Reader Response 2

Fellow Readers,
After reading up to page 84 in Night, by Elie Weisel, I find myself confused about a few aspects within the story and even though I found this section slightly less horrid then the last, I am still quite disturbed by the ill-treatment Elie and the other Jews have recieved.  In my opinion, I find the camp of Buna, which Weisel resides in and describes in this section, a bit more merciful and better then the previous camps and the Jews first experience with the cremations.   Although there were still some beatings and some murders, there seemed to be less here then there were in past camps, and for the most part, you were allowed to stay with your family or friends and Weisel remained with his father for a while.  However, there were a few sentences Weisel writes that really caught my attention, he says, "On the fourth day, as we stood in front of our tent, the Kapos appeared.  Each one began to choose the men he like: 'You...you...you' They pointed their fingers, the way one might choose cattle, or merchandise," (49).  The words the author uses here in reference to how the Jews were treated and how they felt such as "cattle" and "merchandise", really show how demeaning the SS treated the Jews.  By Weisel using these words, the readers can truly understand the inhumane conditions the Jewish people faced.  I find this morally wrong, for we are all human, no one should be considered above anyone else regardless of race or anything.  What makes the Germans, Hitler, and the Nazis so  much better then the Jews?  They have more power so it's acceptable for them to walk all over people?

Also, I found that this section really challenged many faiths and the belief of God.  I believed the text really addressed religion in general, which is personal to me for I follow the Catholic religion that believes in God.  There were many times Weisel challeneged his own religion and challenged God for allowing the Jewish people to be in this position.  At one point he says, "Blessed be God's name?  Why, but why would I bless Him?  Every fiber in me rebelled.  Because He caused thousands of children to burn in His mass graves?" (67).  Elie really caught my attention here, for he had once been so faithful and inside he remained faithful, but he experienced so much that he really gave up hope.  I understand him being angry at the world here after everything he has gone through.  Weisel really challenges his own beliefs here and others, especially if you are religious.  One could wonder, why would God, who the Jews have constantly devoted thier lives too and served, allow them to suffer like this? I believe it also addresses how you need to have faith, especially if you are going through awful times such as this because having belief in something gives you hope and Elie himself explains that after he started to rebel against God and his beliefs, he felt alone and more or less helpless.  The one passage that I found very confusing and surprising was when a Jew says to Elie, "I have more faith in Hitler than anyone else.  He alone has kept his promises, to the Jewish people," (81).  I had to stop and reread this line a few times because I honestly couldn't believe a Jew would say this in regard to Hitler.  Hitler was the man responsible for the massive Jewish killings and he was the mastermind behind Jewish extermination.  How could he possible have these feelings toward Hitler?  I found this by far the most difficult to understand out of the whole reading so far. Could it be that the Jews were tormented so greatly into believing that they were worthless or less than others that they actually started to believe it?  I am interested to see how Wiesel, now without real faith is able to escape from this terrible lifestyle.