Adolescence is about reorganizing oneself and abandoning the security of childhood in the quest to forge a new identity. As adolescence sets in, adolescents naturally carry out the ongoing task of separation and individuation from the family unit. Even in optimal circumstances, some adolescents are anxious about the new sense of responsibility; others seem to leave this phase behind without problem, prepared for the responsibility that comes with adulthood. No matter how difficult or simple this process may appear from the outside, those who undergo this growth face an immeasurable amount of uncertainty and even a sense of nostalgia for the loss of childhood. Under the most ideal conditions one undoubtedly experiences a wide range of emotions, but let's consider for a moment the uncertainty of a teenager facing this separation under the most brutal conditions imaginable. Elie Wiesel's memoir Night recounts the time he spent in a Nazi concentration camp. , as a 15-year-old boy, and his struggle to survive in the face of this unforeseen development of events. His experiences in the camp force him to prematurely accept his father as the mortal man of the present compared to the idealized childish view of him once held. The process of separation and individuation is complicated by life in the camps and the duty he feels towards his father and their successful survival. At first, he clings to the security he believes his father can provide him, but eventually begins the process of separation to save his own life. as a result, he loses his father forever. Wiesel's sudden relocation to Auschwitz becomes a catalyst that pushes him into the uncertainty of emerging adulthood. One of the most significant losses in an adolescent's life is...... middle of paper...... adulthood, and according to Pour Smollar and Younis, "the increase in “Adulthood is thought to accompany biographical transitions such as completion of education and marriage, which in turn present new contexts for the relationship” (75). Wiesel's role change from child to caretaker meets the criteria for a biographical transition, even though it was atypical and occurred over a short period of time. The circumstances he experienced in the camp increased the momentum with which Wiesel moved through the adolescent phases. Works Cited Borowitz, Christopher. “Experiential modes of time in adolescence.” Psychoanalytic Psychology 28.1 (2011): 132-144. Print. Smollar, J. and J. Youniss. “Transformations are the perception that adolescents have of parents.” International Journal of Behavioral Development 12 (1989): 71-84. Print.Wiesel, Elie. Night. New York: Bantam Books, 1986. Print.