Frances Frenaye (1908–1996)

Dawn: A Novel (Night Trilogy, Book 2) by Eli Wiesel
1961,2006

"Dawn is purely a work of fiction, but I wrote it to look at myself in a new way. Obviously I did not live this tale, but I was implicated in its ethical dilemma from the moment that I assumed my character's place."

"So I wrote this novel in order to explore distant memories and buried doubts: What would have become of me if I had spent not just one year in the camps, but two or four? If I had been appointed kapo? Could I have struck a friend? Humiliated an old man?"

"And yet, this tale about despair becomes a story against despair." -Elie Weisel

Elisha is a young 18 year old Jewish man, Holocaust survivor and Israeli Freedom Fighter who is ordered to execute John Dawson, a middle aged British soldier. As the day passes into night, Elisha is given the order that he must perform the execution of the British hostage. As he awaits dawn, the hour of execution, he ruminates over his life and what it means to kill someone. With memories of his family and religious beliefs, he struggles with the ethical dilemma of how death occurs. He is a soldier and obligated to carry out orders so does that exonerate him from being labeled a murderer?

I wanted to like this story more than I did. On some level, I'm unsettled with the anguish experienced by the young soldier. It has been many years since I have read, Night, but recall a similar eerie feeling. How does one justify his actions which seem to contradict his internal beliefs?
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