Night Reflection Essay

What things are you willing to sacrifice, but what things are you not willing to sacrifice? In the story Night, the author presents us with the question of where our boundary of sacrifice is at. At the beginning, Elie Wiesel was able to sacrifice personal items. Towards the end of Night, he was even able to sacrifice his own dignity, along with many others. However, he was never willing to sacrifice his father just to keep living, although having thoughts of it. Readers should be able to clearly draw a boundary of entities that can be sacrificed, as this defines who we are.

Towards the beginning of the story, Elie Wiesel is not willing to sacrifice materialistic items such as his shoes or his golden crown. Even towards the end, Elie was willing to sacrifice some of his rations to help him live a little longer, even when others tell him that his father is going to die anyways. The boundary for Elie Wiesel was his father, he would not sacrifice his father for anything, unlike some of the other sons shown in the story. For example, in the train scene, one of the sons beat his own father to death just for a little bit of bread. Elie Wiesel however, did consider, but immediately regretted and was ashamed for thinking such a thing.

Elie's father also could have taken advantage of Elie. He could have left Elie or taken advantage of him. During this time, it was basically every man for themselves. What each person sacrifices for each other reflects their character. Because of Elie's sacrifices to keep his father alive, he can be defined as extremely mature for his age, he is not childish. Elie's father can also be defined as a compassionate father, even sacrificing his health for his son.

The boundary for entities that can be sacrificed defines who we are. Elie and his father both sacrificed a lot for each other. A selfish person will not sacrifice much for others, but compassionate people will be happy to sacrifice for others. The boundary's position determines who the person is and what their character is like.