In this chapter there is a big focus on Wiesel's struggle to keep his faith, especially at the beginning of the chapter during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I found the scene of Wiesel eating soup on Yom Kippur especially saddening because not only was he losing his faith in God but he was becoming spiteful towards God. Reading this makes me wonder if today Wiesel still has this struggle with his faith or if he has completely given up on God.
Towards the end of the chapter, when the camp was being evacuated, I knew, from reading the book before, that Wiesel and his father weren't going to stay in the infirmary and be liberated, but I was disappointed and saddened just as much as I was when reading this book the first time. But this time upon reading it, I wondered how this affected Wiesel's relationship with God. I'm not sure if Wiesel believes in the concept of free will, but at this time it seems like God presented him with the choice to be liberated or stay under the control of the Nazis. He chose not to stay. I wonder if after this Wiesel was more upset with himself and his father for not staying or if he blamed God and further lost his faith.
This is my favorite post so far. I loved how after every point you made and every aspect of the chapter you chose to discuss, you added what that part made you question or think of. I found that very interesting and insightful, and I enjoyed reading it because I like your opinions. When I read chapter five, I also wondered about current day Wiesel and if he ever reconciled with God or not.
ReplyDeleteAccording to what I've read Elie still believes in God but the relationship between them has drastically changed. He still asks God the hard questions.
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