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Introduction
Father-son relationships have never been easy, and Wiesel’s novel is the exact manifestation of the given fact. Although the novel touches upon several issues apart from the given one, and the family dilemmas are not the focus of the novel, it is quite peculiar to watch the evolution of how Eliezer treats his father and how the two build their relationships.
Even though Eliezer has doubted and questioned his father’s beliefs to the point where the two become alienated from each other, after facing several death threats and finally bonding with his father, Eliezer realizes that Schlomo was his closest friend.
Community and Belief
Weirdly enough, the novel starts with pointing at the flaws of relationships between Eliezer and Schlomo, his father. It could be argued that there is no hatred or any other sign of spite between Eliezer and his father. It is clear, though, that the son treats his father’s ideas and principles not quite respectfully, believing that his principles are more reasonable.
Schlomo is more community-driven than his son (Bloom 42), and believes in the voice of the majority, in contrast to Eliezer’s individualist convictions. Therefore, it is obvious that there is a gap between the two, and there are very few ways to bridge it.
Realization of the Burden
The further evolution of father-son relationships takes an interesting turn as Eliezer, and his father turns out to be in peril. It is quite curious that, when beginning to realize that his father is gradually starting to block his way to freedom and safety, Elie starts to legitimately doubt whether he should be helping his father or leave him behind and save his own life (Downing 28).
Even though Wiesel portrays the psychological torture that his protagonist is going through, as well as the controversy of his doubt, Eliezer does not seem a monster to the audience. Instead, the given phase can be interpreted as the realization of how dear Schlomo is to Elie.
The Moment of Truth
One of the weirdest things about human nature is the tendency to appreciate things and people only when they are gone. Even though Elie has had his father by his side throughout the entire novel, it is only when Schlomo dies that the realization of his loss finally hits Eliezer.
As soon as Schlomo passes away, Eliezer understands that their bond has become very strong; in fact, he finally concludes that his father’s convictions and ideas have become a part of him: “I had not seen myself since the ghetto. From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me.
The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me” (Wiesel 109). This is not a happy realization; with principles of his own, Elie can see how flawed these convictions are. However, it is clear that at the end of their journey, Eliezer can relate to his father much more than he did at first.
Conclusion
Even though Schlomo seems to be a minor character in the story, seeing how even his name is mentioned only once throughout the entire story, the bond between him and his son, as well as the dilemma that Eliezer has to face at some point, make it clear that the two shared a very special kind of friendship that they might not have been taking account of until the tragic death a Schlomo.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Elie Wiesel’s Night. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2010. Print.
Downing, Frederick L. Elie Wiesel: A Religious Biography. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2008. Print.
Wiesel, Elie, & Marion Wiesel. Night. London: Penguin, 2012. Print.
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