"Death wrapped itself around me till I was stifled. The idea of dying, of no longer being, began to fascinate me. To break the ranks, to let oneself slide to the edge of the road My father's presence was the only thing that stopped me. He was running at my side, out of breath. I had no right to let myself die." (Wiesel, 92). Even though Wiesel wanted to die so badly, he stopped himself because he saw his father next to him struggling. He was then reminded of why he was still living. Wiesel knew that without him there, there would be no possible way that his father would be alive. Even though Eliezer doesn't abandon his father, it's hard to stick by him when there are other sons who beat, and abandon their father just to survive.
Eliezer witnesses other sons who hurt their fathers just for food and survival. They betray their father just because they're weaker than them. "I once saw one of thirteen beating his father because the latter had not made his bed properly. The old man was crying softly while the boy shouted: If you don't stop crying at once I shan't bring you anymore bread. Do you understand?" ( Wiesel, 70). This shows a son yelling and verbally abusing his father because he .
didn't make his bed properly. It's a task that can be easily done, but the son makes his poor father do it for bread when he is in a weaker condition. ". his son had seen him losing ground, limping, staggering back to the rear column. He had seen him. And he had continued to run on in front He had wanted to get rid of his father! He had felt that his father was growing weak, he had believed that the end was near and sought separation in order to get burden free." (Wiesel, 97). A son had seen that his father was weakening and saw that his father was becoming a burden, so in order not to get killed, he just ran ahead without looking back and abandoned his father. Eliezer sees that and he immediately gets flabbergasted.
