Bryan Martinez Martinez 1

Mrs. Mohr
P-4
March 19, 2009
The True Meaning to Live

The Holocaust was one of the most tragic, inhumane acts done my man. The holocaust

was targeted to quite a few groups of people or races. However, the Jewish people were taken by

the millions and were the main target of the Nazis. Those Jewish people consisted of children,

mothers, fathers, grandparents. Nothing mattered to the Nazis. Their status of being old, sick,

poor, un/educated or wealthy had no influence on anything. They were taken to concentration

camps where they were either killed by being thrown in crematoriums or suffocated in gas

chambers disguised as showers. Babies, children and women fell into these categories and were

killed instantly. The “surviving” Jews were sent to work at the camps. The life at the camps was

hard with ruthless daily beatings, unsatisfying low quantity of food, and intense labor. The

average lifespan at the camp was 4 months. With this said, most Jews did not survive; however

some did. There was one 15 year old boy that survived all the obstacles. His name was Elie

Wiesel. He was eventually liberated after 3 years at the camps. He grew older and eventually

wrote a book titled “Night”. It was about his cruel life in the camps. In his book he constantly

stated that the only reason he had not cut his life short was because his father was still with him.

Nevertheless, his father died. Oddly, Elie kept on living and is still alive after many decades of

his father’s death.

When Elie arrived at the concentration camp he only had one thought in his head, to stay

with his father. To do this he lied about his age. When an SS officer asked for his current age

(which was 15) he immediately said 18 and was sent the same way his father was

going(pgs.31,32). At the camp the food was scarce and the work was plenty. In the camp the
saying everyone followed to their graves was “Every man for himself”. The sad thing was that it

happened to be true. Most families gave up on each other and put their own lives before anyone

else’s. In spite of all that, Elie and his dad had a strong bond that could almost not be broken.

They shared food, helped each other survive and tried to stay by each other’s side. Elie changed,

throughout his time at the camps. He discovered many sides of him he did not know he had. He

had rage built up inside of him, sadness when he saw all the horrible things that happened at the

concentration camps and most of all fear of what would happen to him and his beloved father. He

grew and matured in the story probably much faster than a normal teenager should. As a result he

soon could not feel pain. Who can blame him for changing? He saw things no human being

should ever see, he thought things he would’ve never thought of and he overcame many

temptations. However, he lived through it all, grew stronger emotionally and was above the

people that caused him so much harm.

Elie was in the concentration camps for about three years. Undoubtedly, the main person

that found his way in and out of his head was Elie’s father. He wanted his father to live more

than anything. If he could he would’ve given up his own life to save his father. Throughout the

book they feel many things together; from hope, so sadness, to anger. His father was the main he

reason he was still alive. Even through all the tough times, they always stayed and grew together.

Thy learned many things about each other while trying to breathe one last time to stay alive so

the other person would never lose hope. Food became a great importance at the camp. Food

would fog the eyes of children and make them do bloodcurdling things. For example, one son

killed his own father for a miniscule piece of bread. The screams of the father were quieted when

the father cried out to his only son. His own son killed him. People around the son had an

irreplaceable craving for food as well. So they killed the boy for his piece bread. The son died

next to his father. Two souls diminished, for a diminutive piece of bread. Hunger almost took
over Elie especially at the end of the story when his father was close to death due to fever and

illness. The doctor told Elie that his father would die soon. He told Elie,”Stop giving him your

ration of bread and soup to your old father. You cannot help him anymore. And you are hurting

yourself. In fact, you should be getting his rations (pg 110-111).” Elie believed him for only a

second because of the minding pull of the thought of having food in his stomach which at the

time felt like a bottomless pit. At the end he did not listen to the doctor. However, the doctor was

right about one thing: his father could not last very long.

The last word Elie heard from his father was his own name,”Eliezer” (111-112). In the

morning of January 29, 1945 Elie woke up and realized that his father was not in his bunk.

Instead another sick prisoner had taken the place of where his once young father slept only just a

few hours before. His father was truly the only reason to live. Elie aforementioned this after the

death of his father,” I shall not describe my life during that period. It no longer mattered. Since

my father’s death, nothing mattered to me anymore.” Elie and the rest of the surviving prisoners

were soon freed by Americans. Elie gave every bit a strength he could give to his father. He

worried for him and never wanted to leave his side. He wanted his father to live because he was

the only family he had left. Though, somehow he found the strength to keep living after his

father died. What were the reasons? Most likely he knew that his father was a great man and he

wanted the world to know. To this day Elie doesn’t know why he is still on this earth. He said he

was unimportant, weak, and always sick as a child. Why would God choose him to live? Maybe,

to introduce the world to his father, to the reality of the holocaust and most importantly to keep

the memory of his father alive and well.

To conclude, Elie had only one reason and one person to live for: his father. He went

through many changes physically and emotionally. He suffered great losses and made many
sacrifices. Through it all his father died. Elie continued living even after all the horrific events

that the holocaust brought, to keep the memory of his father alive.

Wiesel, Elie. Night. United States 2006.