![]() ![]() In this quote, Wiesel reveals the importance of memory, indicating that those who forget erase the lives of those who came before. To forget the dead would be killing them a second time. Wiesel’s quote evokes that, as night began, he became a restless wanderer hidden from God, and that instead of being protected from death, his death was sealed seven times over, reversing God’s role as a protector. When Cain suggests that anyone who finds him will kill him, God replies “anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” (Genesis 4:15-16). ![]() You will be a restless wanderer on the earth" (Genesis 4:11-12). When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. ![]() God declares to Cain: "Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. It is most likely in direct reference to the story of Cain. This quote is a direct reference to imagery from the Bible and the Talmud. Never shall I forget that night, the first night in the camp, which has turned into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Wiesel suggests in this quote that memory is the only thing that truly makes us immortal: it is who remembers, and how they do so, which will keep society involved in collectively acknowledging the past. Having been condemned to silence in the concentration camps, Wiesel has an opportunity to preserve lives in his memory and in his writing. The quote demonstrates that, for Wiesel, silence over history is acceptance of that history. For in the end, it is all about memory, its sources and its magnitude, and of course, its consequences. ![]()
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