Wiesel's short story, The Night, can be qualified as a “religious book” when examined in the light of the text incontestably religious, “the Gospel according to Mark” of the “New Testament” of the Holy Bible of Christianity. This proves to be the case when considering the central parallels that can be drawn between the two works. A comparable narrative framework, consistent use of light and dark imagery (indicating "good" and "evil" respectively), and the ongoing theme of questioning faith constitute these central similarities. However, the works separate as the reader seeks to answer questions of faith raised by the characters in both works. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The narrative frameworks of the two texts are quite similar. Both are biographies (the Night in the first person, the “Gospel” in the third person) of the life (or an aspect of his life) of a strong and admirable individual told in story form. These two individuals, Wiesel and Jesus, are experiencing an occupation reversal in their lives. Wiesel, a “student” at home, calls himself a “farmer” when he is brought to the concentration camp to make the SS officer who interrogates him believe that he will be a good worker (Wiesel 29). Likewise, Jesus, who was a carpenter by birth, chose to live his life as a teacher and healer. The strangeness of this reversal is highlighted by the residents of Jesus' "hometown," who ask "isn't [Jesus] the carpenter?" (Mark 6:3). Their question involves the absurdity of his teaching the word of God and healing when he is “supposed” to be a carpenter. Additionally, in both texts, the narrator's point of view is limited. Mark's limitation is revealed by the other three gospels, which are part of the "New Testament" canon, in that his testimony is not entirely consistent with theirs. This is shown most explicitly in the difference between his gospel and that of John; “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 tell the definitive version (or perspective) of Jesus' life. Wiesel's limitation is admitted by himself. He is a prisoner and therefore does not know what is happening in the world, or even who is winning the war. Another resemblance in the stories is the active expression of a natural kinship between those who are human (this excludes both Jesus, who is divine, and the Nazis, who are demons). Wiesel describes his first relief at the concentration camp as the words of the head of the prison block when he said: "Let there be camaraderie among you." We are all brothers...Help one another” (Wiesel 38). Wiesel also regularly uses the word “we” throughout his short story to reinforce this feeling. Mark posits the same idea. He says that Jesus has “compassion” for the people gathered “because they [are] like sheep without a shepherd” (6:34). The use of this metaphor indicates that all men are the same in the eyes of Jesus, just as all sheep are the same in the eyes of humans. They are the same because they are all “brothers and sisters”, they are all human (Mark 10:30). The resemblance between Wiesel's narration and Mark's gives similar tones to the works as a whole, leading the reader to "hear" the works in a similar way. In this case, the fact that "the Gospel" is a religious piece and that it is supposed to be considered as such by its readers, implies that the workof Wiesel would also be “heard” and understood in the same way by his readers. There are many images in both manuscripts of light and darkness. These images indicate an underlying feeling of the existence of good (light) and darkness (evil) from the narrators' point of view. Mark cites both the prophet Isaiah and Jesus himself as verbally expressing light/dark images to illustrate the good/bad distinction. A quote from Isaiah opens the “Gospel,” saying that God’s “messenger [Jesus]” will be sent “before you,” and that he will be “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” (Mark 1.2- 3). The “desert” represents darkness and the lack of God, while the “voice” represents the sound that will bring people out of the desert and into the clearing where God’s light shines. Jesus also, in the “parable of the lamp”, reveals this distinction. He says, “There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed; there is nothing secret that will not be revealed” (Mark 4:21). Again, light represents the truth, knowledge and goodness of God. God’s “light” will reveal all. In Night, the distinction is made, but in a less obvious way. The last moments that the Jews of the town of Wiesel experience at home are accompanied by a “blazing sun” (14). The light emitted by such a sun represents the goodness of being at home. "A Glimmer of Light" also brings "joy" later in the book as the living (including Wiesel and his father) are allowed to throw the dead from the train they are being transported on. In contrast to this, it is "dark night" while most of Wiesel's fellow inmates are "dying and dead", including his violinist friend Juliek. The darkness represents the pure evil that caused this situation. The title of the book, Night, is also in this vein. The book as a whole is a horrifying story – dark and evil. Evil, illustrated by the darkness of the images in the plays, is also illustrated by the presence of explicit, physical, non-human "bad guys" in the plays. In the same spirit, goodness, illustrated by the images of light in the plays, is also illustrated by the presence of the main character as a model of righteous behavior in the plays. The demons, or “impure spirits” of the “Gospel”, are the equivalent of the Nazis of the Night. The unclean spirit, “Legion,” enters a herd of “pigs” and causes the swine to “rush away” and “drown in the sea” (Mark 5:8-5:13). Just as an unclean spirit makes a pig act extravagantly, so too does an unclean spirit make a boy act extravagantly; this causes him to “convulse” and “foam at the mouth” (Mark 9:20). The Nazis are depicted in a remarkably similar “savage” manner when Wiesel first arrives at the concentration camp. They jump in “black pants” onto the cart with “electric torches and batons...and [they] start hitting right and left” (Wiesel 26). The advice on how to get rid of these “bad guys” is also the same. Jesus said that “all things [including casting out unclean spirits] can be done for him who believes” (Mark 9:23). The "elders", facing the Nazis, advise their children: "You must never lose faith, even when the sword hovers over your head" (Wiesel 29). Unlike these demons, the main characters of the Works serve as models of what is considered righteous behavior in the works. Some basic assertions of what is right are the same in both texts. One in particular is paramount in both texts. concisely when Jesus said: “You know the commandment: ‘Honor your father and your mother’” (Mark 10:19)..