Today , we addressed Elie Wiesel's introduction to the novel. We examined the author's characterization of faith as childish, trust as vain , and illusion as dangerous. I explained how these ideas permeate the entire narrative. We then discussed the author's purpose in recounting his experiences at Auschwitz and his concern that ,in the absence of such a memoir , human nature tends to want to forget or ignore the past. Last, we studied Wiesel's biggest regret-how his experience at Auschwitz dehumanized him to such a great degree that he ignored his father's deathbed pleas and indeed was angered by his father's pleas which attracted the attention of the guards.