As a revelation about the world we live in, and unfortunately about mankind's capacity for abominable cruelty, Night is an authoritative testimony to truths which are, at best, difficult for the conscientious to face. This paper will attempt to present the impact that Night has upon the reader from the subjective perspective, and the conclusions one can draw from the contemplation of Wiesel's experiences. There is such an abundance of written material on the Holocaust, of both the popular style and the scholarly, that it would be impossible to assimilate it all without devoting one's life to the effort. There are books which intellectualize the event by ascribing meaning to it, by socioculturally analyzing its significance or origins, or by depicting it as another event in the long list of tribulations suffered by the Jewish people. There are a few others, such as Night , the works of Corrie ten Boom, and those of Viktor Frankl, that reveal the experiential side of this tragedy from the perspective of the very few who survived to describe it.
Night is such a monument.
And to gain a fuller appreciation of its irresistible power, Wiesel's account can be compared to those of other Holocaust survivors. Her story is one of hope, in which the girl finds strength and the crystallization of her Christian faith. Despite the lethal hardships of life within a concentration camp, she managed to survive incomprehensible adversities until near the end of the war when she was surprised to be released to a hospital for treatment of her injuries and her ill health. Indeed, ten Boom's account is amazing in its simplicity, and Kierkegaardian in its ability to find hope in the midst of crushing despair, and to hint at a hidden joy in life and faith amid the barbarousness of a Nazi concentration camp. She was fortunate not to have been Jewish, and not to have been earmarked for a death camp like Auschwitz.