Father Son Relationships In Night

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During the Holocaust, father and son relationships existed intensely, especially in the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel. Prior to being sent to the concentration camps, Elie had little to no relationship with his father. However, shortly after being taken in as prisoners Elie and his father form an undying bond with each other. They believe they should never be separated for any reason, even if it meant killing them both. In addition to this, they were certain that they should love each other unconditionally. However, when Mr. Wiesel dies, Elie sees no reason to continue living in the horrible concentration camps. Elie explains his reason to live, “My father’s presence was the only thing that stopped me…. He was running at my side, out of breath, at the end of …show more content…

In similar fashion, Elie and his father will do everything together. Elie describes, “As for me, I was not thinking about death, but I did not want to be separated from my father. We had already suffered so much, born so much together; this was not the time to be separated” (54). They are almost at the end of harsh living; they have suffered through it together. They have grown this bond with one another that nothing can stop them from being apart, except death its self. In spite of this Elie’s father had been killed and sent to the crematory because of a rampant SS officer. Elie states, “I have nothing to say of my life during this period. It no longer mattered. After my father’s death, nothing could touch me anymore” (76). Without the strength of his father’s presence, he cannot exist mentally, and hardly physically. He has no words of his father’s death and wishes that he could be with him. In the end, family bonds within the concentration camps were a major part of surviving, along with the will to live. Your family must stick with you as much as they can or you will become nothing, you no longer have a reason to live and

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