What is the motive of the protagonist in the book Night by Elie Wiesel?

Elie Wiesel's motives are to survive the horrific Holocaust and to stay by his father's side at all times. During Elie's time spent in the Nazi concentration camps, his main goals are to stay healthy, find food, avoid the violent Nazi officers, and to not lose his father. Throughout his experience in the Holocaust, Elie relies on the advice of his fellow inmates and illustrates his will to survive by braving the elements and horrific conditions inside the concentration camps. Elie's father motivates him to stay alive, and Elie relies on his father for support during the Holocaust. Elie makes sure to never abandon his father like Rabbi Eliahu's son and selflessly provides for his father during his last moments before he passes away. Following the death of his father, Elie mentions that his only motive was to feed himself and says that he no longer cared about anything else in life. Overall, Elie's main motives were to stay alive and remain by his father's side during the Holocaust.


Eliezer, the protagonist who is based on Wiesel himself, faces many struggles throughout Night.  The most obvious struggle is external: the need to survive.  However, the struggle that is first set up by Wiesel is a spiritual one (internal).  As events progress, gradually leading Eliezer from uncomfortable situations to perilous ones, the spiritual struggle does not motivate or hinder Eliezer's physical response to his external obstacles.  Each situation is physically immediate, requiring abrupt decisions that will determine whether Eliezer survives. 
Eliezer's primary motive is to survive, a universal human instinct.  His secondary motive is to stay with his father.  Both goals are difficult to achieve and it might be argued that Eliezer's secondary motive may either hinder or support the accomplishment of his primary motive. Eliezer's spiritual struggles take on an overlying, background theme throughout the novel rather than dictating Eliezer's response to physical situations. 

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