Night by Elie Wiesel Chapters 1 through 2...
I have constantly heard about the unpleasing events that take place within this book, and the things I have been told seem to be true this far into the story. It is very hard for me to imagine having to leave everything behind to go to an unknown place just because of differences in religion with the people who are in charge. The United States is a place where freedom of religion is a right for the people, and this is why being discriminated against because of faith seems immoral. This is a real life experience for Mr. Elie Wiesel, so his motive for writing this book was most likely to share his experiences with the rest of the world so that we can know the kinds of events that such a young boy had to go through. The more people know about history, the less likely it is for history to repeat itself.
It feels as if a major theme that Mr. Wiesel wanted to include in his work was that the words of a person should never be underestimated because anyone can be right. He wants to show by using characters such as Moshe and Madame Schachter that a person should not be dismissed just because what he or she says seems unlikely to happen. Mr. Wiesel himself had made the mistake in the past of not believing something because everyone else said it is wrong, but an individual should never be ignored, especially if the message is for well-being of those he or she is informing. By labeling Moshe as a fool to be saying that Jews were being compelled to kill themselves once he escaped from enslavement, the community made a bad choice. "No, I wanted to come back, and to warn you. And see how it is, no one will listen to me." (pg. 5). If the people had used the information they got and had believed it, then they could have done something to avoid what was coming. Everyone has a voice that should be heard, and those who don't listen are the ones that are in for a loss. The realization of how wrong his family was not to listen to Moshe comes to young Eliezer and the others only when they see how much pain and suffering waits for them on the cattle cars, but then it is too late to do anything.
Thinking about how these people were treated and how much they had to suffer just this far into the book is wounding, especially imagining events such as Madame Schachter being beaten in front of her child. I can't stop reading this book, but it seems to get more disastrous by the minute, and I am not sure if I will be able to talk too much about the gruesome things it contains in the future. What do you think Jon? Is this book really that bad, or am I being too girly? Is my theme a reasonable one to see at this point?
I have constantly heard about the unpleasing events that take place within this book, and the things I have been told seem to be true this far into the story. It is very hard for me to imagine having to leave everything behind to go to an unknown place just because of differences in religion with the people who are in charge. The United States is a place where freedom of religion is a right for the people, and this is why being discriminated against because of faith seems immoral. This is a real life experience for Mr. Elie Wiesel, so his motive for writing this book was most likely to share his experiences with the rest of the world so that we can know the kinds of events that such a young boy had to go through. The more people know about history, the less likely it is for history to repeat itself.
It feels as if a major theme that Mr. Wiesel wanted to include in his work was that the words of a person should never be underestimated because anyone can be right. He wants to show by using characters such as Moshe and Madame Schachter that a person should not be dismissed just because what he or she says seems unlikely to happen. Mr. Wiesel himself had made the mistake in the past of not believing something because everyone else said it is wrong, but an individual should never be ignored, especially if the message is for well-being of those he or she is informing. By labeling Moshe as a fool to be saying that Jews were being compelled to kill themselves once he escaped from enslavement, the community made a bad choice. "No, I wanted to come back, and to warn you. And see how it is, no one will listen to me." (pg. 5). If the people had used the information they got and had believed it, then they could have done something to avoid what was coming. Everyone has a voice that should be heard, and those who don't listen are the ones that are in for a loss. The realization of how wrong his family was not to listen to Moshe comes to young Eliezer and the others only when they see how much pain and suffering waits for them on the cattle cars, but then it is too late to do anything.
Thinking about how these people were treated and how much they had to suffer just this far into the book is wounding, especially imagining events such as Madame Schachter being beaten in front of her child. I can't stop reading this book, but it seems to get more disastrous by the minute, and I am not sure if I will be able to talk too much about the gruesome things it contains in the future. What do you think Jon? Is this book really that bad, or am I being too girly? Is my theme a reasonable one to see at this point?
