Elie Wiesel's Night as Insight Into the Holocaust
Night has been described as a novel as well as a memoir. The reality probably lies somewhere in between. Certainly, It depicts actual events occurring in Europe during the time that historians would forever call "The Holocaust," and many of Wiesel's own experiences are recorded in the book. It is not certain, how much, if any, of the story is untrue, however, and therefore, though many refer to Night as a memoir, technically, it cannot be described as such. For the purposes of this paper, however, it will be assumed that Night is in fact a memoir, and Wiesel's character, Eliezer is truly based on the writer and his experiences.
That said, obvious comparisons can be made about this work, and other works surrounding the theme of Holocaust survivalùmost notably, and perhaps at the forefront of the audience's mind, is of course, The Diary of Anne Frank.
It is easy to see the appeal of the comparioson. Both works follow the stories of Jewish teenagers through a time that would be difficult in their lives anyhow, but is acerbated by the political and religious climate that is thrust upon them.
This, however, seems to be where the similarities end. While in Anne Frank, the audience is filled with a sense of dread by the absolutely tiny living quarters, and lack of sunlight that is required to hide the Frank family from the Nazis, Eliezer and his family are not given the opportunity to hide, and thus the audience is thrown into the horrors that were the slave camps during the Holocaust.
So it would seem that in comparison to Night, Anne Frank is truly child's playùand it is. Though the audience feels a great deal of sympathy for Anne and her family, and though the audience is upset when the family finally is discovered, Night portrays the reality of the work camps, where Anne Frank fell short. With Eliezer, the audience feels haggard, and tired and overworked, and beat...