Elie Wiesel's The Boy In The Striped Pajamas

1118 Words3 Pages

When reading Night, it isn’t hard to notice that the main character of the story was a real person that was victimized by this situation during his time; who also happens to be the author of the story. Although the main character of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is fictional, both of these illustrate vivid examples of the circumstances of the Holocaust; inside, and outside of the barbed wire fences. Night had an exceptional way to illustrate how cruel conditions were inside the concentration camps, as well as how people changed due to the inhumanity. The main character in Night was a 15 year old Jew, Elie Wiesel, who was unaware of what was happening to Jews during his time. There was a lot of false hope when he, his family, and other jews …show more content…

Within a blink of an eye, Elie was face to face with death; he was struggling to hold on to the little bit of life that remained within him. Despite the fact that Elie managed to walk out of these camps alive, he was no longer the same person that walked into the concentration camps. While trapped inside of the concentration camps, the only thing that made Elie want to hang on, was his father. Elie essentially had to live for two people; himself and his father. After his father died, Elie stated that he no longer had the desire to live, he no longer tried. This is supported by Wiesel when he wrote, “I shall not describe my life during that period. It no longer mattered. Since my father's death, nothing mattered to me anymore.” (113). During his father’s last days, Elie got tired of waiting around for his father, almost like his father became a burden to Elie’s life. This is supported by Elie writing, “I went to look for him. Yet at the same time a thought crept into my mind: If only I didn't find him! If only I were relieved of this responsibility, I could use all my strength to fight for my own survival, to take care only of myself…Instantly, I felt ashamed, ashamed of myself forever” (106). Elie knew it …show more content…

For example, you will notice that they’re both based around the Holocaust, so they both have the same general time zone. They’re also are both based on the main character who struggles with the conditions of the holocaust. Both of the main characters are both a boy, who struggle with family commitment. In Night, Elie finds it hard to hold on, let alone hold on for his father too. This is supported by “Yet at the same time a thought crept into my mind: If only I didn't find him! If only I were relieved of this responsibility, I could use all my strength to fight for my own survival, to take care only of myself…Instantly, I felt ashamed, ashamed of myself forever” (Wiesel 106). In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bruno struggled with family commitment when he wanted to be friends with the boy on the other side of the fence, but his family told him he can’t go over there. (Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Directed by Mark Herman, 2008). Bruno’s family refused to tell Bruno what was going on in their world, and that caused Bruno to be curious, which led to an accidental death. Some differences were obvious, such as Bruno belonging to a German family who lived outside of the concentration camps; Elie was a jew who was stuck inside the camps, struggling with life. Another major difference was that Night is a true story with real people; The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, was

Open Document