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Elie Wiesels memoir Night presents one of the most prominent works of Holocaust literature, which captures the authors experience in Nazi concentration camps. One of the central themes in the Night is the development of the relationship between Eliezer and his father. Moreover, the fathers role as a caregiver in the relationship soon passes to Eliezer as his father slowly becomes more helpless under the pressure of Nazis. Thus, the memoir provides a unique look at the coming-of-age story by connecting it with the development of a bond between a father and his son over the course of one year. This paper will analyze how the relationship between the characters changes throughout the story.
Firstly, it is necessary to point out that Night is the first book in the trilogy written by Wiesel. The following two books, Dawn and Day, describe events after the war. The Dawn and Day symbolize the rebirth of the world and the beginning of the new era, while the Night represents darkness or the end of the world as people knew it. Holocaust literature has a special place in modern literature because not every reader is capable of processing the sense of darkness and dread of concentration camps (Reich 14). Moreover, in referring to the year in the concentration camp, Wiesel simply and starkly calls it the Experience, emphasizing its effect on all Holocaust survivors (Reich 14). However, Night is different from other Holocaust literature because it captures the story of the development of the profound connection between father and son. Furthermore, the fragmentary style of narration in the book allows the reader to witness how Eliezers relationship with his father changes throughout the year.
At the beginning of the story, Eliezers father, Chlomo, is described as a distant and restrained person. According to Smith and Nesfield, Wiesel admitted that Shabbat was the only day he spent with his father (15). It appears that Eliezer could not establish a bond with the father because of their difference in interests. While the father was mostly interested in building a good reputation in the local community of Sighet, Eliezer was interested in studying Kabbalah. Moreover, in the storys beginning, the author contrasts the fathers saying that there are no Kabbalists in Sighet with the sons relationship with Moishe the Beadle (Wiesel 4). Thus, the fathers intention to drive the idea of studying Kabbalah from Eliezers mind is contrasted with how easily Eliezer establishes a connection with Moishe the Beadle (Wiesel 4). The contrast emphasizes how the undisclosed conflict of father and sons interests interfered with their relationship until they became the only remaining close people for each other.
Furthermore, the scene where Eliezer and his father are headed to the crematorium presents one of the first moments in Eliezers life when he witnesses his fathers emotions. The father says that it is a shame that Eliezer was not allowed to go with his mother and sisters, defining his opinion of himself as a poor caretaker who doomed his son to death (Wiesel 33). Despite being scared, Eliezer does not lose his mind and even claims that it is better to die quickly by running into an electric fence (Wiesel 33). On the contrary, his fathers voice breaks as he starts reciting the prayer for the dead for himself. In his discussion with Reich, Wiesel points at how counseling was important for his relationships with his father, but in the conditions of concentration camps, children generally knew more than their parents (Reich 47). The segment with the crematorium illustrates how a childs flexible mind turned out to be more stable in such stressful situations. Furthermore, the segment marks the moment when Eliezers relationship with his father starts to change as he gradually begins to care more about his father.
For most of the story, closeness with his father has several meanings for Eliezer. Firstly, Eliezer made many efforts to ensure that he was always near his father (Wiesel 50). Even though they met a few acquaintances and believed that the rest of the family members remained alive, Eliezer and his father became connected because they had no one to rely on. The father and sons previous relationships and misunderstandings disappeared after they started taking care of each other by sharing food. Next, disappointed with Gods ignorance of the nightmare the world has become, Eliezer rebelled against his faith by replacing it with respect and love for his father (Wiesel 69). Lastly, his father became the only source of motivation for Eliezer to survive. In dialogue with Reich, Wiesel admits that he initially thought that he needed to survive because his father would not survive without him (Reich 45). However, Wiesel realized that his fathers death also became the end for him (Reich 45). Thus, the narration stops after the death of Eliezers father and finally ends with the liberation of Buchenwald.
In conclusion, this essay explored how Eliezers relationship with his father changes throughout the story. In the beginning, Eliezers interests primarily focus on studying Kabbalah, while his father does not show much interest in his son, prioritizing his business and community. When Eliezer and his father become separated from the family, they start developing closer relationships built on mutual care and trust. Furthermore, taking care of his father becomes the primary motivation for Eliezers survival. As they switch roles, the father becomes more spiritual, while his son, disappointed in the faith, takes care of his father. Therefore, through the year of Wiesels life captured in the book, under constant oppression in which the father could not take care of his son, Eliezer formed a profound bond with his father.
Works Cited
Reich, Howard. The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel. Chicago Review Press, 2019.
Smith, Philip and Victoria Nesfield, editors. The Struggle for Understanding: Elie Wiesels Literary Works. State University of New York Press, 2019.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Hill and Wang, 2006.
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