Comparing Wiesels Night and The Gospel According to Mark :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Comparing Wiesel's Night and The Gospel According to Mark Wiesel's Novella, Night, can be labeled a 'religious book' when looked at in light of the unquestionably religious text, the "Gospel According to Mark" from the "New Testament" of Christianity's Holy Bible. This proves to be the case if one looks at the central parallels which may be drawn between the two works. A comparable narrative framework, consistent use of light and dark images (indicating 'good' and 'evil,' respectively), and the ongoing theme of questioning faith serve as these central similarities. However, the works do part company when the reader seeks to answer those questions of faith which the characters of both works raise. The narrative frameworks of the two texts are quite similar. Both are biographies (Night in first person, the "Gospel" in third person) of a strong and admirable individual's life (or aspect of his life) told in the form of a story. Both of these individuals, Wiesel and Jesus, experience an inversion of occupation within their lives. Wiesel, a "student" at home, says that he is a "farmer" when he is brought to the concentration camp in order to seem to the SS officer who is questioning him that he will be a good worker (Wiesel 29). Likewise, Jesus, who by birthright was a carpenter, chooses to lead his life as a teacher and healer. The oddity of this inversion is pointed out by the people of Jesus' "hometown", they ask "is not this [Jesus] the carpenter?" (Mark 6.3). Their question implies the absurdity of his teaching the word of God and healing when he is 'supposed' to be a carpenter. In addition, in both texts, the narrator's perspective is limited. Mark's limitation is revealed b y the other three gospels, that serve as a part of the canon of the "New Testament," in that his testimony is not entirely consistent with theirs. This is shown most explicitly in the difference between his gospel and John's gospel; "Mark's Jesus will neither confirm nor deny that he is the long-awaited king... [but] repeatedly throughout John's gospel, Jesus declares himself to be the means of salvation" (Oxtoby 211). Mark does not narrate the definitive version (or perspective) of Jesus' life. Wiesel's limitation is admitted by himself. He is a prisoner, and so he does not know what is going on in the greater world, or even who is winning the war.