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Night by Elie Wiesel

In most cases, desperate conditions compel people to assume extreme measures in order to survive. It can not be disputed that human life is of paramount importance and individuals take great measures to safeguard it. This was experienced during the holocaust when individuals were forced to take intense measures in order to survive. In his Night, Elie Wiesel details that experience of the holocaust with utmost clarity. In his account, he believes that sacrifice is of paramount importance in saving the lives of others. Although cruelty and inhuman behavior in some instances makes individuals to struggle to survive, making sacrifices and constantly assuring others is important in enabling the entire humanity to survive during perilous situations. Seemingly, there are various sacrifices that the author makes in order to survive the holocaust or the ‘night’.

The first sacrifice that Elie makes pertains to his effort to help his father in the poor conditions. He was quite loyal and did what was within his means to help his father whom they shared so much. This was unlike his friends who openly denied their parents this help and let them die prematurely. The aim for this was to free his guilt and have a clear conscious. He keeps his promise to help his father regardless of the poor conditions that they were living in. he does not align his behaviors to those of his friends but instead takes critical measures to effectively cater for the needs of his father. The sacrifice he makes in this regard helps him to survive without being haunted by feelings of disregarding his father.

The increasing poor conditions in the camps make the author to sacrifice his father in order for him to survive. In this regard, he watched his father being beaten brutally but is unable to help him because of his fear of the far reaching implications that this would have on his entire wellbeing. Naturally, he had the urge to help his father but restrains from this. After the death of his father, he feels guilty about the episode and believes that he had the ability to save him. Undoubtedly, the loss of his father was painful due to the fact that the two shared a close relationship. The sacrifice e made of letting his father die was aimed at safeguarding his wellbeing. At some point during his father’s suffering, he felt that if the burden would be taken from him, he would feel better (Wiesel 62).

Seemingly, the author does not mention anything regarding his adolescence and how he lived this life. Usually, this is characterized by an evaluation of oneself and assumption f an ideal identity. Instead of praying in the synagogue and studying like others, the author dedicated his adolescence to fighting and witnessing the holocaust. In this regard, he sacrificed himself for both humanity and him to survive.

In sum, the sacrifices that Elie makes in order to survive are wide and varied. To begin with, he forewent his wellbeing for the sake of his father. This enabled him to live a freer life and survive the negative implications associated with guilt. Then, he let his father die for him to survive. The sacrifice in this regard pertained to the loss of his father that free him of the burden associated with taking care of his father. Finally, he foregoes the benefits of adolescence pertaining to religion and education for the sake of his survival as well as the survival of humanity.

Work Cited

Wiesel Elie. Night. USA: Bantam Books, 1982. Print.