Student Question

Where in Elie Wiesel's Night does Elie mention their thinness?

Quick answer:

In Night, Elie Wiesel frequently describes the emaciation caused by starvation in the concentration camps. Notably, in the final lines, he sees "a corpse gazed back" at him in the mirror, illustrating his extreme thinness. On page 84, Wiesel describes his father as "completely twisted, shriveled up into itself," and earlier on page 74, he depicts a Hungarian Jew as "skin and bone, with dead eyes." These passages highlight the severe physical toll of their ordeal.

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Elie Wiesel's first person novella, Night, details the horror he and his father suffered at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust. Elie offers a straightforward and detailed telling of the horrors he faced during his time in Auschwitz.

Many times throughout the novel, Elie details the impact the lack of food and drink had on both his and the bodies of the others in the concentration camps. Perhaps the most poignant quote from the novel, depicting his emaciated appearance, comes in the final lines.

From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me.

This one line illuminates how thin Elie has become. Essentially, he is a walking skeleton.

Another quote which speaks to the prisoners emaciated frames is found on page 84 (of the 25th Anniversary edition).

His body was completely twisted, shriveled up into itself.

Here, Elie is describing his own father. His father has lost so much weight that his own body is shriveling up.

Earlier, on page 74, Elie recalls a Hungarian Jew who was lying in the hospital next to him. He describes the man as "skin and bone, with dead eyes."

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