Night By Elie Wiesel: Psychological Analysis

By sheer bad luck, people are put into situations that are not ideal, but the response to those situations is what defines the experiences, whether they react in a manner that is bad or good can shape their life for years. {Participial Phrase} In response to bad situations some people decide to do what others have done to them and are abusive in exchange, behaving cruelly and having no mercy or empathy. To cope for the otherwise unending cycle of injustice many people go through rounds of psychological emotions to cope. The book Night by Elie Wiesel covers his experiences in concentration camps where unthinkable things are witnessed, abuse of power from guards and people with power leads to bad behavior from others; leading to a variety of …show more content…
The cruel conditions in the concentration camps led many prisoners to first respond with shock of the things being seen as seen here when a prisoner is hung for their crimes: “And so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death, writhing before our eyes…Behind me, I heard the same man asking: ‘For God’s sake, where is God?’” (65) When the shock subsides from emotions, then comes apathy people start to get used to it and get broken down as shown here where Elie realizes the only way to live on is to forget his father and think of himself: “Elie still feels the burden of being obligated to his father, the internalized mitzvah of a son honoring his father. {Adverb Clause} The tension between fulfilling the mitzvah versus continuing in the void, to survive in dying, becomes magnified by Elie's realization that his father is close to the end. After the deaths of his father, mother, and younger sister Elie Wiesel copes by only worrying about his survival and does not dwell on their deaths as shown here: “I spent my days in total idleness. With only one desire: to eat. I no longer thought of my father, or my mother” (113). {Prepositional Phrase} People respond with these series of emotions at different times, but they generally all experience depersonalization after apathy, here the prisoners have lost all hope and are only drones just following orders: “Our minds numb with indifference. Here or elsewhere, what did it matter? Die today or tomorrow, or later?” (98). People find a way to get through tough situations by showing different

Show More

Related Documents: Night By Elie Wiesel: Psychological Analysis

Night Dawn And Day Elie Wiesel Analysis