Describe at least one important technique used in the text. Explain how the technique created an emotional response in you.
The Holocaust was a terrible and tragic time in the world, when many people died for senseless reasons. Elie Wiesel's memoir 'Night' is his recollection of his days in Auschwitz from the ghetto days to the liberation of Poland. In his writing, Elle Wiesel used a variety of language techniques such as first person narration and single word sentences. His memoir had an emotional impact on me, making me realize that Europe is green fields now but was a vast and tragic battlefield that affected the world for years to come.
As they were escorted to the train platform Elie Wiesel said, "We walked towards the station where a convoy of cattle cars was waiting. The Hungarian police made us climb into the cars, eighty persons in each one." Elie Wiesel uses first-person narration with the pronouns 'We/us' to show events from his point of view so we can picture what really happened to him. This impacted me emotionally because I'd be scared walking into a train that could be the death of me.
As they proceeded off the train onto the platform they were sorted into groups, "I didn't know that this was the moment in time and the place where I was leaving my mother and Tzipora forever." Elie again uses first-person narration to help us see this moment through his eyes. This had an emotional impact on me because I'd be broken from seeing my family member taken in any case. It feels like he was very sad to see his sister and mother were leaving, not knowing he would never see them again.
As they walked into the terror camp Elie and his father spotted a horrific sight. A pit shrouded in smoke and ash soon revealed something which could not be forgotten, it was filled with the corpses of adults and children. Elie said, "Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my own eyes . . . children thrown into the flames." Elie uses a single word sentence with an exclamation mark to show his shock and focus us on the word 'babies'. The impact this had on me emotionally was that I was in shock because babies going into the flame, that's not something talked about with ease.
Through the use of first-person narration and single-word sentences, Elie Wiesel's memoir had an emotional impact on me with such events as the train to Auschwitz, babies getting tossed into the flames, the hanging of people, and babies getting tossed into the fire. Nowadays we have peace, except for Ukraine, but then it was much darker days.
