Question

The theme of loneliness was present in the novel Night. Giving examples for support, how was the theme of loneliness demonstrated in the novel? How do the characters’ feelings of loneliness compare or differ to each other? Is the act of loneliness always negative and forced or could it be a chosen relief? How does the theme of loneliness relate to the theme of English 11B: Society vs. the Individual? Explain with examples from the text.

Answer 1

Answer:

Night is a profound novel about the experiences of Elie Wiesel, a Jewish man, during the Holocaust. Part of the reason why Wiesel eventually renounced his faith was the deep loneliness he felt from God and from others.

Right off the bat, he and his father are separated from the women in his family. He never sees his sisters or mother again, and he only sees his father briefly before he dies. However, he manages to persist. This shows how Wiesel feels his loneliness acutely, but he continues to survive physically.

In the novel, loneliness is almost always negative and forced. Their Nazi oppressors dictated their living conditions and their state of being. Had Wiesel a choice, I am sure he would not have chosen to be alone, yet ultimately when he was freed by the Russians he lived most of his life in loneliness from the God he had been imprisoned for.