His hope had been crushed. He doubted that God was with him. He lost his entire family. A person having to deal with that kind of trauma at such a young age is incredible. I would definitely recommend this book to others, especially people who take things for granted or don't appreciate what they have. There are many themes that the book evening presents. The theme I saw was the fact that Eliezer had been stripped of his identity as an innocent child. His head was shaved and he was given a number instead of a name. His identity when he enters the concentration camp is that of a child. When he leaves, what is Eliezer? He is a person who has seen things he probably wishes he hadn't. Towards the end of the book he says that his face looks like a corpse. What I think he meant to say is that his body lives but his soul does