Night (p.1-46)

Elie Wiesel really draws the reader in right from the start in his memoir Night. He paints a clear picture of himself as a young boy; a very religious, family-oriented, and good-hearted kid. The setting of the story takes place in Transylvania in 1941. Moishe the Beadle, Elie's mentor, is the first example of foreshadowing. He told of his narrow escape from the Gestapo, who were forcing all of the deported foreigners to dig their own graves right before they were killed. No one believed him and claimed that he had gone mad. Slowly, the German forces began tightening their grasp on the Jews, but the Jews were oblivious to the fact that they were being manipulated into doing whatever the Nazi's ordered them to do. The Jews were full of false hope, which was extremely advantageous to the Germans. The protagonists are the Jews and the antagonists are the Nazis. After being stripped of their homes and their freedom, the Jews were finally deported to concentration camps, which they thought were just safe places away from the front lines of the war. Elie uses foreshadowing again when they are in cattle cars travelling to the concentration camp. An elderly lady screams out many times, "Jews, look! Look at the fire!" Everyone thinks she is crazy and they even resort to physical abuse when she refuses to stop screaming. Once they finally arrive at their destination, they see the monstrous flames of the crematorium awaiting their arrival. Elie's love for his family is evident when the males and females are separated, separating him and his father from his mother and sisters. He would give anything to remain with his entire family, but since he cannot, he is determined not to be separated from his father. The Nazi guards at the concentration camps are extremely cruel, treating them as if they were animals. The Jews were herded around, hit with clubs, forced to get naked, get completely shaved, and wear clothes that didn't even fit them. All of this made them feel as though they were less human and took away any pride they ever had. Although they tried to help each other, the motto "Every man for himself" was definitely in effect. Over the course of just a few days, young Elie was transformed from an innocent, religious boy to a nearly emotionless boy stripped of everything he cared most about in life.
This story was hard to put down once I started reading it. Filled with terror at what I was reading, I couldn't help but find out what was going to happen next. I cannot believe this happened about 70 years ago. The Jews were treated with such cruelty it's almost unbelievable. If I was Jewish, I don't know if I could ever really let it go and form relations with any German. It's amazing how in just a few days, Elie grows up so much and does what he has to do to survive. Most kids his age think that losing a basketball game is such a disaster, but young Elie had way bigger problems to worry about.