Corruption In Elie Wiesel's 'Night'

Straight-backed, uniformed wait staff crisscrossed the floor of City Hall’s ballroom. With silver trays held aloft, they glided effortlessly through the crowd, their blank expressions cleverly masking the tedium of serving champagne and hors d'oeuvres to equally bored guests. Dozens of white-clothed tables adorned with elaborate arrangements of hydrangeas and magnolias gave refuge to the honored attendees who were either too tired or too disinterested to mingle with the men and women gathered in cliques throughout the room. From their position on a small raised platform, a string quartet provided a pleasant auditory backdrop to the chatter of voices, the dulcet tones swelling and falling like a warm summer breeze. It was the party event of the year, and for the mayor’s wife, the soirée was an opportunity to gain the enviable reputation of perfect hostess; for her guests, it was a grandiose display of autocratic superiority. But needs must when the devil drives, and none of the invitees would ever consider not attending. It was a chance to socialize with the powers that be, and, through clever manipulation, curry favor with those who had the ability to advance careers. Consequently, the mayor’s annual police gala became a masquerade ball of fake smiles and carefully nuanced conversations. In summary, it was an unspoken but silently …show more content…
Keen to make contact with the strange officer who was now his partner, he scanned the crowded room. His dark eyes flitted from one black tuxedo to another, eager for a glimpse of the beautiful face that had captured his imagination and stolen his heart. It was an obsession, and his mind became so fixated on the sea of expressionless features, he didn’t notice Penhall until the larger than life officer clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, pal, how’s it