Night by Elie Wiesel

Reading Night by Elie Wiesel never ceases to amaze me. Each time I am captivated by the moments he described. This time, I thought about my grandma who just turned 98 years old. This could have been her and my papa's story. If things had been different, a different country, a different religion, a different Hitler, this could have been the story of my family. This perspective I took while reading the story made me much more sad while reading the book.

I find it interesting (for lack of a better word) that Night for  many people is the first "school assigned book" they read cover to cover. I know it was for me. There is a horror and sickening feeling that accompanies me as I discovered new things about the Holocaust. I remember being a student and wanting to read to the end - only because I knew it ended. The pain, fear, despair, hunger, and atrocities people endured throughout the time are unbelievable. For me that is why this book was so captivating.

This time through, I read Elie Wiesel's Nobel Peace Prize Award acceptance speech. He said, "give Isreal a chance to let hatred and danger be removed from their horizons, and there will be peace in and around the Holy Land." Reading this line impacted me on a deeper level, as did the book this time around. Thinking of Elie and his father as they could have been my GG and Papa filled me with more anger than I had felt reading the book before. In his acceptance speech, it is clear that Elie has  turned his hatred for good and has risen above his oppressors. He speaks out about atrocities in the world and reminds readers what some people are capable of doing and encourages them to speak out.