Final answer:
The furnace and flames in 'Night' symbolize the Holocaust and the atrocities committed during that time.
Step-by-step explanation:
The purpose of the furnace and flames in the story 'Night' is to symbolize the horrors and atrocities of the Holocaust. The furnace represents the Nazi concentration camps where countless innocent lives were lost and brutally exterminated. The flames symbolize the burning of the bodies in the crematoriums, a grim reminder of the mass genocide during World War II.
Learn more about Symbolism in 'Night' by Elie Wiesel