Night

4 Pages 953 Words

Night: Critical Analysis Essay on Elie’s Relationship with his Father
The Book Night begins in a small town, Sighet, in Transylvania. The narrator/author of the book is Elie Wiesel. Elie is a child and a fairly devout Orthodox Jew during the time of World War 2. Night occurs in the 1940s when Hitler has begun to invade Hungry and slowly takes over Sighet and deports Elie and his family. Elie and his father have a very strong relationship in the beginning and throughout the book, although this relationship does transform as the two go through more and more. Towards the end of the book Elie begins to feel that his father is a burden and consequently feel’s guilt because of this.
In the beginning of the book Elie looks up to his father because his father is a respected member of the Jewish community in Sighet. His father was not in favor of Elie’s decision to study mysticism and therefore refused to be his mentor. As his father said, “Your to young for that. Maimonides said it was only at thirty that one had the right to venture into the perilous world of mysticism. You must first study the basic subjects within your understanding (1-2).” His father was not sentimental, ever as the book states. This tells us that Elie and his father at this point had a relationship based on respect as so many Orthodox Jewish families had between fathers and sons.
When the two arrive at the camp there is a change in the way that Elie and his father relate. His father said that he would have rather Elie to go with his mother rather than have to see what they were going to do to Elie. Then his father began to weep. This was probably one of if not the only time that Elie ever saw his father cry. In this part of the book Elie begins to feel his father’s love for him and his father begins to show emotion toward him. Elie and his father become more like a father and son with more based on love and emotion than respect and obedience.
As the bo...