Night Evaluation

551 Words2 Pages

Some say a picture is worth a thousand words, others say that language has power. When Elie Wiesel wrote his memoirs regarding his experience with his Holocaust, he had to “conjure up other verbs, other images, other silent cries” (Wiesel, pg. ix). Throughout this book, the imagery used leaves no question in the reader’s mind about the horrors that this man experienced. He did not have to create a new language, but he did combine aspects of our current language that are not often combined. His word choice and use of subtle description made his message in this book clearer than any picture ever could. While describing an experience that a friend told him about, Wiesel writes “they shot the prisoners, who were forced to approach the trench one by one and offer their necks” (Wiesel, pg. 7). The words used in this quote are used individually on a daily basis, but the power they hold shows through in this quote. When describing a traumatic experience, many people would often use superfluous words to exaggerate their point; Wiesel on the other hand, takes almost a minimalistic approach ...

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