Obligations In Elie Wiesel's Night

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Recommended: The principle of negligence

To help others is to be an upstanding citizen. However, what is seen as voluntary and compulsory help is often blurred from individual to individual. Despite this large gray area, people are not under obligation to help others, unless their basic rights are in jeopardy, which in essence, are defined by having the right to life, liberty, and security of person. Obligatory help ensures that rules and laws are protected, and lives are saved. Moreover, there are laws that make this possible. Therefore little excuse exists not to help. Few people will encounter a situation in their life where they see another’s basic rights, such as life and liberty, in peril. However, if or when they do, it is imperative that citizens help or else there really …show more content…

When a woman was murdered in plain sight, the response of the witnesses was “neither defiant, nor terribly embarrassed nor particularly ashamed” (A.M. Rosenthal). These people did not commit a crime, but their indifference was the difference between life and death for this woman. A similar situation arises in Elie Wiesel’s Night, however the ultimate result is very different. The Russians, although not obligated to help, liberated Buna and its prisoners (Wiesel 82). The Jews in Buna, especially the ones in the hospital, were in constant danger of sudden and inhumane death. Their basic rights such as life and liberty were heavily infringed upon. The Russians’ action made the difference between the Jews’ ultimate fate. The Jews and the woman were at the mercy of other people’s choice to help or not. These two cases display two possible outcomes of a single decision. Very little debate should exist between which choice was correct. To any morally correct person, there should be no choice between whether to save a life or …show more content…

The Good Samaritan Law encourages others to partake in times of crisis without worrying about being indicted for it (Good Samaritans Law and Legal Definition). Fortunately, this law does not hold the individual liable if their life was at stake due to the intervention. Laws like these increase the liability of a bystander, while protecting the victim. An individual who has the ability to help without it posing a danger to his or her life has no excuse. While this law encourages help, another: the duty to rescue, obligates it. The Duty of Rescue necessitates that, “people generally have a duty to act with reasonable care to prevent harm. If a person fails to do so, he may be liable for negligence” (What is a “duty to act”? What is “failure to act”?). Indubitably, it is difficult to charge an individual with a failure to act, but that does not mean it cannot happen. With such laws in place, little excuse exists to stand by and neglect to report or prevent a heinous

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