| - Share the Land Night by Elie Wiesel is a story that shows the dirty underbelly of human nature. People are persecuted because of what they believe or what their heritage is. This persecution tears people to shreds. It causes them to wonder “Why? Why did something like this have to happen?” Many lose their strength, hope, and faith. Persecution dwindles people down to nothing.
This is relevant to today because persecution, even though it is not always made out to be as bad as it actually is, happens today. People who share what they believe in are tortured and killed. People who just so happen to come from a certain heritage are mocked and ridiculed because of something someone else did, and they just happen to look like them.
People do not stop to think about what they are doing to people. In Night when Eliezer finally gets to Auschwitz, the prisoner in charge gives the new arrivals words of encouragement, “The first human words,” (Wiesel 39). This shows that the people who were forcing the Jews into concentration camps did not really care about the people and what they were doing. But people who had to endure the same things had compassion for the others. If the prosecutors stopped for one second to think about what they were doing to people things would be different. That goes for the past, the present, and the future.
People also start to question their faith. In Night, Eliezer states many times that he does not understand why God would let something like this happen. People today question why things, whether it is persecution or natural disasters, happen. It might sound clichéd but the saying “Everything happens for a reason” does fit. If certain things did not happen no one would know the difference between what is right and what is wrong. The difference between what has worked and what has not worked. Just because something happens does not mean faith should be instantly lost and in this book, it was not. But through his persecution, Eliezer lost his faith and what he believed in. He was unsure of everything.
People are persecuted because of their beliefs and heritage. This persecution causes many people to lose hope, faith, and strength. This was relevant in the past, is relevant today, and, unless there is a way this can change, will possibly be relevant in the future. |
