Significance Of Death In Night By Elie Wiesel
“A small but noteworthy note. I've seen so many young men over the years who think they're running at other young men. They are not. They are running at me.” Death is our most important character. He gives us a perspective on the living mankind and the horrific beauty that makes his job so much harder. But why is he so interested in the survivors if his job is the dead? What would happen if he had no part in Liesel’s story? And most importantly, what has Death taught us about the world and the deeper meaning of humanity?
Death knows all. To do his job, he must know everything that goes on in the human earth. His job is to carry away the souls of the dead, but the living often times cross paths with these dead, leaving Death worn down with …show more content…
He is explaining to us that he is not just a heartless, dark figure in a black cloak. However, we also know he is not human. He talks to us as if we are a different species than he is. “On the other hand you’re a human - you should understand self obsession” (307). Also, to create a deeper understanding of Death, he helps the readers as humans by telling us how we will meet Death at some point during our existence. “Here is a small fact: You are going to die” (3). “I will be standing over you, as genially as possible. Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away” (4). In contrast, throughout The Book Thief, Death has also been trying to understand the humans. He is wanting the readers to reflect on the damage humans cause and the consequences humans inflict on themselves, in an attempt to stop the tragedies and warfare. While telling Liesel’s story he makes references to the destruction of humans and his boss (war) as a way to show the readers “I am not violent. I am not malicious. I am a result” (6). He is not the cause, we …show more content…
Death never tells us where he puts the dead souls or what he does with them. “Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away” (4). Death tells us that he retrieves our souls, but he stops his explaining precisely after this. Does Death keep them in an afterlife? Does Death give them to God? Does he have a relationship with God? We know Death believes in God from various phrases throughout the book “God. Twice I speak it. I say His name in a futile attempt to understand. "But it's not your job to understand." That's me who answers. God never says anything” (350), but Death never talks about Him. If you compare Death and God, you might find that they can be very similar. They both know everything that happens on the human Earth, they watch over the humans, they cannot quit their jobs, and they both are supposedly involved in the humans’ afterlife. In contrast, Death has always been surrounded by the negatives and the dark side, whereas God resides in a heaven filled with joy and happiness. Because of these drastically different environments, the perspectives of the two are most likely very different. Death is not at all optimistic, but for being surrounded by so much sadness, he is by no means pessimistic either. This attitude is what gives us Liesel’s story in an unbiased, neutral
Death knows all. To do his job, he must know everything that goes on in the human earth. His job is to carry away the souls of the dead, but the living often times cross paths with these dead, leaving Death worn down with …show more content…
He is explaining to us that he is not just a heartless, dark figure in a black cloak. However, we also know he is not human. He talks to us as if we are a different species than he is. “On the other hand you’re a human - you should understand self obsession” (307). Also, to create a deeper understanding of Death, he helps the readers as humans by telling us how we will meet Death at some point during our existence. “Here is a small fact: You are going to die” (3). “I will be standing over you, as genially as possible. Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away” (4). In contrast, throughout The Book Thief, Death has also been trying to understand the humans. He is wanting the readers to reflect on the damage humans cause and the consequences humans inflict on themselves, in an attempt to stop the tragedies and warfare. While telling Liesel’s story he makes references to the destruction of humans and his boss (war) as a way to show the readers “I am not violent. I am not malicious. I am a result” (6). He is not the cause, we …show more content…
Death never tells us where he puts the dead souls or what he does with them. “Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away” (4). Death tells us that he retrieves our souls, but he stops his explaining precisely after this. Does Death keep them in an afterlife? Does Death give them to God? Does he have a relationship with God? We know Death believes in God from various phrases throughout the book “God. Twice I speak it. I say His name in a futile attempt to understand. "But it's not your job to understand." That's me who answers. God never says anything” (350), but Death never talks about Him. If you compare Death and God, you might find that they can be very similar. They both know everything that happens on the human Earth, they watch over the humans, they cannot quit their jobs, and they both are supposedly involved in the humans’ afterlife. In contrast, Death has always been surrounded by the negatives and the dark side, whereas God resides in a heaven filled with joy and happiness. Because of these drastically different environments, the perspectives of the two are most likely very different. Death is not at all optimistic, but for being surrounded by so much sadness, he is by no means pessimistic either. This attitude is what gives us Liesel’s story in an unbiased, neutral