"Night"
The effects of camps, themes, and what it reveals about me
How did the camps change the prisoners as a person, family, and their relationships?
The camps changed the prisoners by making them more selfish. If they acted out or drew attention to themselves, they would probably be beaten. So when Elie's father gets beaten in front of him, he doesn't do anything. Instead, he gets mad at his father for not working hard enough (he realizes later that he should be mad at the Germans, not his father). Also the camps changed the relationships of families (Elie and his father) for the better. Elie grew attached to his father and went with him everywhere; he cared for his father and wanted the best for him. I think the relationship with other human beings was good and bad. It was good because they were all going through the same thing, so they could help each other. It was bad because if someone got the feeling of power, they would misuse it and hurt people that they cared about. Most likely they did it to get an extra ration of bread or some other reward.
Theme 1:
The first theme of "Night" goes with a quote that I found about the holocaust. This quote is saying that even though you might not be able to see, hear, or feel something, it is always there no matter what. During the holocaust many people lost their faith because they wondered how a merciful God could do something so horrible to his people. But other's faith got stronger, and that was what helped them to keep going.
Theme 2:
The second theme I saw was, faith brings people together. I think this was very true for the people in the camps. They prayed together, and they had someone to lean on. Because most of them were Jewish, they could recite prayers together. Doing this probably made them feel like they had a little bit of home with them in the horrible camps.
Theme 3:
The third theme was, people do things they wouldn't usually, when they get a feeling over power over people. This was very true because many German Jews were in charge of the rest of the Jews. A lot of them beat up their fellow Jews, instead of treating them kindly. Also, if a young Jew was in charge of his group of people, he would often beat people, including his father, so he could get a reward. Fear and starvation do bad things to the way people think.
Reveals about me as a person...
It reveals that even though people will do horrible things, and things won't always be how you want them, you have to be strong and have faith that things will get better. Also, if someone tries to take power over you, they can't break you if you keep your faith, because that is why people were able to live through the Holocaust; they had a God to pray to. That made things a lot easier for them.