Night
Elie Wiesel's horrifying autobiographical book, Night, is a portrait of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps during the holocaust. The book was written by Wiesel with the primary intent to give readers a basic understanding of some of the horrible massacres that occurred during World War II.
He wants his readers not to be "grossed out," but instead to learn about the dangers of not cracking down on hatred and prejudice. By reminding people of the dangers of unfair treatment of people simply because of their race, Wiesel hopes only to help future generations of susceptible people remember that along with capabilities to do good deeds, humankind has an extremely dangerous capacity for performing evil deeds. The holocaust must be forever remembered not only by its victims, but by everyone in society, and at the point in time that books like Night are forgotten, then society may be apt to repeat similar mistakes.
Wiesel survived Auschwitz, Buna and Buchenwald (concentration camps where millions were slaughtered) and Night vividly relates the emotions of horror, despair, and desperate hope that marked Wiesel's passionate struggle to survive. Night is not a book for pleasurable reading, but it is most definitely vital literature. n
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