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No matter the darkest days or the bleakest moments, faith will always remain no matter how hard to keep it is.
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The Germans round up the whole town and relocate them into ghettos in Sighet, their town. It was divided into two and served as a temporary prison until the transports came to take them to concentration camps. This was a turning point because this is when Elie's freedom was taken away and so was his faith and it changed the story's direction. This events connects to the theme because it is when he begins to lose his faith to God and where his troubles begin.
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There is panic in the ghettos as news of transports start trickling in. At last, people start getting taken, belongings are stolen, and Elie's family boards the last train to Auschwitz. This event was another turning point in the story. It marked where he wouldn't see humanity for more than a year and instead brutal monsters in gray suits. This correlates to the theme because this was a hard time and he would lose faith here but he had to stay strong on the train ride even though it was scary.
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When they finally arrive at Birkenau the boys of the family get separated from the girls and after getting sent to the barracks where he thinks he will be burned, Elie is sent to Auschwitz and later Buna.
It was character development because he separates from his family which leads to him becoming miserable. This relates to the theme because he goes through a near-death experience and feels more alone than ever which means he is turning away from God. -
After watching lots of innocent men hanged, Elie is surprised that no one has cried yet. One day a dutchman and his young boy get hanged for keeping weapons and got tortured. When they got hanged everyone questioned God for letting this happen. Later, the soup tasted of corpses. This was a moment of character development as Elie also questioned the goodness of God because he let this happen. It connects to the theme because this was an atrocity and Elie didn't know whether God was good
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When they arrive at Buna they're giving new clothes, shower, and bunks. Later, Elie's golden crown on his tooth is almost stolen in a dentist "check-up" but the dentist gets arrested. This was also character development because he improvised and escaped barely and realized the only way to survive is to trick and lie. This relates to the theme because he was able to survive through a road bump but fear was still present and made him feel like God was not there.
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It is Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement. That, day Jews were supposed to fast and sing praises. In an act of rebellio, Elie does not fast or sing because he no longer accepted God's silence. For Elie wiesel, this was a moment of character development because this is the first time he openly rebelled against God and in the past he merely questioned him. This connects to theme as he shows that he still has faith but is openly rebelling instead.
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Elie's father is getting weaker after their march to Buchenwald. Exhausted, Elie gets into his bunk and when he wakes up, instead of having his father below him, another prisoner wakes up. He had been taken in the middle of the night. He felt free at last and relieved because his father was finally somewhere else. This event was a turning point for Elie where nothing else mattered to Elie after his death. This relates to theme because, this was his lowest point where faith was nowhere.
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Three months later, the prisoners are herded out as Hitler ordered but the resistance refuses to let this happen and there was a quick skirmish, Later the first American tank stood outside the camp. He later looks at the mirror and sees a corpse instead of himself. This was a turning point because from here on out he would be a free man and later forgives God. This is related to the theme because he regains his faith and learns to love God even after the toughest and darkest times.
