In his memoir, Night, author Elie Wiesel recalls his experiences as a young Jewish boy in a Nazi death camp. The narrative begins with Wiesel and his family living in Sighet, Romania, when the plot of the story begins to unfold. Soon afterward, the Jewish people are deported, and the horrifying events of the Holocaust are revealed. Throughout the story, Wiesel describes the atrocities that took place during this period of genocide during World War II. As the story progresses, various relationships that Wiesel holds with certain individuals evolve, and these changes contribute to his survival. Two such characters that the author relates to through his horrifying experiences are God and his father.
Wiesel starts out in the story as a firm believer in God; however, his faith in and relationship with God begins to change as a result of his agonizing experiences. Despite constantly being on the verge of life and death, Wiesel is able to carry on, partially because of this correspondence with God. At the beginning of the novel, Wiesel claims that "he believes profoundly." (1) The author has a naive, yet strong, faith in God at an early age, and he is constantly studying the Talmud and spending time in the Temple with his religious mentor, Moshe the Beadle. Months later, the Jews are placed in the ghettos, and then are expelled in cattle cars soon after. During the transport, the Jewish people receive false hope of good conditions in the labor camps, so "they give thanks to God." (24) Wiesel and his fellow Jews are not aware of the grim future that awaits them, so they are still optimistic and devoted to God while their confidence is still soaring. Unfortunately, hope cannot survive in gruesome times and places. As Wiesel witnesses the horrors of the Holocaust for himself, "he feels revolt rise up in him." (31) The author wonders for what purpose he should bless or thank