‘In his memoir, Elie Wiesel shows that adversity brings out the very best and the very worst in people.’ Do you agree?
Adversity can make and break individuals during long seasons of torment and hardship. Ellie Wiesel’ memoir “Night”, is a desolate story describing the painful journey of a 15 year old boy suffering affliction during the period of the holocaust. Ellie’s unfortunate adversity resulted in the endless abuse associated with the loss of his identity and his faith in god and humanity however, it is revealed how self preservation can push individuals to survive through seasons of torment. Readers discover the different reactions of individuals to adversity, consequently, revealing whether their fundamental human instincts can overcome the powerful force of death or if they perish from the unbounded suffering and pain.
Ellies’ intense tribulation tested the full strength of his faith in god, humanity and himself as he brushed with death on a daily basis whilst also witnessing acts of senseless murder and maltreatment. Ellie personifies his drastic loss of faith in “never shall I forget those moments that murdered my god and my soul”. As Ellie remains in his ongoing loop of torment and relentless pain, his faith in himself and god is seen to slowly dissipate as he is being consumed by the callousness and cruelty associated with being a Jew. Death became regular as acts of inhumanity were witnessed by Ellie on a daily basis, as his faith in humanity deteriorated so did the value of life, Jews were murdered and slaughtered like animals; therefore, the value of life was seen as nothing more than that of an animal. Ellie metaphorically personifies death in “Death enveloped me, it suffocated me like glue. I felt i could touch it”. As Ellie endured affliction regularly he felt himself gravitating towards death, being pulled closer as the days of his prolonged adversity became a harsh reality. As nights went by Ellie became numb to the torment and felt his life had lost meaning with nothing but self preservation pushing him to decide whether the next day should his last . As Ellie's journey led him closer to death his loss to adversity became abundantly clear.
Regardless of the level of adversity, self preservation is one of the basic fundamental human instincts that provides individuals with the unbounded will to survive. During Ellie Wiesel's painstaking period of torment during the holocaust his key to survival was the driving forces self preservation and perseverance in the face of absolute adversity. The distinctive visual imagery of “deep inside i knew that to sleep me...
