Night and All Quiet on Western Front Summer Reading
Summer reading
Night
1). Crimes are committed in many situations. In some of those situations one is not always able to assist the target and extinguish the aggressor. Throughout the novel Night Elie witnesses his father being beaten multiple times by gypsy Kapos and SS guards. It is his silence that reflects both his understanding and his incapability. It reflects his understanding because he knows he can’t possibly overtake the guards, in a way he admits defeat. It displays his incapacity (and those of the adults in Nazi Germany) because it is their silence and passive ways that let a horror like the Holocaust to occur. The level of cruelty on display, on a daily basis in the concentration camp is overwhelming. The risk of jeopardizing one’s life is a daily tribulation. As Elie watches his father being beaten with an iron bar by Idek, their German-Jewish Kapo, he does nothing. “I watched it all happening without moving. I kept silent. In fact I thought of stealing away in order to not suffer the blows.” Elie could have helped his father but he knew that if he did he would also be senselessly beaten, essentially putting his life in jeopardy and then he wouldn’t be able to help his father recover. However a civilian can also try to “stop the bleeding” and aid the target in their troubles. When Franek notices that Elie still has a gold crown in his mouth he tells Elie to give it to him. Elie does not, but Franek knows his father’s weakness, he cannot march very well. Every time Elie’s father would mess up Franek would beat his father. Elie tried to teach his father how to march. “I decided to give my father lessons in marching in step, in keeping time. We began practicing in front of our block. Left, Right! And my father would try.” Elie tried to help his father but his father never became proficient at marching. Eventually Elie had to give up his crown. But even in a difficult situation Elie was still able to try and help his father. The author Wiesel
Night
1). Crimes are committed in many situations. In some of those situations one is not always able to assist the target and extinguish the aggressor. Throughout the novel Night Elie witnesses his father being beaten multiple times by gypsy Kapos and SS guards. It is his silence that reflects both his understanding and his incapability. It reflects his understanding because he knows he can’t possibly overtake the guards, in a way he admits defeat. It displays his incapacity (and those of the adults in Nazi Germany) because it is their silence and passive ways that let a horror like the Holocaust to occur. The level of cruelty on display, on a daily basis in the concentration camp is overwhelming. The risk of jeopardizing one’s life is a daily tribulation. As Elie watches his father being beaten with an iron bar by Idek, their German-Jewish Kapo, he does nothing. “I watched it all happening without moving. I kept silent. In fact I thought of stealing away in order to not suffer the blows.” Elie could have helped his father but he knew that if he did he would also be senselessly beaten, essentially putting his life in jeopardy and then he wouldn’t be able to help his father recover. However a civilian can also try to “stop the bleeding” and aid the target in their troubles. When Franek notices that Elie still has a gold crown in his mouth he tells Elie to give it to him. Elie does not, but Franek knows his father’s weakness, he cannot march very well. Every time Elie’s father would mess up Franek would beat his father. Elie tried to teach his father how to march. “I decided to give my father lessons in marching in step, in keeping time. We began practicing in front of our block. Left, Right! And my father would try.” Elie tried to help his father but his father never became proficient at marching. Eventually Elie had to give up his crown. But even in a difficult situation Elie was still able to try and help his father. The author Wiesel