Detachment due to dehumanization causes Elie to stop believing in God and His power. Before his family is deported, Elie is a very devout believer who reads Jewish texts on a daily basis and aspires to study the religion’s mysticisms for a living (Wiesel 14). Gradually, Elie stops thinking of the Lord as his Rock, questioning how He could allow such injustice to occur to His “Chosen People” (Wiesel 74). Eventually, Elie decides that he is actually stronger than God because he is incapable of making his problems simply go away (Wiesel 75). This clearly caused numbness for Elie because he speaks of a “great void” in the depths of his heart (Wiesel 76). Elie’s faith had been a huge part of his personality. Losing his relationship with God was the beginning of a total loss of his original identity.
Suffering from dehumanization robs Elie of his compassion, and he becomes a rather selfish boy. When they first reach the labor camp, Elie’s only