Over 74 years ago, the Jewish population endured one of the most horrific events in history. (Hook) During World War II, six million Jews were murdered by Nazis following Hitler’s instruction. This genocide during WWII became known as the Holocaust. In Elie Wiesel's novel Night, Wiesel shares his traumatic experiences during the Holocaust and how those experiences altered his views on humanity. (Context (Author name, book title, main character mentioned) Wiesel’s memoir shows how people have the potential to be evil towards others. (Thesis. Notice that I mentioned what BAM genre my novel was and what my theme is that I will be discussing) In the novel Night, Wiesel proves more than once that people can act cruelly toward others even when it is obviously not the right thing to do. (Topic sentence. Notice that it relates back to my thesis.)
The first instance of cruelty Wiesel mentions in his memoir is when Moishe the Beadle returns from being expelled for being a foreign Jew. When he returned, he told the community about the horrors he had seen and endured. Moishe described how Jewish prisoners were forced to dig their own graves and how “infants were tossed into the air and used as targets for the machine guns” (Wiesel 6). (Evidence 1) When Moishe spoke out about these truths, the community refused to believe him and said he was crazy. Moishe was the first person in this memoir to experience firsthand how cruel people can be towards others. He witnessed people being murdered for simply being foreign Jews, but also he was treated as a burden on the community for speaking out about what he had witnessed. (Commentary 1)
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The second instance that Wiesel shares in his memoir of mankind being evil towards others is when a woman was beaten in the cattle car that was transporting the Jewish people to a concentration camp. Wiesel states that “[s]he received several blows to the head, blows that could have been lethal” (27). (Evidence 2) Here, Wiesel continues to show how even though everyone in that cattle car was heading to the same nightmarish fate, they did not have any compassion towards the woman or her emotions and chose to hurt her instead. (Commentary 2)
Finally, Wiesel shows how anyone can develop cruelty towards others when he no longer stands up for his father. He recounts when he witnessed his father getting slapped for asking where the restrooms were located. Wiesel states “[m]y father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked. I had watched and kept silent. Only yesterday, I would have dug my nails into this criminal's flesh” (39). (Evidence 3) By describing his change in reaction, Wiesel shows how anyone can begin to develop malicious intentions. He no longer chose to do the right thing, but instead chose to do what would benefit himself. (Commentary 3) By writing this memoir, Wiesel can share his experiences of humans being evil towards others during the Holocaust and remind society not to repeat the past's tragic events.
(Conclusion. I also mentioned why the BAM genre is important when discussing my theme) In his memoir Night, Elie Wiesel shares his exposure of humanity’s potential to be evil during the Holocaust. He proves this first by sharing Moishe the Beadle's experiences and then his own within the concentration camps. By sharing this part of his life in a memoir, Wiesel can continue to remind society of the horrific evils of the past. (Brief summary. Notice that I repeat the title, author's name, and genre. I also repeat why the BAM genre is used and how it’s important) Even though the Holocaust was 74 years ago, the impact of this tragic event is still felt today. (Clincher)
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