Introduction
The night is a novel written by Elie Wiesel. The book is a famed work of art owing to its numerous twists in the plot. Elie uses this book to express his experiences with his father while they were in the Nazi German concentration camps (Weissman 55). This was in the early 1940s towards the end of the Second World War and as shown in the book, every natural law was reversed in this period. In the book, the writer displays a situation where there are no fathers, brothers, or friends. According to the novel, every man had to care for himself (Weissman 69). The presence of an all-caring God was the last thing Elie would think about since the challenges he was facing did not allow him to believe such a being existed.
The overall relationship between the two
Elie’s relationship with his father according to the novel took different angles based on the events taking place in a particular moment. When we read about their first arrival in Auschwitz-Birkenau, their relationship was quite cordial. The two supported each other and stood by each other to survive. At this point, Wiesel was quite receptive to his father and he would do everything to make him comfortable. However, this relationship was overtaken by events when life became unbearable for both Wiesel and his father. He started seeing his father as a bother and an extra burden to his already difficult life.
Wiesel’s love for his father
At the beginning of the novel, Wiesel held a very high opinion of his father when he describes him as a strong man who could not display his feelings easily (Wiesel 23). He seemed to admire his father whom he did not want to lose. This is clearly shown when the men were separated from their wives and children. Weasel being a child still chose to follow his father. He had a choice to go with his mother and sister but he chose to follow his father whom they had an amiable relationship with (Wiesel 45). As the book begins, the two had a wonderful father-son relationship but in the end, their relationship turns sour. Things take a different turn when the two separate from Wiesel’s mother and sister and his father gets sick.
The father becomes a burden
His ailing father could not keep up with the matching steps most of the time and the trainers would punish him for that. Whenever this happened, Wiesel would condemn and blame his father for failing to avoid such mistakes. He felt burdened by the fact that he had to care for his father and feared that his father would be killed if he continued showing signs of weakness (Wiesel 47). This is a notable shift from the previous instances when Wiesel was comforting and assuring his father that he would get better. Throughout the entire novel, their relationship keeps on changing as it faces numerous impediments.
Conclusion
This essay explores the relationship between Wiesel and his father throughout the novel. As documented in the paper, their relationship keeps on changing from good, as the novel begins, to worse in the end. The essay also has shown several instances where the two had good times and others where Wiesel felt like his father had become a burden and a threat to his survival.
Works Cited
Weissman, Gary. Fantasies of Witnessing: Postwar Efforts to Experience the Holocaust, New York, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. Print.
Wiesel, Elie. Night, with Connections, Texas, US: Steck-Vaughn Company, 2009. Print.