Beliefs are what an individual has trust in, it could be their faith or their morals. Often times, the beliefs of an individual have an impact on their way of life. In the memoir, Night, author Elie Wiesel is a young Jewish boy during World War II, who was put into a concentration camp; during the time he spent in the camp, his beliefs were heavily influenced. Initially, an individual’s beliefs are often influenced by their upbringing, however, when an individual starts to mature, the actions of others can cause them to reevaluate their beliefs, when an individual’s beliefs become more influenced by others actions, they will likely abandon their original beliefs for new ones. 

Initially, an individual’s beliefs are often times the same as the people who have raised them, and the people in their environment; because of their young age they are often easily impressionable, this will often cause them to follow the beliefs of their guardian. Eliezer is extremely religious and has a strong faith. His father was a rabbi, which means that he was born into Judaism. Even though his father did not directly influence his beliefs, the way the father chose to raise  Eliezer, and the environment he was raised in; a community with many Jew’s, caused Eliezer to have the beliefs he had. Elizer’s strong faith is shown when his father asks him why he cries when he prays. He replies by saying he does not know why he cries, but he compares praying to living and breathing which are two essential things for survival. Elizer’s comparison demonstrates how he was a strong believer in the Jewish faith. The way Elizer has been raised has helped shape his beliefs. An individual’s beliefs can often times be shaped by the actions of the individuals who have raised them, because that is all they were taught.

When an individual starts becoming more mature, they become more impressionable,  this can cause them to reevaluate their beliefs, based on the actions of others. When Elizer is transported to the concentration camp, the things that he sees make him doubt the existence of God. Elizer’s weakened faith is shown when he chooses to not fast during a religious holiday, he chose to eat his soup rather than fasting as a symbol of rebellion against God.Being a young teenager he saw horrific things like children being killed and individuals who he knew dying. Everyday he lived in the concentration camp, the smell of burning flesh weakened his faith. Hitler and the Nazi’s have caused Elizer to question his faith, the horrific things they did to the Jews during world War II, caused Elizer to wonder why God would allow Hitler’s actions to continue. The lack of God’s actions and the horrific actions of Hitler are what caused Elizer to question his beliefs. An individual’s beliefs can be altered by the actions of others because they will start seeing things from a different perspective. 

An individual’s beliefs will be changed after they have gone through a series of negative actions from others that will cause them to abandon their beliefs. Elizer has been greatly impacted by the choices that were made by Hitler. The actions of Hitler caused him to be separated from his family, caused him to lose his father, and caused him to abandon his beliefs. Near the end of the book, he has more trust in Hitler keeping his promise of wiping out the Jewish population, rather than God saving them. Elizer’s deceased beliefs are shown when he goes up to a mirror after leaving the concentration camp and says that all he saw was a corpse looking back at him. The corpse Elizer sees in the mirror refers to him seeing who he was before the concentration camp, and his beliefs now being dead. An individual will most likely abandon their beliefs after being heavily impacted by others actions, because the actions of others will cause them to either forget their beliefs, or see the true side of their beliefs and realize that what they believed before was wrong. 

Initially, an individual will just believe what was taught to them from an early age but as they get more mature the actions of others will cause them to question their original beliefs and will eventually cause them to develop their own beliefs. Elizer was a religious young boy but as he grew older and got sent to a concentration camp, the actions of Hitler caused him to question his own beliefs which eventually led him to abandon his faith. Throughout their lives, many individuals will change or alter their beliefs, however it might not necessarily be a bad change.