Night+Essay+Lizette+Galeana

Lizette Galeana

World LIterature

November 2011


 * Struggles Between A Father And Son**

When in a tough situation where your family and yourself are suffering, would you abandon your family or help them

and keep suffering for yourself? Many people would decide to abandon their family and go about for themselves. Elie Wiesel

in the other hand, being in a similar situation, decided to keep suffering. He chose to help his father than to abandon him

and survive on his own. Elie and his family were seperated at the time of the holocaust. At one point the only person Elie

had with him was his father, and they would be forced to do hard labor in the cold as well as receive very little food a day.

After a long time with that routine, Elie and his father became very weak. With everything that had been going on at that

time, Elie Wiesel, the author of 'Night' did not abandon his father, Mr. Wiesel. There were many problems that Mr. Wiesel

was dealing with, that Elie helped him with. Which helps reason that Elie did not abandon his father. For example,

Mr. Wiesel was Elies father, so he thought his father was his responsibility. Also, he always tried being with his father and

not get seperated. Last but not least, Elie tried to take care of his father when he was sick.

With Mr. Wiesel being the only person Elie had at this point, Elie thought that his father had become his

responsibility. At a certain point in the book 'Night' Elie and his father were ordered to march along with many others. They

marched for hours in the snow. After all that they went through, Elie was so exhausted he could not find his father. It took

him a long while but eventually he found him. With having to march for hours and not having much food in his body, he still

found the strength to take care of his father. Elie says, "After trampling over many bodies and corpses, we succeeded in

getting inside. We let ourselves fall to the ground." His father says,"Don't worry son. Go to sleep I'll watch over you" in

response Elie says "You first father. Sleep" (89). In other words, Elie puts his fathers needs over his own. He could have left

his father to his own luck, but no he realized his father was all he had left in the world, so he decided to help him. With that

being said, it goes to show that Elie took his father as his own responsibility.

Furthermore, Elie always tried to be with his father and hoped not to get seperated. With all the sick people around

and the massive number of murders that there was, Elie still would not seperate from his father's side. He would do anything

to be with his father, and Elie even pretended to be sick. Even though he could have also gotten sick, but that did not matter

to him. "The sick were allowed to stay in the block. So I would be sick. I didn't waqnt to leave my father ", said Elie (111).

Basically what Elie is saying is that when his father needs help or someone by his side, he would always be there for him.

Instead of giving up on his father, like everyone else did at that time, Elie wanted to help his father. Which basically shows

that he did want to be with his father and hoped not to be away from him.

There are many more reasons that show that Elie did not abandon his father. For example, Elie tried to take care of

his father when he was sick. He had done many things for his father, including giving him advice so that he didnt get

selected, encouraging him to be strong, and fighting to stay alive. Elie said " He seemed to be burning with fever. I fought

my way to the coffee cauldron like a wild beast. And I succeeded in bringing back a cup. I took one gulp. The rest was for

him" (106). In other words, Elie believed that with his father being sick and in the cold, the best for him at that point was to

give him a warm beverage to make him feel better. Elie was very caring of his father. Even though Elie could have drank all

that coffee and left his father with nothing he decided to give it to his father. Acknowledging what was learned about Elies

situation, you can say that he didn't leave his father to die, instead he took care of him all he could when his father wasn't

well.

In closing, Elie would do anyhting to keep his father alive and by his side. He had taken responsibility over his father

to try to keep him from getting called up for the next selection. In addition, Elie never wanted to leave his father, so he would

be sure his father wasn't getting beaten up or worse, was dead. Last but not least, it was as if Elie was his fathers parent.

He took care of him when he was sick, and got him whatever he could to make him feel better. So basically, Elie Wiesel the

author of 'Night' never left his father in his time of need.