Arachnophobia, agoraphobia, and acrophobia are all common fears; however, during Nazi Germany, millions of people are afraid of the Jewish faith. The Holocaust is a systematic genocide of Jewish people and other groups that lasts from 1933 to 1945 under the control of a German dictator, Adolf Hitler. Elie Wiesel is only 15 years old when he and his family are sent to Auschwitz and 16 years old when he is liberated from the concentration camp. In his memoir, Night, Elie Wiesel demonstrates the loss of Jewish identity during the Holocaust through his use of literary devices: personification, foreshadowing, and metaphors. The Jews experience a loss of identity and self value before they even get to the camps due to the dehumanizing acts of authoritative …show more content…
A radio broadcasts that the Budapest Jews are under attack by fascist troops, “ ‘The jews of Budapest live in an atmosphere of fear and terror. Anti-Semitic acts take place every day, in the streets, on the trains. The fascist attack Jewish stores synagogues. The situation is becoming very serious…’ “ (Wiesel 9). The radio broadcast foreshadows the capture of the Sighet Jews by explaining how the Budapest jews feel and are currently going through. The Jews during this time feel no other emotion than fear and terror. The Sighet Jews are also warned by Moshe the Beadle who is captured, but escapes. “ ‘I wanted to return to Sighet to describe to you my death so that you might ready yourselves while there is still time. Life? I no longer care to live. I am alone. But I wanted to come back to warn you. Only no one is listening to me…’ “ (Wiesel 7). Moshe the Beadle tries to warn the Sighet jews about the officers that are coming to take them away; however, no one listens to him. Moshe the Beadle lost everything about himself while he was captured: his will to live, his faith, and his joy. Elie Wiesel demonstrates foreshadowing most frequently in the earlier chapters of the book before the Sighet Jews are seized from their homes and taken to the …show more content…
Elie Wiesel displays the decline of self value of the jews living in the concentration camps. This is caused by the dehumanizing acts of the Schutzstaffel and Hungarian officers and horrendous living conditions. In the camps, it is evident that all of the Jews lost their will to survive. They believe that there would be no one to help them and accept the terrible conditions they are in; they have lost hope. Jews were taken into the camps because of their faith; however, they leave having none left. They are forced to work long hours and have no time to practice their religion, nor are they allowed to. Although there are many important themes in Night, the loss of identity has a larger effect on the characters and allows the reader to relate and feel sympathy towards the characters more. Without the use of literary devices, the book would not have as much of an impact on the readers as it does. The theme of identity is the most important theme in the book because it helps the reader comprehend the overwhelming emotions of the Jews and allows the reader to read about how the Jews lose every aspect of