Aisha Blog Post #4

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Identity was a theme that had a great impact on me. At the beginning of Night Elie’s identity is that of an innocent child, a student of Talmud, and a devout Jew. But the concentration camp experience strips him (and his fellow Jewish prisoners) of his identity. Elie’s hair was shaved, he was dressed like all of the other prisoners, and while facing the atrocities of the camp, he loses his innocence and his faith in God. Elie and all of the other prisoners are given numbers instead of names. They are no longer individuals, but prisoners, or “creatures”, and eventually simply just bodies. In Night I learned the importance of being young and strong to be able to survive in a camp. In today’s world identity is important because it’s what differentiates every single one of us. Having a strong sense of identity seems to be desirable because it can help make decisions and teach us how to behave. For example, my parents are from The Gambia but I do not identify as an African. Although I do not identify as African, growing up in an African household shaped me into the person I am today. I credit my parents’ identity as Gambians, their culture, and languages in shaping my identity as a decent human being and independent thinker.
  When Elie looked at himself in the mirror and realized how much he changed, his perspective shifted and he came face to face with the darkness of humanity. I think this could be an eye-opener for many people. In Elie’s acceptance speech, he said that he had faith in god. What changed? What happened to Elie that was always angry, and who didn’t believe in God? By the end of Night, the change in Elie is very evident. He has completely lost his previous identities and values.
  Life is beautiful and Night had a similar theme, but one that stood out the most was the father and son relationships. Guido hid all his struggles from his son Joshua and made him believe that it was all a game. Elie kept telling his father to have strength and to not give up. When Elie’s father died, he did not shed a tear; instead, he was relieved because he felt as though his father was dragging him down. Although the theme of identity is not as present, I thought these similarities were important.  

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 30, 2019 at 12:13 PM

    I completely agree with you, I see what you mean when you said that identity is an important aspect of the book. I hadn’t even thought about how Elie viewed himself before and after the Holocaust. I like how you related identity to the world today by talking about yourself and your life. I really liked your writing and I think it was really powerful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 31, 2019 at 7:47 PM

    Aisha,
    I see what you are saying when you talk about how identity is a big part of the book. And how Elie was basically being robbed of his identity and what shaped him as a person. I also liked how you referenced the movie and how they were alike and different.

    ReplyDelete

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