Honors Language Arts 11, Block 1
17 September 2013
Story of ‘Night’ Elie Wiesel was a Holocaust victim and survivor. His book, “Night,” tells his story about what he experienced and went through during the Holocaust. His book received many good reviews and many bad reviews. Elie was praised for his work and writing, however, he was also criticized by many critics. One review was by A. Alvarez and he stated that the book was: beyond criticism” as a “human document” but called it “a failure as a work of art.” This to me was kind of uncalled for because Elie is just trying to get the message across that the victims and survivors of the Holocaust have a hard time getting over the fact that they were tortured and watched people get killed and get separated permanently from their families. I think critics should take into consideration how they would feel if they were in Elie’s position as a writer. Elie wanted to share his story with the world because he felt as though some people weren’t as educated about the tragedy and horror that the Holocaust was. He wanted to make a point that the people who the Holocaust effected are traumatized, however, if they are willing to share and go back and replay all the horrifying events that took place in this time period, then people should take the time to read the stories and write a good review about the story being so bravely told to the world. I think it was very brave of Elie to go back and reminisce on a bad experience just to inform the world of the tragedies, loss, and heart break during the Holocaust. The message of the article was touching and sad.