Therefore, the night is a symbol of horror and helplessness. They realize that they are weak and defenseless, and nobody can help them except for themselves. Every time darkness covers the concentration camp, Eliezer and the rest of deported Jews feel the evil of the night. Quotes about FireĮliezer’s father is perceived as dead and taken away at night.Īs all these events occur, the main character is overwhelmed with fear and despair. Just like fire demolishes everything alive on its way, Nazis don’t leave a chance for survival to the imprisoned Jews. Moreover, the devastating force of flames equates with the destructive dictatorship of Nazis. For the main character, a fire symbolizes death, lost faith, and disbelief in God’s justice. Fire as a symbol of in Night completely differs from what flames represent in the Bible. The author draws a sharp line between his book and the Bible. So, the fire devastates everything on its way, not even leaving a chance to repair the damage. Those tiny innocent human beings, whose lives were about to start flourishing, ended up being killed by the destructive force of flames. Elie Wiesel highlights that even infants were executed. Thus, for him, as for the rest of the Jews, the fire is a symbol of merciless death.įire becomes even a more dramatic symbol, as the author illustrates the vicious burning of children in the crematoriums. The fear of being burnt alive consumes him. Witnessing deadly tortures, Eliezer loses his faith. He is surrounded by numerous crematoriums where more and more people are burnt from day to day. So, Elie Wiesel illustrates the fire as a symbol Nazi authority and dictatorship.īeing in a concentration camp, Eliezer continually feels the presence of death. They are sent to the crematorium and burnt alive. Being females, they simply do not pass the selection. Here, Jews realize that they are under the constant threat of being killed.Įliezer’s mother and sisters become victims of the fire at the beginning of the story. As the victims of the holocaust arrive at the concentration camp, the first thing they notice is the terrible smell of burning flesh. Then, the symbol of fire becomes even more frightening. Madame Schächter’s hysteria was the first sign of the forthcoming tortures. The author uses here the technique of foreshadowing. Yet, nobody takes her seriously, assuming that the woman is just out of her mind. She starts screaming about the upcoming death. One of the imprisoned, Madame Schächter, goes mad as she sees flames from the window. Being exhausted, people start acting inadequately. The readers first meet fire as a symbol when the Jews are riding on a train to Auschwitz. What does fire represent in the book? Let’s figure it out! In Night, however, Elie Wiesel gives to this symbol an opposite meaning. Thus, in Bible, fire cleanses and erases evil. Here, God appears in front of Moses as a burning bush, and he helps Jews escape Egypt in Exodus. In religious readings, fire represents hope and faith. Among all the symbols in the book Night, fire plays a critical role since it has a profound meaning.
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