Dehumanization In Elie Wiesel's Night

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George Bernard Shaw once said, “If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.” In knowing how many times history has repeated itself it is imperative that students learn about the harsh, tragic events of the Holocaust. Sometimes it is not enough to read from a textbook that 6 million Jews were killed from 1941-1945. That just gives you facts, it does not evoke true emotion that makes people stop and think about the actions taken by the Nazis really did. In Night Elie Wiesel gives an accurate first-hand account of his life while in the ghettos and concentration camps. While some teachers show reluctance on whether or not to continue assigning this book to summer reading…show more content…
With him being a teen at first glance it is easy for students to compare themselves to him. The students then relate more closely with the events that occur because they connect with Eliezer. So when Eliezer is taken from his home and shipped off like cattle to the work camps it becomes more realistic for the student reader. It is as if they are being taken from their homes to a foreign place with the uncertainty of what is to come. They too have to watch their friends and family be dehumanized by Nazis and their own. After bearing witness to all the events Eliezer did he does not recognize himself in the mirror after he is liberated. Night too has a similar effect to people after they read it. Most students in the past say that they have a different perspective and outlook on not only the Holocaust but their day to day lives because of this book. Imagine the impact it would have on your students to not only include historical information but emotional ties that will stay with them much longer than just…show more content…
He tells about what he saw on his first night in Auschwitz; German officers taking babies and tossing them in the air for machine gun practice. A very vivid picture is painted in one’s mind after reading something like this. Although this is one striking recount among many, these vivid descriptions change the perspective of the reader and draw them to the core of the cruelty, fear, and helplessness at the time. There are other simple moments that stick with me even though they are not as important as others. For instance, the expression on his father’s face, someone he is talking to being trampled by all the prisoners running, and the violinist playing one night in the barracks. Other striking moment, is the last time he sees his mother and sister, which can get lost within the other more violent occurrences. In eighth grade my class was required to read this book, and honestly I did not appreciate it like I do after reading it the second time. After the first time I read it I did not fully understand the importance of the book and events described in it. When I started the book I really took to it and I could not put it down because of its lifelike reality of the words and situations. If chosen for the correct audience this book is extremely important to remembering the events of the Holocaust. To forget about these events and not require students

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