Night Reflection

There was a quote in the reading assessment that talked about how the narrator felt when he saw his father be hit right in front of him. This idea came up again in the more recent reading when Idek, a German soldier takes out a lot of his anger on the prisoners. Elie was first beaten by Idek and his next victim was Elie's father. Elie was once again shocked by how he had reacted to see his father being beaten. He had no reaction and knew that being in these camps had truly started to change him. When I read this, I was not surprised that Elie did not try to step in and stop Idek because just like the first time he saw his father being beaten, Elie knew there was nothing he could do. By living in these camps for so long, Elie starts to see absolutely no point in rebelling or standing up to the German soldiers because he knows it will bring no good. The camp has made him so weak and broken that he can't even react to seeing his father being beaten right in front of him.