The Change Of Elie Weisel’s View Of God In His Memoir Night
Apostate, a person who renounces a religious, political belief or principle. In Elie Wiesel’s Night, Elie was ripped apart from his normal life as a young boy and is taken to a concentration camp, separated from his mother and sisters, and given a number as his new identity. Everything was taken from him but he tried to hold on to one thing, his faith. In Spite of this, he starts questioning God himself when many fellow jews are killed and abused, including his father. Weisel’s changed view of God affected his identity due to him slowly transitioning into a non-believer of his faith, provoking him to become hopeless of being freed from the concentration camp.
In the beginning, Eliezer begins studying Cabbala which is the book of Jewish mysticism, alongside Moche the Beadle. His faith is established with the idea that God is always with him. His studies teach him that God is good, so, therefore, the world must be as well. When Moche questioned him on why he prayed, Elie could not think of a solid answer and he thought to himself, “Why did I live? Why did I breath?”. Although he didn't have an exact answer, he still continued with confidence in his religion. Weisel along with other jews, thanked God for survival, having hope that God was just testing them through a time of hardship and would keep them alive if they held onto their faith. When arriving in Auschwitz, Elie thanked God for the many things that helped him along the way because he wanted that sense of protection and guidance throughout the many challenges he would face. An example would be when Elies shoes were covered in mud and did not come across by the SS Guards he thanks god for creating the mud with his amazing wisdom.
The next occurring events and Elies relationship with God becomes fuzzy with his power. One example would be Elie doubtfulness of God's greatness. When in the concentration camps many jews went through some sort of torture or abuse which casued them to question the substructure of thier religion. As told in the last paragraph, Elie’s religion was the main principle of his life, however, this next stage sparks a new perspective by him taking no notice from God. With the horrors of the crematorium, Elie's faith and everything he believed completely changed and he thinks to himself once again, “Why should I bless his name? For the eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All-powerful and terrible, was silent. What had I to thank him for?”. Another Example would be when Elie rebels against the religion teachings he has known his entire life, starting with him not saying grace along with the other Jews. From the first dreadful night in the concentration camp, Elie was completely changed. He no longer believed in God and no longer saw the world the same as he did in the beginning of the book.
In the final analysis, Elie rethinks Gods placement in his life. Thanks to the Holocaust, he saw the world as evil and cruel, and ultimately believed God's intentions were as well or he never even existed overall. This caused Elie to rather be left alone in a world without God. Despite that, Elie realizes that his belief in god was still with him, and his once strong belief in his religion will never leave. He subconsciously prays to God, showing the incompletion of the faith he had loss. Although he claims that he does not believe in God, when he is in doubt with his ability to control himself, he looks to God. “And in spite of myself, a prayer rose in my heart, that God whom I no longer believed”.
In the end, Wiesel's relationship with God created many ups and downs which ultimately changes his perspective of God. In the begging of the book, Weisels faith is etablished and he carries a strong devotion to God but the events during the Holocaust completly shakes his beliefs. Weisels side of the story shows the many exampes of physical and mental affects it brought to the many people in the Holocaust, including what it did to a young boy. Night provides a deeper and better understanding of the Holocaust so when people understand the horrific events that took place, history won’t repeat itself.
