Night Blog Post #1- Parker Weinstein

Today I finished reading the first few sections of Night. So far, it has been a poignant and deeply affecting novel. Though I, like most readers, could never fully comprehend what victims of the Holocaust went through, it does help me understand their mindset. Wiesel’s wanting to remain with his father particularly affected me: “My hand tightened its grip on my father. All I could think of was not to lose him. Not to remain alone.” (Wiesel 30) When he was reduced to nothing and stripped of all dignity, Wiesel continued to care for and follow his father. Despite his dehumanization, he still defied the selfishness of human instinct. Instead of focusing solely on himself, Wiesel worried about his father. By doing that, it seems he was staging his own small act of rebellion against the Nazis. Allowing one’s humanity to be seen is one of the best ways to defy those who thrive on the oppression of others. This passage made me feel hopeful that some good could be gleaned from the worst of humanity. Wiesel’s separation from his mother and sister was another poignant section of the novel: He commanded: "Men to the left! Women to the right!" Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion. Eight simple, short words. Yet that was the moment when I left my mother. There was no time to think, and I already felt my father's hand press against mine: we were alone. In a fraction of a second I could see my mother, my sisters, move to the right. Tzipora was holding Mother's hand. I saw them walking farther and farther away. . .” (Wiesel 29) This scene greatly affected me and made me feel upset. It was broken down so that one can feel the significance of that fraction of a second. In one moment, eight words were spoken and Wiesel was separated from his mother and sister. He sees them for the last time, being slowly lead away. I cannot imagine his pain, being separated from much of his family when he was still a child. Family, in fact, seems to be an important theme in the novel. It is once again at play when Béla Katz, the son of a merchant in Wiesel’s town, slipped him and his father a note. He had just learned of their arrival at Birkenau: “He told us that having been chosen because of his strength, he had been forced to place his own father's body into the furnace.” (Wiesel 35) Learning that this man had been forced to bring his father to his death deeply saddened me. The Nazis exploited many Jews, turning them against each other in order to more efficiently fulfill their Final Solution. Under threat, many turned to their primal instincts, surviving by any means necessary. It upsets me that those who were being oppressed had to turn against one another in order to survive. Another aspect of the book worth discussing is Wiesel’s writing style. He writes in the past tense from a first person perspective, occasionally giving his retrospective thoughts about the events happening. One example of this comes on page 11. After his father dismisses the yellow stars as nonlethal, Wiesel writes this in parenthesis: “Poor Father! Of what then did you die?” Another topic I should address is the author’s diction. Wiesel uses smart language, but not to an unnecessary degree. As far as pace, most of the book happens quickly, with significant events being broken down further. One such event was Wiesel’s separation from his mother and sister, which I wrote about previously. Wiesel writes in a fairly straightforward manner, with occasional symbolic or foreboding passages.