Alejandro Vargas Vlez

Mrs. McNair

English I PAP

During World War II, a devastating era in recent history,

approximately eighteen million souls perished while attempting to
salvage what little humanity they had left. Holocaust survivor, Elie
Wiesel, uses his memoir Night to remind people of what others are
capable of. The author uses internal conflict to help reveal the theme of
hopelessness.
The narrator shows hopelessness by writing his thoughts of God.
Now he faces death for the first time, Why should I sanctify his
name...What was there to thank him for?(P.33). The prisoners first
sight as they enter Birkenau is horror and death. Because of this,
begins to lose faith in God. After he dodges death narrowly, the Jew
says this, Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my
God(P.34). This prisoner of war is suffering because of the death his
fellow prisoners. He suffers the most because those deaths have also
caused the death of his God. As the other prisoners are still trying to
digest these events, he thinks, I has ceased to prayI doubted
[Gods] absolute justice(P.45). God is letting Jews to be killed and
tortured at the will of Nazis. Because this is occurring, God has become
one of the two largest enemies of the Jews.
The theme of hopelessness is shown by the internal conflict of God
plaguing the young man. Even though religion can be a useful
distraction from all the treachery in the world, it will eventually seem
as a mockery of life as it just repeats that everything will be fine in the
most painful places where, obviously, nothing will come out fine.