to show their relationship with their identity by animal metaphors/imagery it describes slowly being reduced to nothing with animalistic torture. The importance of this quote is to describe the cruelty and power of the Germans connecting to the inhumanity in human beings and their interactions. The Germans cruel power led to many Jews losing their sense of self affecting their relationship with themselves due to the inferiority of the Jews. 

The German’s inhumane control led to many Jews losing faith in God affecting their morale. The text states, “‘Why should I bless His name?' Eliezer asks, 'What had I to thank Him for?’” (Wiesel 74). The text describes Elie’s thoughts during the eve of Rosh Hashanah. Seeing the German's power had made them lose their faith in God. The terrors of others getting hanged or being treated horridly made them stray away from God, as God didn’t do anything to save them. Many became vengeful and enrage by the prospect that God wasn’t doing anything to save them even though they were so devoted. Jews became more hopeless in ever being saved, it tanked their morale by seeing the reality that God wasn’t there. By destroying their faith in God they lost their morale without the illusion of God being there. This affects their relationship with themselves since they become much more isolated and alone than they lose the will to live.. The author uses rhetorical questions to reflect that idea of God not being present. When Elie asks questions, nothing responds and he finds silence which expresses what many Jews felt from God. He also uses this to show the journey of Elie from being a stubborn devote to becoming astray from God. This affected his personal relationship, he felt as if he no longer had hope to cling onto, hit with the reality that he would not be saved. In other words, “...One day he said to me: “It’s the end. God is no longer with us” (Wiesel 83). The quote discusses what a Rabbi from Poland told Elie when they were leaving camp. This shows how the German's cruel power in the camps led even a Rabbi to lose his faith in God. Without God, there was no one to save them from the cruel hell they were in, and lose faith to keep going since there was no one. The author purposely uses this quote to show the irony of their interaction. A rabbi is considered the teacher or leader of the Jewish community, for someone as devoted to God as a Rabbi portrays the cruelty of the camps. Elie also states the Rabbi always kept his faith even during selections until now, his faith finally had been broken. This irony is purposely used for the audience to understand the dehumanizing conditions they went through in the camps. It also shows how it affected their morale, many accepted their deaths and were ready to die because God was not going to save them. The importance of this quote is to show the brutality in the camps taking away a crucial part of many Jews, their belief in God destroying their morale. The Jews slowly losing their faith in God led to a lack of morale caused by the German's brutal power. 

In short, the author Elie Wiesel conveys themes of dehumanization through the power dynamics between Germans and Jews which affects interactions and relationships among the Jews to illustrate humanity being the most inhumane creature to exist. Through animal imagery, metaphors, and specific syntax choices Elie Wiesel is perfectly able to convey the motif of inhumanity in the camps that’s proportional to the dehumanization many Jews including himself went through. The motif of hopelessness and despair adds to the reoccurring theme of dehumanization in the memoir. Upon examination, the memoir, Night helped show the complexity of human beings and the lasting impact power has on human interactions/behavior.