Revisiting Night: Understanding Trauma Through Stories
Night by Elie Wiesel, is the gut-wrenching story of Wiesel’s time during the Holocaust. As discussed previously, I had first encountered the book back in eighth grade. At the time, it felt like a heavy and shocking choice for a middle-school English class, yet I’m incredibly grateful we read it. Being part of the first generation that wasn’t alive during 9/11, my class grew up hearing about national trauma but never truly feeling the weight of it. Our understanding came through stories from parents, documentaries, or memorials—never from lived experience.
In furtherance of that, there were several comments stating their shock that an 8th grader read this book as a school assignment. However, is that truly bad? There were thousands of young children that had to experience the Holocaust, not read it. If they had to experience it, the least we could do was read and learn about their trauma instead of glazing over it. For decades, trauma was seen as taboo to talk about.
“Oh, he’s experienced such a traumatic experience, best if we don’t ask about it.”
“Shh shh, Rachel has just come back from war, let’s not bring it up.”
Sentences and ideas like those above are only worsening a person’s trauma. Yes, they may not want to talk about it, however, they should feel free to do so if they would like. Acting and treating them like nothing has happened, is not the correct way to go about assisting someone in their trauma. That is the importance of Night.
Wiesel doesn’t just recount events; he allows readers to witness how trauma reshapes a person’s worldview. Instead of just statistics and facts, his story shows that trauma is not a single, universal experience. It’s a personal re-telling of his life and how one historical event affected millions and each person carried that trauma differently. Healing, too, isn’t one-size-fits-all. It requires a deep, personal connection between the survivor and the support they receive—both during and long after the traumatic event.
Wiesel’s firsthand account pulled us out of the safety of historical distance and confronted us with the raw, intimate reality of what he endured. As an eighth grader—and still now, reading it again as an adult—the book forced me to see the Holocaust not as a chapter in history, but as an immeasurable human tragedy lived by real people. Reading stories such as Wiesel’s, bridges the gap between history and humanity and allows readers to feel something more than just statistics. His book brings trauma to forefront with raw stories of his own life and his peers while in the camps.
Reading these stories aren’t important just for adults, but also for students of all ages. Yes, it is raw, horrific stories and experiences, but we only diminish the trauma if we wait till we’re older to learn and understand other’s experiences. Trauma, in moderation and with careful teaching hands, needs to be brought into classrooms of all ages in order to teach students the importance of understanding of trauma and that it can come in all different forms.
References:
Wiesel, E. (2006). Night. Hill and Wang, a Division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (Original work published 1958)