The narrator of Night, Eliezer is based closely on the author Elie Wiesel and his own experiences before and during the Holocaust. (Night is usually classified as a memoir.) Eliezer is a deeply religious teenager from the Hungarian town of Sighet. During his time in Nazi concentration camps, he witnesses unimaginable acts of brutality that challenge and ultimately destroy his religious faith. It becomes his duty to look after his father, Chlomo, as the older man weakens and finally dies in the camps.
Eliezer Quotes in Night
The Night quotes below are all either spoken by Eliezer or refer to Eliezer. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Bantam Books edition of Night published in 1982.
Chapter 1
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I was twelve. I believed profoundly. During the day I studied the Talmud, and at night I ran to the synagogue to weep over the destruction of the Temple.
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Get LitCharts A+Night. No one prayed, so that the night would pass quickly. The stars were only sparks of the fire which devoured us. Should that fire die out one day, there would be nothing left in the sky but dead stars, dead eyes.
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Chapter 3
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Humanity? Humanity is not concerned with us. Today anything is allowed. Anything is possible, even these crematories.
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Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever.
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Some talked of God, of his mysterious ways, of the sins of the Jewish people, and of their future deliverance. But I had ceased to pray. How I sympathized with Job! I did not deny God's existence, but I doubted his absolute justice.
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Chapter 4
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Behind me, I heard the same man asking:
"Where is God now?"
And I heard a voice within me answer him:
"Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows. . . . "
"Where is God now?"
And I heard a voice within me answer him:
"Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows. . . . "
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Chapter 5
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"Yes, man is very strong, greater than God. When You were deceived by Adam and Eve, You drove them out of Paradise. When Noah's generation displeased You, You brought down the Flood… But these men here, whom You have betrayed, whom You have allowed to be tortured, slaughtered, gassed, burned, what do they do? They pray before You! They praise your name!"
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That day I had ceased to plead. I was no longer capable of lamentation. On the contrary, I felt very strong. I was the accuser, God the accused. My eyes were open and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God and without man. Without love or mercy. I had ceased to be anything but ashes, yet I felt myself to be stronger than the Almighty, to whom my life had been tied for so long. I stood amid that praying congregation, observing it like a stranger.
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Chapter 6
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Pitch darkness. Every now and then, an explosion in the night. They had orders to fire on any who could not keep up. Their fingers on the triggers, they did not deprive themselves of this pleasure. If one of us stopped for a second, a sharp shot finished off another filthy son of a bitch.
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We were masters of nature, masters of the world. We had forgotten everything—death, fatigue, our natural needs. Stronger than cold or hunger, stronger than the shots and the desire to die, condemned and wandering, mere numbers, we were the only men on earth.
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He played a fragment from Beethoven's concerto. I had never heard sounds so pure. In such silence.
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Chapter 7
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Twenty bodies were thrown out of our wagon. Then the train resumed its journey, leaving behind it a few hundred naked dead, deprived of burial, in the deep snow of a field in Poland.
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We were given no food. We lived on snow; it took the place of bread. The days were like nights, and the nights left the dregs of their darkness in our souls.
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Hundreds of cries rose up simultaneously. Not knowing against whom we cried. Not knowing why. The death rattle of a whole convoy who felt the end upon them. We were all going to die here. All limits had been passed. No one had any strength left. And again the night would be long.
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The last day had been the most murderous. A hundred of us had got into the wagon. A dozen of us got out—among them, my father and I.
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Chapter 8
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"Don't let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I could use all my strength to struggle for my own survival, and only worry about myself." Immediately I felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever.
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Oh, to strangle the doctor and the others! To burn the whole world! My father's murderers! But the cry stayed in my throat.
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Bending over him, I stayed gazing at him for over an hour, engraving into myself the picture of his blood-stained face, his shattered skull.
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Chapter 9
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Our first act as free men was to throw ourselves onto the provisions. We thought only of that. Not of revenge, not of our families. Nothing but bread.
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One day I was able to get up, after gathering all my strength. I wanted to see myself in the mirror on the opposite wall. I had not seen myself since the ghetto. From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me. The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me.
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Eliezer Character Timeline in Night
The timeline below shows where the character Eliezer appears in Night. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Eliezer is twelve in 1941. He lives in a town called Sighet, in territory then controlled...
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...the town. Poor and physically awkward, he has a dreamlike and spiritual quality about him. Eliezer and he discuss religion and begin to study cabbala together. Soon, though, all of the...
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The people of Sighet do not believe Moché's story. Even Eliezer does not believe him, although he notices that Moché has changed, and no longer speaks...
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...encouraged by radio reports of the bombardment of Germany and the progress of the war. Eliezer continues his religious studies and the family thinks about Hilda's marriage prospects.
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...in 1944, although the Jews in Sighet still doubt that Hitler wants to exterminate them. Eliezer wants his father to sell the business and move to Palestine but his father says...
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...houses of local citizens—sometimes Jews. One officer stays in a house across the street from Eliezer's. The soldiers are polite, and the Jews hope things will be fine. They keep a...
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Jews are forced to move into one of two ghettoes in Sighet. Eliezer's house is already in one of the designated areas, so his family doesn't have to...
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One night, Eliezer's father is hurriedly summoned to a meeting of the Jewish council. Neighbors gather at the...
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Eliezer watches the people of his town—friends, teachers, the rabbi—pass by with a small bundle of...
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Eliezer's family isn't part of the first deportation. Instead they are going to be sent to...
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...servant comes to see them and begs them to come to her village and hide. Eliezer's father says that Eliezer and his two older sisters can go if they want to,...
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That night, according to Eliezer, no one prays. The next day, people try to feel hopeful. They suggest that they...
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Chapter 3
...they are surrounded by the SS with machine guns. Men are separated from the women. Eliezer watches his sisters and his mother move away. He sees his mother and his youngest...
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The SS order them into groups. Eliezer manages to stay with his father. One veteran prisoner tells him to say that he...
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...them questions, and then pointing to the right or to the left with his baton. Eliezer lies and says he is eighteen and a farmer. Dr. Mengele gestures to the left,...
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They are marched towards a ditch from which Eliezer sees flames leaping up. He watches a truck pull up to the ditch and sees...
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Eliezer tells his father he will run towards the electric fence instead of dying in the...
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...the new arrivals are beaten by veteran prisoners. The SS officers look for strong men (Eliezer and his father decide not to draw attention to themselves). Next, the new arrivals are...
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Certain skilled workers are weeded out and the rest are sent to another barracks. Eliezer's father asks the gypsy deportee in charge of the barracks if he can use the...
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Under SS guard, Eliezer, his father, and their group of prisoners are marched out of Birkenau to another camp:...
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The next day the prisoners are tattooed on their left arms. Eliezer becomes A-7713. In the evening, tens of thousands of prisoners stand for roll call as...
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A relative—Eliezer's great-uncle from Antwerp—finds Eliezer's father and asks if anyone has heard news of his wife...
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...Auschwitz. The relative from Antwerp visits and brings half a ration of bread. He advises Eliezer's father to take care of his son. Then a new transport comes from Antwerp, presumably...
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...listen to a man named Akiba Drumer sing religious songs. Some people talk about God. Eliezer no longer prays, is no longer sure that God is just. His thoughts turn to...
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Chapter 4
...that food be brought to the ten and twelve-year-old prisoners. The German in charge of Eliezer's tent also takes a special interest in the welfare of the children, although his interest...
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One of his assistants in charge of the tent tries to get Eliezer's shoes in exchange for a good work unit assignment and keeping Eliezer and his father...
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...quarantine, with medical and dental inspection. Then the Kapos arrive and select their work units. Eliezer's unit is joined by prisoners from a musicians' unit, including Juliek, a violinist. They are...
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In the warehouse there are also Poles and French women. Franek, the foreman, lets Eliezer work next to his father. Eliezer befriends two Czech brothers, Yossi and Tibi, whose parents...
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Eliezer is ordered to go to the dentist to have his gold crown removed. Eliezer fakes...
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At the warehouse Eliezer works near a French girl. They don't speak to each other, and Eliezer presumes they...
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Years later, after the war, Eliezer sees a beautiful woman on the Metro in Paris. They recognize each other from the...
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On another occasion, Eliezer can only watch as Idek beats his father with an iron bar. Eliezer's instinct is...
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The foreman, Franek, demands the gold crown in Eliezer's mouth. Eliezer refuses. But his father isn't good at marching, so Franek starts to beat...
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...brings the entire unit to the warehouse even though there is no work that day. Eliezer wanders around and accidentally sees Idek having sex with a Polish girl. Later, Idek gives...
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...chair is pulled away and he dies. The prisoners think about their delayed supper, and Eliezer later enjoys his soup.
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Although he is forced to watch other hangings, one in particular stays in Eliezer's mind. The young assistant of a Kapo is arrested along with the Kapo and two...
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A man in the crowd behind Eliezer asks, "Where is God now?" The three are hanged, and the prisoners are forced to...
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Chapter 5
...of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) the Jews in Buna gather for a prayer. Eliezer, who once lived for prayer and religious study, rebels against this. He feels that humans...
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Eliezer shares a silent, powerful moment of sadness and understanding with his father. For Yom Kippur,...
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...number of one of them. A few of the feebler ones are written down, but Eliezer is not. However, no one is immediately taken away.
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...of the block reads off the numbers of those who have been selected to die. Eliezer's father is among them, as is Akiba Drumer, the singer. His father hurriedly gives Eliezer...
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...to know what it is to be cold. Christmas and New Year's pass. In January, Eliezer's foot swells. He goes to see a doctor—a Jew and a fellow prisoner. The doctor...
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The surgery is successful, and two days later Eliezer hears a rumor that the Red Army is only hours away and that the camp...
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After the war, Eliezer learns that those who stayed in the hospital were liberated by the Russian Army two...
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Eliezer spends the night back in his block. The prisoners are given bread and margarine for...
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...snow falling heavily, the prisoners march out of the camp block by block. At last, Eliezer's block—Block 57—marches out into the darkness.
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Chapter 6
Eliezer tries not to think, tries to keep himself moving mindlessly forward. A Polish youth who'd...
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Each step with Eliezer's injured foot hurts him terribly. His father, running beside him, keeps him going. It's impossible...
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...They pass through a deserted village and finally are allowed to rest in the snow. Eliezer follows his father into a half-collapsed shed. People are sleeping and those sleeping begin to...
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...son on the road, when the rabbi had fallen behind and his son didn't notice. Eliezer says he hasn't seen the rabbi's son.
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Eliezer then remembers that he has seen the son deliberately abandon his father the rabbi. The...
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...barracks, where they collapse, treading on and crushing each other. Below him in the pile, Eliezer hears the voice of Juliek, the violinist from Buna, crying for mercy. Juliek is worried...
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...they hear the sound of a violin. Someone is playing part of a Beethoven concerto. Eliezer believes it is Juliek, who must somehow have managed to free himself from underneath the...
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The next morning, Eliezer sees Juliek near him, dead, his violin trampled.
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...On the third day the weak are divided from those who can still walk okay. Eliezer's father is selected for the weak. Eliezer runs after him, the SS grab Eliezer, and...
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Eliezer's group is marched out of the camp to a railway, herded onto a long train...
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Chapter 7
The train goes on through the night. When light comes, Eliezer is unable to tell who is alive and who is dead in the car, including...
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...take their clothes and push them out. When two men try to take his father, Eliezer snaps out of his daze and slaps his father until his father's eyelids begin to...
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...observe the starving prisoners fight for them. When a piece is dropped in his car Eliezer doesn't fight for it, but sees a younger man beat up his own father for...
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A man named Meir Katz saves Eliezer's life when someone tries to strangle him. One of the most vigorous men left, Meir...
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Chapter 8
At Buchenwald, Eliezer tries to stay close to his father. Waiting for the showers, people sit and lie...
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Sirens go off and the guards move the prisoners to the blocks. They sleep. When Eliezer wakes, he realizes he went into the blocks without his father. For a moment he...
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Eliezer spends hours looking for his father and finally finds him, sick with fever. His father...
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Another doctor comes, but this one shouts at the sick and calls them lazy. Eliezer feels the desire to kill this doctor, but has neither the strength or the courage...
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A week goes by. The head of the block advises Eliezer not to give his rations to his father. The man tells Eliezer that he can't...
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...at him to be quiet. The officer hits him on the head with a truncheon. Eliezer does not move. His father says his name, "Eliezer," and begins to have trouble breathing....
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Chapter 9
Eliezer spends another two and a half months at Buchenwald. He is transferred to the children's...
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At first, after the liberation, Eliezer thinks only of eating. Three days later he gets food poisoning and nearly dies. He...
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