Night Chapters 3-4 Prompt 7

In Night, Elie Wiesel expresses the imagery through interesting details. For example, when describing on of the SS officers, Elie explains he was "a tall man, in his thirties, crime written all over his forehead and his gaze. He looked at us as one would a pack of leprous dogs clinging to life" (Wiesel 38). This demonstrates the author's use of similes to illustrate certain images in the reader's mind. It also displays how he not only described the man's physical features, but in a way he was also able to express the man's attitude towards the inmates. Furthermore, when describing his German tent leader, the author wrote he had "an assassin's face, fleshy lips, hands resembling a wolf's paws. The camp's food had agreed with him; he could hardly move, he was so fat. Like the head of the camp, he liked children" (Wiesel 48). This illustrates a mental image of what this character looks like because of the specific details the author chose to include. It also reveals some of the things that might have taken place involving certain adult individuals who particularly liked children. The author was able to form mental images through his detailed descriptions. 

Elie Weisel's imagery not only illustrates physical features, but also certain emotions. For instance, when Idek was taking out his anger "[Elie] happened to cross his path. He threw himself on [Elie] like a wild beast, beating [him] in the chest, on [his] head, throwing [him] to the ground and picking [him] up again, crushing [him] with ever more violent blows, until [he] was covered in blood. As [Ellie] bit [his] lips in order not to howl with pain, he must have mistaken [his] silence for defiance and so he continued to hit me harder and harder" (Wiesel 53). This demonstrates how those in charge would treat the inmates with their various brutal acts. It also expresses Idek's anger, if he had been that harsh on Elie he must have been pretty furious. In addition, when the child had been hanged, he was too light "and so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering between life and death, writhing before our eyes. And [they] were forced to look at him at close range. He was still alive when [Elie] passed him. His tongue was still red, his eyes not yet extinguished" (Wiesel 65). This illustrates an image of what the hanged child look like, and how the author was able to express this image through his specific details. It also demonstrates the brutality of the Nazis by their moral and emotional ability to hang a child. Both emotions and physical features are expresses through Elie Wiesel's detailed writing.