Fear in Night - Book Review

In the book, Night, there is tremendous fear. The main fears are painful death, indefinite separation, and the fatal selection. Eliezer, the main character, and his family have to be cautious to not have any of these fears become reality. Though some of these fears cannot be stopped from happening. People will die, families will be separated, and the selection will take out those weak and afraid.

There is a vast amount of fear for painful death in Night. The first example of death is when the SS officer asks how old Eliezer is and he lies because he is afraid of being thrown into the furnace, "'How old are you?' he asked, in an attempt at a paternal tone of voice. 'Eighteen.' My voice was shaking.' Are you in good health?' 'Yes'"(p.29). The second example of death happens when Eliezer is standing in line to go into the furnace, and he is sweating and starts to pray, "We were drawing closer to the ditch, from which an infernal heat was rising"(p. 31). Though, before he entered the furnace, the SS told him to go to the left into the barracks. Another example of death is when the prisoners were marching to Auschwitz and they saw the sign that filled them with fear, "At each step a white placard with a death's head on it stared us in the face" (p. 37). The fear of death has a big role in Night, it is a main reason why most of the prisoners try so hard to stay alive.

There is a great fear of separation in the book Night. The first example is when the train from Birkenau reached Auschwitz and the men and women were split up, Eliezer then grabbed his father's hand because he was scared be separated from him, "My hand shifted on my father's arm. I had one thought - not to lose him. Not to be left alone" (p. 27). A second example would be when Eliezer was assigned to his first job working at a factory sorting out electrical fittings and when Franek, the foreman, talked with Eliezer, Eliezer told him that he wished to be beside his father, "Please... I would have liked to be by my father" (p. 48). Another example happens on the their third day at Gleiwitz when there is another selection and Eliezer's father is chosen to go to the left side, where the weak go, while Eliezer goes to the right. Eliezer then runs after his father causing a big mess up, letting his father go to the right side, "My father was sent to the left. I ran after him... Several SS rushed to bring me back, creating such confusion that many of the people from the left were able to come back to the right - and among them, my father and myself"(p.91). In Night, Eliezer was very fearful of being separated from his father, so he tried everything to keep him by his side.

In Night, the fatal selection puts fear into everyone. The first example is when Eliezer is in his first selection and the veterans in back kept on talking very loudly. Eliezer then