Though I would argue that Elie Wiesel, author of Night, never truly became a "monster," there were times that he felt like he had. When people are constantly exposed to horrific acts of violence and death, those acts become part of their everyday lives, making them somewhat immune to them. The Nazis were professional torturers, and the prisoners knew that if they tried to defend other prisoners, they would receive the same treatment or worse. Elie watched his father beat by a guard and did nothing. He felt terrible about it, but he also knew that he could die for interfering, and then what would happen to his father? Elie saw a child hanged on the gallows--something that probably continues to haunt him to this day. He saw men beaten daily. He saw babies thrown into a burning pit. All of these things changed him. After that, what else is there? What could be more horrible than the things Elie Wiesel witnessed? Death would have been easier than living with the fear of what might happen at any time. At first Wiesel just couldn't believe it, but by the end of the book, he knew that men were not only capable of horrible acts, but many also took great pleasure in doing them.
No comments:
Post a Comment