Night by Elie Wiesel & a Victim by Bruno Bettelheim

...

He blames the Jews for their own demise. In his opinion, the Jews’ stupidity and

ignorance had cost them millions of lives.

The darkness that both Elie and Bettelheim experience shapes them in both good and bad

ways. They both learned the true nature of some people and that you can’t always trust everyone.

They also realize that even though the Germans did this to them, they can’t hate or ask for

vengeance on them. They have learned to become better people from their experiences. They see

that they can make sure they don’t let this kind of dehumanization happen again.

Though Elie has changed as a person, in Night, he states, “Never shall I forget that night,

the first night in camp that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed. Never shall I forget

that smoke. Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into

smoke under a silent sky. Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever. Never

shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live. Never shall I

forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes. Never

shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.” He

emphasizes that he can never forget the true horrors of the past, but can still move forward.