Night essay

The Measure of a Man

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” What he meant by this is that the character of a person cannot be judged by his or her actions when they are at ease, but only when they are confronted with something that is not dealt with on a daily basis. Only a person’s reaction to a challenge or obstacle can allow their true nature to be seen. The novel “Night”, by Elie Wiesel, can prove the truth of this quote in numerous ways. “Night” is set between 1941 and 1945 during World War II. During this time, the holocaust was occurring throughout Western Europe. Most of the story takes place in Auschwitz, a German death camp that Elie, the main character, is taken to. The setting of the novel is the main cause of all of the challenges Elie is faced with. The story is told in first person from Elie’s point of view, which allows the reader to get a firsthand account of the conflicts he struggles with. One of the most apparent issues that Elie is constantly confronted with is the unity of him and his father. Throughout the entire work, Elie’s primary goal is to stay with his father at all costs. Through all of the selections Elie and his father are forced to go through, they always do whatever it takes for them to stick together. When they go through their very first selection at Auschwitz, Elie says, “I first wanted to see where they would send my father. Were he to have gone to the right, I would have run after him.” Even though his fate would be uncertain, Elie was willing to do anything he could to be with his beloved father. At another selection, Elie risked his life to chase after his father when he was sent to the weak side in order to stay together. Luckily, the confusion he created allowed both men to stay on the strong side, but Elie still put his own life in danger by going against the S.S.’s decisions. Many months later, while they were on the train to their final location in the camp, Elie refused to let the other prisoners take his father away even though he appeared to be dead. He said, “I threw myself on his body. He was cold. I slapped him. I rubbed his hands, crying: ‘Father! Father! Wake up. They’re going to throw you outside…’.” Even at the brink of death Elie was willing to do anything in his power to save his father’s life and stay united with the only family he had left. Elie’s unwavering loyalty to his father shows the true nature of his character. No matter how hungry, exhausted, or pained Elie was, he always thought of his father before himself. In times of extreme fear and possibility of death, Elie always put his father’s life first. The wellbeing of his father was his main priority no matter how hard it was to accomplish. Unfortunately, Elie’s father died from sickness only a few days before the camp was liberated. After recalling his death Elie wrote, “I shall not describe my life during that period. It no longer mattered. Since my father’s death, nothing mattered to me anymore.” During numerous instances of challenge and controversy, Elie’s loving, caring attitude toward his father shows his ultimate measure. Elie Wiesel is a truly great and selfless man.