Night: Dialectical Journal 1

       In times of turmoil, we look to a God or a higher being to elevate the suffering we are experiencing. But what if your whole life, all you did was worship and pray and give thanks and in the time of your most need, there is an absence of hope and a presence of despair. In "Night" Elie describes that very first days of persecution from the German soldiers after they invaded his home and how even still, many Jewish victims remained hopeful that their God would relieve them.
      "The Russian army's making gigantic strides forward... Hitler won't be able to do us any harm, even if he wants too." This quote proves that many believed in times of stress, even when people (such as Moshe) said to be hopeless, they (he) chose to believe in hope. "The Germans were already in town, the Fascists were already in power, the verdict had already been pronounced, yet the Jews of Sighet continued to smile." Even though in other parts of the world, Jews were being victimized, having their community destroyed, and thrown from their homes, the Jews in Sighet had a lot to smile about because, at that moment they were safe, the German soldiers weren't attacking their homes and for the time being, they were polite. However, when passover happened, things made a turn for the worse, "The first step, Jews would not be allowed to leave their homes for three days- on the pain of death". After that, they got their belongings taken away, and had to wear the yellow star, most would break down from that, but not Elie, he remained optimistic in the sense that he said, "little by little life returned to normal. The barbed wire did not give us any fear." If I was trapped in a space by soldiers that were of a different religion, my faith would falter, life would not seem like it is returning to normal but for Elie this was becoming the new normal and it was better than death or starvation. As they lived life trapped in the ghetto, they continued to have optimistic speeches about the situations they were in, "If you ask me, the whole business of deportation is just a farce. Oh yes, don't laugh. The Boches just want to steal our jewelry. They know we've buried everything, and they'll have a hunt for it: it's easier when the owners are on holiday..." On holiday!" They convinced themselves that they were on holiday because they were getting robbed of their things and it seems more practical for a thief to commit his crime if the owner he is stealing from is on holiday. They told themselves that the holiday would end, and they would get their life back.