Jauwena 1

Night Reflective Essay

English 10 A
Mrs. French
17 December 2015
Night Reflective Essay
Elie Wiesel bears witness through his book Night, which purpose is to show the messy
realities of life. Wiesel bravely recalls his bitter past vivid memories that he could forget.
The reason for this is simple: the world has to be aware about the atrocities of the Holocaust,
lest history will repeat itself. This desire to raise awareness is reflected in his quote, I have
tried to fight those who would forget. Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are
accomplices. Wiesels point of view of reminding those who would forget is caused by his
past experiences. The Jews ignorance toward Moishe the Beadle, their indifference toward
the yellow star and the ghetto, and Wiesels choice in remembering the father-son
relationships during the Holocaust, contribute to his efforts in preventing forgetfulness
toward the Holocaust.
Elie Wiesel remembers the Jews ignorance toward what happened to Moishe the
Beadle. In the dawn of the Holocaust, all foreign Jews of Sighet were expelled and crammed
into cattle cars to be brought to the Gestapo. However, the citizens of Sighet quickly forgot
the deportees and continued on with their normal routine (6). Those Jews were executed
cruelly in the Galician forest. When Moishe the Beadle had managed to escape the brutality,
he relentlessly informed the Jews about the upcoming danger. Day after day, night after
night, he went from one Jewish house to the next, telling his story and that of Malka, the
young girl who lay dying for three days, and that of Tobie, the tailor who begged to die
before his sons were killed (7). Nonetheless, the Jews, including Wiesel himself, refused to
believe in his stories. But people refused to listen. Some even insinuated that he only

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wanted their pity, that he was imagining things. Others flatly said that he had gone mad (7).
The Jews nonchalant, careless attitude sealed their fate into the Holocaust. Still wandering in
the daydreams of their peaceful, normal lives, the Jews hadnt use the opportunity to emigrate
to Palestine or other safe places. With all the Jews staying in Sighet, the Germans can easily
gather them into the ghettos and, ultimately, into the concentration camps. This simple
forgetfulness and indifference from the Jews, which then caused their mass extermination, is
one of the reasons why Elie Wiesel strives to fight those who would forget about the
Holocaust. Similar to the Jews of Sighet, if the world forgets about what the extermination of
6 million Jews, then they opened a possibility for it to happen again in the future.
The Jews indifferent attitude after the German occupation of Sighet also contributes
to Elie Wiesels efforts in raising the worlds awareness of the Holocaust. During that time,
all Jews were identified using a yellow star. Nonetheless, Wiesels father showed pretense
toward its significance. My fathers view was that it was not all bleak, or perhaps he just did
not want to discourage the others, to throw salt on their wounds: The yellow star? So what?
Its not lethal (Poor Father! Of what then did you die?) (11). The Jews forgot about how
the Germans were depriving their rights by publishing edicts, such as prohibiting them from
leaving their residences and own valuables. With such a harbinger, and with Moishe the
Beadles story, the Jews should remember that a great peril is at their doorstep. However, they
chose to not take heed of the yellow star, which is the first step towards extermination. Even
after the ghettos, they quickly resettled into the fake peacefulness of their daily routines.
Two ghettos were created in Sighet Little by little life returned to normal. The barbed
wire that encircled us like a wall did not fill us with real fear We would no longer have to
look at all those hostile faces, endure those hate-filled stares. No more fear. No more anguish.
We would live among Jews, among brothers (12). The Jews forgot about the Germans
adverse attitude toward them, and nobody in the community raised each others awareness.

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When the deportations began taking place, the Jews were extremely shocked and mentally
unprepared for the atrocities in front of them; their forgetfulness enhanced the impact of the
horrors of the Holocaust. Therefore, Elie Wiesel doesnt want the world to forget about the
horrible events of the past. He encourages us to always be prepared for what is to come, so as
to prevent history from repeating.
The appalling father-son relationships during the Holocaust that Elie Wiesel saw and
remembered contributed to his point of view in raising awareness. During the prisoners
evacuation from Buna, Wiesel realizes that Rabbi Eliahus son had purposely wanted to get
rid of his father. His animalistic desire for survival caused him to commit such actions.
Wiesel, by now, realizes the importance of remembering and not showing indifference; he,
therefore, set a commitment in his heart to not follow what Rabbi Eliahus action. And in
spite of myself, a prayer formed inside me Oh God, Master of the Universe, give me the
strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahus son has done. (91). In the train during his journey
to Buchenwald, Wiesel witnessed a brutal conflict between an old man and his son. I saw,
not far from me, an old man dragging himself on all fours he was hiding a piece of bread
under his shirt. With lightning speed he pulled it out and put it to his mouth A shadow had
lain down beside him. And this shadow threw itself over him The old man mumbled
something, groaned, and died. Nobody cared. His son searched him, took the crust of bread,
and began to devour it (101). Wiesel clearly remembered these two horrifying events. He
tried his best to take care of his father, even though there is an inward desire to only mind
about his own survival. Fortunately, he succeeded in expressing his love as a son, giving a
sense of enjoyment to his father in his last moments. Hence, Wiesel didnt live in guilt after
his fathers death. He was able to achieve this as he remembers how other father-son
relationships can be absolutely broken by egocentric desires, and thus tries his best to not

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break his. This experience strengthened his belief that no man should ever forget the horrible
events of the past. Being aware means preventing such events from happening again.
The Jews ignorance toward Moishe the Beadle, their indifference toward the yellow
star and the ghettos, and Wiesels experience in maintain his relationship with his father,
contribute to his efforts in preventing forgetfulness toward the Holocaust. Wiesels
experience with the Jews, who quickly forget the past and remain in the unreal beauties of the
present, caused him to foresee the impact of indifference that is, that history may repeat
itself. Wiesel also wants the world to not live in guilt, as he did when he chose to save his
relationship with his father. His real, tangible past experiences strongly support his efforts in
preventing forgetfulness toward the Holocaust. As a survivor, it is his duty to not let the
present generation suffer from the horrors of the past generation.