Elie Wiesel Father in Concentration Camp: the Role of Hope in Survival

Introduction

From the place of hope, other positive emotions, such as courage and happiness, surface. These emotions become a coping strategy in our lives. In his memoir Night, Elie Wiesel uses the Jews as Birkenau, the death march to Gleiwitz, and his father to prove his point that hope helps us survive.

Hope as a Determinant of Survival: The Death March to Gleiwitz

Wiesel begins making his point that hope helps us survive through the Jews at Birkenau. The youthful sons of the Jews wanted to rebel against the officers and take over the camp.

However, their fathers told them that they "mustn't give up hope" (Wiesel 31) and should not do anything that could compromise their survival. The Jews knew that if they wanted to stay alive, they had to be optimistic and have hope even in times when "the sword hangs" (Wiesel 31) above their heads. Having not protested from the officers, the Jews remained hopeful and were able to survive for longer. This proves the point that hope helps us survive.

Wiesel continues to prove his point that hope helps us survive in the death march to Gleiwitz. As all the Jews were running from one camp to the next, many of them were giving up. For example, a young Jew named Zalman was running next to Elie when Zalman started to have stomach pains. Zalman was ready to give up and fall, but Elie wasn't going to let him do that. Elie tried to tell him that surely they soon would "come to a halt" (Wiesel 86). Zalman gave in to the pain and let himself get trampled. Since he was not hopeful about the march, he did not survive. Even though Elie was in a harsh situation, he had hope that the end was near because they could not run like that "till the end of the world" (Wiesel 86). Since Elie did not give up hope, he survived the death march to Gleiwitz, which further proves that hope helps us survive.

Conclusion

Wiesel finishes making his point that hope helps us survive through Elie's father. His father was struggling for survival; he was weak, old, and tired. The only thing he wanted to do was lie down on the ground and sleep. Elie knew that to lie down meant to give up hope and to give in to death. As he tried to tell his father this, the only thing his father responded with was, "I shall die right here" (Wiesel 105). Elie's father laid back down on the ground and told his son, "It's over" (Wiesel 105). He no longer had hope in surviving, and as a result, he was ready to give up and die. Since Elie's father did not have hope and did not survive, this proves Wiesel's point that hope helps you survive.

References

1. "Night" by Elie Wiesel 

2. "Night Trilogy: Night, Dawn, Day" by Elie Wiesel

3. "Night and Hope" by Elie Wiesel and Francois Mauriac 

4. "Elie Wiesel: Conversations" edited by Robert Franciosi

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