Significant character changes and focus on important aspects, such as: his personality, morality, beliefs or values.
At least two major changes, and 'prove' using textual evidence and interpretation, how Eliezer transforms by the end of his memoir. Please use TIQA as your tool for organization.
Throughout Night I have an exponential amount of character change, as shown through Elie. At every constant turn of a page I must quickly remind myself that Elie is a real person. The problem is that things such as his faith and religion seem to buckle under the pressure he is placed. Throughout the beginning we are introduced to devout and faithful young boy prepared to learn about his religion. We see this when we are first introduced both Moshe the Beadle and Elie, “Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did breathe?” (Wiesel 4.) Elie's thoughts and conversation with Moshe allow us to see the fact that Elie truly cared about his religion. Wiesel, at the time, was ready and prepared to ignore his father's pleads to pursue one of the things he was completely sure of, his faith. Despite this, we see that once he arrives to Auschwitz, his faith dwindles. For the first time in his life, Ellie has experienced the true cruelty, in an area in which it is believed no god chooses to interfere. Upon his arrival in Auschwitz, Elie is quick to understand his surroundings, and once he does he states, "Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes," (Wiesel 34.) The possibility that in what seems to be less than an hour after arriving in Auschwitz he is willing to doubt all he has known, is astonishing. This effect later on snowballs to a point in which he no longer accepts to fast or believe that his God is willing to do anything for him. Elie elaborates further on this point as he states, "And then, there was no longer an reason for me to fast. I no longer accepted God's silence," (69.) A certain sadness continues to fill the words of Wiesel as he speaks about God in this section, one of the last sections in which he truly address his God. After this, it seems that the sorrow of losing his father has damaged him beyond repair.
Night also progresses as we see the great change in Elie's willingness to vocalize his displeasure towards his situation. In the beginning, we find that he is stunned as to the world he is currently living in. The idea of his home being taken over is something that he never previously thought of. Despite being a relatively obedient son, Elie, (along with other prominent members of the community) at first, questioned his father on the events that occurred. We find that, "the community came to consult with my father..." and later on mentioning that, "wanted to know what her thought of the situation," (Wiesel 11.) This displays that at the beginning people, including Elie, were truly willing to speak of their discomfort. Despite this, as Elie continues on explaining his life we find that once Auschwitz the vocalizing of discontent changes thoroughly. As Elie experiences life in the camp witnesses his father being beaten, after seeing this, he states, "I had watched it all happening without moving. I kept silent," (54.) This situation is dramatically different, in respects to Elie's reaction, from when Wiesel's father was previously beaten, in which he stated, "“I stood petrified. What had happened to me? My father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked. I had watched and kept silent,”
(39.) It seems that as we continue on throughout the story that as the silence of characters continues on so does the indifference of the people in the camps (including Elie.) This ever present silence continues between Elie and his father seeing as when the elder Wiesel lay on his death bed, Elie did nothing. His father yet again was violently attacked by an officer while at Buchenwald, but Elie stayed silent, “He had called out to me and I had not answered,” (Wiesel 112.) Throughout the story there is an apparent difference in the manner people stand up one another. In the beginning all seems bright & hopeful and will to advocate for others is strong but suddenly others no longer matter and silence rises as they fight for survival.
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