Lit Analysis 12
Libby Ramsdell
Ms. Keeler
Communcation Arts II
February 19, 2013
Father-Son Relationships in Night “A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father” as said by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The book Night takes place during the Holocaust from 1941-1945. The setting of the book began in Sighet, Hungary. The concentration camps that were in this novel were in Birkenau, Buna, Gleiwitz, and Buchenwald. In Night, Wiesel uses tone, imagery, and symbolism to represent father-son relationships. In this story the tone that is represented in this novel is very serious, because what happened in the story happened to Elie and his father during the Holocaust. A quote from Night to help support the tone in this novel is, “I certainly do. But on one condition: I want to stay with my father.” (56). Elie is serious about wanting to not be separated from his father. Showing Elie and his father have a good relationship. Elie wanting to be with his father is very serious; he’s committed to staying with one another. Wiesel used imagery so that it is easy to imagine what had been taking place in this story. A quote from the book to help support imagery in this novel is “My father’s presence was the only thing that stopped me… He was running at my side out of breath at the end of his strength at his wit’s end.” (92-93). The imagery of this quote is that it is visible to see his father there with him, running, panting, and out of breath. The imagery shows that Elie and his father have a strong enough relationship to stick together. Wiesel used symbolism to show that there is more than one meaning to what something suggests. “My father was sent to the left. I ran after him. An SS officer shouted at my back: “Come back here” (101). Elie chasing after his father is a symbol of his love and loyalty towards his father. The love is symbolic of a bond that is so strong that even with the uncertainty of not knowing if the path that his father must take will ultimately
Ms. Keeler
Communcation Arts II
February 19, 2013
Father-Son Relationships in Night “A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father” as said by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The book Night takes place during the Holocaust from 1941-1945. The setting of the book began in Sighet, Hungary. The concentration camps that were in this novel were in Birkenau, Buna, Gleiwitz, and Buchenwald. In Night, Wiesel uses tone, imagery, and symbolism to represent father-son relationships. In this story the tone that is represented in this novel is very serious, because what happened in the story happened to Elie and his father during the Holocaust. A quote from Night to help support the tone in this novel is, “I certainly do. But on one condition: I want to stay with my father.” (56). Elie is serious about wanting to not be separated from his father. Showing Elie and his father have a good relationship. Elie wanting to be with his father is very serious; he’s committed to staying with one another. Wiesel used imagery so that it is easy to imagine what had been taking place in this story. A quote from the book to help support imagery in this novel is “My father’s presence was the only thing that stopped me… He was running at my side out of breath at the end of his strength at his wit’s end.” (92-93). The imagery of this quote is that it is visible to see his father there with him, running, panting, and out of breath. The imagery shows that Elie and his father have a strong enough relationship to stick together. Wiesel used symbolism to show that there is more than one meaning to what something suggests. “My father was sent to the left. I ran after him. An SS officer shouted at my back: “Come back here” (101). Elie chasing after his father is a symbol of his love and loyalty towards his father. The love is symbolic of a bond that is so strong that even with the uncertainty of not knowing if the path that his father must take will ultimately