Elie Wiesel's Night is a direct testimony as to what extent a concentration camp can change a person - to what point the human mind can be perverted and to how far the human body can be twisted. Wiesel's narration is so raw and candid one can actually sense Elie's dramatic shift in character as he struggles to survive, dealing with both internal and external conflicts. Elie changes greatly throughout the course of the novel, and his experiences at Birkenau, Auschwitz, and Buna are ones that mark this change and have left a lasting scar on Elie Wiesel.
             At the opening of the book, Elie's strong connection with God is greatly stressed. We see Elie as this orthodox young boy, with a great belief in Judaism and in God. He recalls himself, "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." (pg. 13) This shows Elie as a devout Jew, who faithfully believed in God, studied the laws of the torah, practiced Jewish traditions, etc. Elie, however, completely changes when he arrives at Birkenau - his struggle with his faith and God begin. Elie writes, "For the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me. Why should I bless His name? The Eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All-Powerful and Terrible was silent. What had I to thank Him for?" (pg. 44) Elie begins to question his God and his beliefs as he becomes a witness to the atrocities that "God" allows to take place. Elie condemns God for keeping silent, for not protecting him and the others from these horrors. Here, we see how Elie first began to lose his faith, as he decided that he could not believe in a God that would permit such cruelty against another human being. "Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever." (pg. 45) Elie has so drastically evolved from an orthodox Jew with a strong faith in God into a disheartened, cyni...