Night

The struggle to maintain religious faith in conditions of brutal oppression and suffering is a major theme in Night. As a 12-year old boy when the narrative begins, Eliezer is a devout Jew, studying the Torah, Talmud, and Cabbala, the central religious texts of Judaism. He prays regularly and fervently, weeping emotionally though he does not understand why. His spiritual aspiration is encouraged by Moché the Beadle, who instructs him in Jewish mystical theology during long evenings of reading and interpreting the verses of the Cabbala. Religion is the defining element of the young boy’s identity, as it is for many of the Jews of Sighet. Through devotion and intense study of the sacred texts, Eliezer hopes he can grasp the underlying truth behind the mysteries of the world, a world he believes is permeated with the presence and will of a benevolent God.

As the narrative progress, the cruelty and horror Eliezer witnesses at Auschwitz, Buna, Gleiwitz and Buchenwald shatter his belief in a just and merciful God. It is impossible that such a God would allow the wholesale destruction of so many believers and the unfettered evil of Nazi cruelty and genocide.