what can we learn about human nature from the book?

Perhaps one of the most salient themes is Wiesel’s insight into human nature, his descriptions posing the reader with the question of where animal instinct ends and civility begins. The breakdown of civility happens very early on, when people are first herded onto the cattle cars and some young couples begin to openly copulate with each other. As comfort is substituted for violence, people in Wiesel’s world are frequently described as beasts, and their survival instincts supersede their emotions and relational ties, even when it comes to family: the most tragic example is when a young man kills his own father for a piece of bread. By the end of the book, the reader understands that countless people lost more than their lives: they were also robbed of their humanity.