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“‘And why do you pray, Moishe?’ I asked him.

‘I pray to the God within me for the strength to ask Him the real questions.’” (Wiesel pg. 5)

Eliezer speaks to Moishe about their religion, and why Moishe practices religion the way he does.

In the first chapter, we learn that Eliezer wants to understand his religion better, and be close to God. Here, we see that this relates to the theme of struggle with religious faith because Eliezer, wanting to expand his understanding of God, only has Moishe as his mentor and no other outside resources.

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“The train stopped in Kaschau, a small town on the Czechoslovakian border. We realized that we were not staying in Hungary. Our eyes opened too late.” (wiesel pg. 23)

Here, Eliezer, along with all the other people in the car, realized that they were being made into prisoners of the German Army.

After all the screaming from Mrs. Schachter, suddenly she wasn’t a crazy woman anymore, the fires that she had been screaming about had stood before their faces, and before they knew it, they were already in the camps. This falls into the category of state sponsored violence because in the camps, murders, violence, and other horrible things were a reality there.

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Eliezer's First Thoughts of Doubting God

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Eliezer's First Thoughts of Doubting God

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“‘Yisgadal,  veyiskadash, shmey raba… May His name be celebrated and sanctified…’ Whispered my father.

For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why should I celebrate His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?’ (Wiesel pg. 33)

Through this event, we see Eliezer doubt God for the first time, and how he struggles to practice his faith.

This moment relates to the struggle of religious faith because Eliezer, at first, wanted to learn more, and be closer to God, but here we see his faith diminish a little bit. When his father started reciting Kaddish, the prayer for the dead, Eliezer chose to not recite it, and questioned God, but ultimately started reciting the prayer too.

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“‘Long live liberty! My curse on Germany! My curse! My—’

The executioner had completed his work.” (Wiesel pg. 62)

Eliezer paints a picture in our minds, and describes the process of the first hanging in the chapter.

The theme that best fits this event is individual survival vs. the collective good because we see that for their own survival, the prisoners all follow the directions that they are given. Throughout the chapter, we see that they must not fall out of line of what the Nazis want them to do or they could be punished, or be executed.

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“The first blocks began to march. We waited. We had to await the exodus of the fifty-six blocks that preceded us. It was very cold. In my pocket, U had two pieces of bread. How I would have liked to eat them! But I knew I must not. Not yet.” (Wieser pg. 84)

After hearing about what has happened in the frontlines of the war, the Nazis organize a march to Gleiwitz to maintain the control that they have over the prisoners.

Individual survival best fits what is described in this event because Eliezer had to make a choice, a gamble on whether they live or die. In the infirmary, Eliezer hears that all the patients there would be thrown into the fire pits, or be saved by the Russians, but Eliezer and his father chose to march for their own survival.

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“Faster you filthy dogs! We were no longer marching, we were running. Like automatons. The SS were running as well, weapons in hand. We looked as though we were running from them.” (Wieser pg. 85)

Eliezer describes what they had to endure during the march to Gleiwitz.

The theme of individual survival of each prisoner mattered to their own lives, this means that it didn’t matter if their fathers, or friends were dead, what mattered was that they, themselves, were still alive. If any prisoners were to stop, or fall, they were to be finished off on the spot by the SS, so in order to live, you just had to keep on running.

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“‘Meir, my little Meir! Don’t you recognize me… You’re killing your father… I have bread… for you too… for you too’

He collapsed. But his fist was still clutching a small crust. He wanted to raise it to his mouth. But the other threw himself onto him. The gold man mumbled something, groaned, and died.” (Wiesel pg.101)

Eliezer recounts a memory of what the Nazis had reduced the prisoners to after their march,  nothing more than just a pack of wild dogs.

Eliezer, who had survived the march, paints a picture into our minds of people throwing bread into the train cars to watch the prisoners fight and potentially kill each other, all for their own enjoyment. Individual survival best fits this event because in the train car, Eliezer had to do all that he could to keep both him, and his father alive.

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“‘They’re dead! They will never wake up! Never! Do you understand?’

This discussion continued for some time. I knew that I was no longer arguing with him but with Death itself, with Death that he had already chosen.” (Wiesel pg.105)

Eliezer pleads with his father, but his words fall on deaf ears as after they had entered the camp, Eliezer's father had grown weak, and had chosen to die.

Eliezer starts to tighten his grip on his father, and starts doing all that he can to ensure his father’s survival so they can both live after the war has ended. Family loyalty best fits this situation because Eliezer had grown to cater to his father’s every need, and we see that he doesn’t want to let go of the only family that he knows is still alive, the only family that he knew had left, and only he and his father remained.

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Eliezer Looks at Himself Through the Mirror

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Eliezer Looks at Himself Through the Mirror

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“One day when I was able to get up, I decided to look at myself in the mirror on the opposite wall. I had not seen myself since the ghetto. From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left me.” (Wiesel pg.115)

After the war had ended, Eliezer, just like his father, had gotten ill, but Eliezer had been admitted to a hospital, when he regains his strength, he looked in the mirror, only to see himself as a corpse.

After all of the horrible things that the Nazis had done to him physically, and mentally, Eliezer survives to see the end of the war. Individual survival best fits this event because Eliezer had to find it within himself to live, even after everything had been raped and taken from him, and when he sees himself in the mirror, he finds that his own physically humanity had been taken from him by the Nazis.