Fiela's Child By Elie Wiesel

Fiela's Child

A recurring perspective throughout the novel Fiela’s Child is that identity forges an individual’s future by welding their actions. Eventually, the flames scorch multiple people and the sparks ignite into an even larger flame that cannot be reduced until the society has been consumed by the fire and melted into the home of every individual. The theme is supported by several symbols and motifs in the novel which reflect or foreshadow the perspectives of the main characters of the story such as Fiela, Benjamin, and Elias which explains their behavior throughout the story.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Fiela Komoetie is an important asset to the story and mirrors the theme as she proves to be a “snake” in both connotations of the

You can always dust yourself down again afterwards” (Matthee 105). Her identity of being a Colored woman is emphasized by the fact she must belittle herself in order to gain the Magistrate’s approval; her status in society has led to the loss of her son and caused Benjamin to live with the Van Rooyens for the rest of his childhood. Fiela Komoetie is like a snake in the manner in which she protected her family name and, poised to strike, defended her perspective while repeating “Slither, Fiela, and Slither!”(Matthee 151). Her determination to protect her son, and her ambition to keep the family name clean is a representation of human nature and how as humans, one defends the honor associated within them and their family. The comparison of a colored individual to a snake demonstrates how inferior they were made to feel and

Thus, it is not his identity as a Van Rooyen he wants to change, but his position in the hierarchy as he wants to increase his reputation in the village. Although one’s identity might seem irrelevant to the amount of money an individual might possess or their place in society, it actually influences how an individual thinks of themselves which makes it a crucial influence in the definition a person. Elias believed that by selling ivory and incrementing his wealth, he could be perceived as better than the woodcutters; He is not only ambitious, but he is also independent in the beginning as he tries to murder an animal that weighs tons and towers over him in height. He creates an ingenious plan that suits his situation as he does not even have the money to acquire a gun to do the job efficiently as the other individuals in the village that trade elephant tusks. He spends the night in the forest, and soon spots the herd of elephants which means “It was his big chance .His alone.”(Matthee 42). Elias tried to alter his luck by killing a baby elephant that represented good fortune and ends up living miserable because of his greed. Ultimately, the act of desperation resulted in his entire family living in poverty and in a mental problem as he then believed he was followed by the elephant’s mom. While being tracked by an elephant does not