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LeaLennon
Mrs.Butorac
English
15March2016

TheEffectofToneThroughout
Night
ElieWieseltheauthorofthenovel
Night
,explainshislifeduringtheHolocaust.He
informshisreadersontheHolocausttomakesureitdoesn'tgetrepeatedandnoonehastogo
throughwhathedid.Confusion,seriousness,andsarcasmarethreetonespresentthroughout
Wiesel'snovel.ThedifferenttonesareshowneffectivelythroughWieselsexperiencesatthis
campandwhathewasputthrough.
WieselusesaconfusedtonetoshowtheeffecttheHolocaustleftonhim.Whenhe
arrivedtothecamphewasseparatedfromhismotherandsisterandatthetimehedidn'tknow
theywerebeingbroughttothecrematorium.Wieselthoughtthatheandhisfatherweregoingto
becrematedandquestioned,Couldthisbeanightmare?Anunimaginablenightmare?(Wiesel
31).Hedidn'twanttotakeinallofwhathesseeingasarealitysuchas,the
sightofpiled
malnourisheddeadbodiesthatspreadagruesomestench
.Hecouldn'tbelievethatallofthiswas
happeningandnoone,nocountrywasdoinganythingtohelpthemfromdeathandtorturehe
thought,WasIstillalive?WasIawake?Howwasitpossiblethatmen,women,andchildren
werebeingburnedandthattheworldkeptsilent?No.Allthiscouldnotbereal(Wiesel32).He
isperplexedasofhowinhumanpeoplecanbetooneanother,everyoneshouldbeequalno
matterwhatrace,age,sex,howeveratconcentrationcampalltheGermansthoughtofwasthe

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extinctionoftheJewishrace.Hequestioned,Whydoyougoontroublingthesepoorpeoples
woundedminds,theirailingbodies?(Wiesel66).EverydaytheseJewishpeoplewouldbe
torturedwithhardlabor,andiftheyweretooslowordiditwrongtheywouldbepunished.They
havenothinglefttoliveforiftheyreridfromtheirhumanity,sowhyputthemthroughsomuch
morepain.ThroughtheuseofconfusionthereadercantakeawaythewayWieselfeltbeing
confinedinconcentrationcampwithnorights.
Seriousness,wasanothertonethatwaspresentinthisnovel.Wieselusedaserioustone
toshowhowtheHolocausttrulyaffectedhislife.
RepetitioncoupledwithWiesel'sserioustone
when
explaininghowhellneverforgetthatnight,thefirstnightincamp,thatturnedmylife
intoonelongnightseventimessealed...NevershallIforgetthesmallfacesofthechildrenwhose
bodiesIsawtransformedintosmokeunderasilentsky...(Wiesel34).ItisseenthatWieseluses
aserioustonetoexpressthefirstnightofconcentrationcampwhichchangedhiswhole
perspectiveoflife.Wieselcouldonlyviewhisdaysatcampasdarknessfromthesmokeofthe
crematorium.HerealizedthattheconcentrationcampmurderedmyGodandmysouland
turnedmydreamsintoashes(Wiesel34).Wieselcouldonlysaythisinaserioustonebecauseit
isnothingtojokeabout,helostawholepartofhislife.HenolongerhadfaithinGodandhe
couldneveraccomplishanyofhisdreamsinlifewhileplacedinthehorrificcamp.Notonlydid
WiesellosehisfaithinGodhewasridfromhumanityaswellasmanyotherJewishpeople,they
nolongerclungtoanything.Theinstinctsofselfpreservation,ofselfdefense,ofpridehadall
desertedthem(Wiesel36).Wieselsserioustoneisexpressedtoshowthejewstheyhadnothing
lefttolivefor,everythingwastakenfromthem.ThepurposeofWieselsseriousnessistoshow

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thattheHolocausttookawaythepurposeofmanypeople'slifeandleftthemwithnothingtolive
with,excepttheirmemories.
Wieselalsousedsarcasminhisnovelnotinahumorousway,buttoexpresshisanger.
AsstatedaboveWiesellosthisfaithinGodfromallthepressureappliedtohimlivingand
workinginthecamp.Hequestioned,WhyshouldIsanctifyHisname?TheAlmighty,the
eternalandterribleMasteroftheUniverse,chosetobesilent.WhatwastheretothankHimfor?
(Wiesel34).Theauthorwasfrustratedthathewasseeingallofthesepeoplefromhisreligiondie
andGoddonothingaboutit.Heusessarcasmtoreleasehisaggravationonthewrongpeople,
suchasGodwhenheshouldbemadatHitlerandtheSSofficersforputtinghimthroughthe
Holocaust.WieselusessarcasmwhenheismostlythinkingofGod,Behindme,Iheardthe
samemanasking:ForGodssake,whereisGod?Andfromwithinme,Iheardavoiceanswer:
WhereHeis?Thisiswherehangingherefromthisgallows...(Page65).Gallowsareused
(mostly)forthehangingofcriminals,andWieselsaidGodishangingfromthegallowswhich
fromhiscontextmeansthatGodisdeadhecannolongersavethemnow.Again,theauthor
usessarcasmwhenspeakingaboutGodsincehecantconsideranyoneelseasthereasonfor
thembeingheldcaptiveincamp,BlessedbeGodsname?Why,butwhywouldIblesshim?...
HowcouldIsaytoHim:BlessedbeThou,Almighty,MasteroftheUniverse,whochoseus
amongallnationstobetortureddayandnight,towatchasourfathers,ourmothers,ourbrothers
endupinthefurnaces?(Wiesel67).WieselblamesGodoneverythingfromthelossofhis
motherandsister,thelossofothersfamilymembers,andtothedeathofmillionsofothers
placedinthesamepositionashim.Theuseofsarcasmwasverystrongandisseenasawayfor

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Wieseltoreleasehisangerthroughouttheconstanttorturehewasputthroughinconcentration
camp.
ElieWieselwasabletoconveythesethreetones,confusion,seriousness,andsarcasmas
waystoexpresshisemotionswhilestuckinconcentrationcamp.Fromthesethreetones,Wiesel
showedthereaderthatiftheHolocaustwastorepeatitself,innocentpeoplewouldyetagaingo
throughthepainheenduredandpossiblyworse.Theauthorwasabletoeffectivelyusetone
throughouthisbooktoenhancehispurposeandmakethereaderthoroughlyunderstandhis
experienceduringHolocaust.

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WorkCited
Wiesel,Elie,andMarionWiesel.
Night
.NewYork,NY:HillandWang,aDivisionofFarrar,
StrausandGiroux,2006.Print.