Night

1. Night Elie Wiesel

2. Plot & Setting • Wiesel’s personal account of the Holocaust • 1941: in the Hungarian town Sighet (where young Wiesel lives with his family) • 1944: in the Sighet Ghettos and then transferred by train to the concentration camps Birkenau-Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald

3. Themes • Self-preservation versus family commitment • Responsibility to one’s self is instinctual and can conflict with one’s responsibility to others • Struggle to Maintain Faith • Daily presence of death • Terror of “selection” force • Victimized because of being Jewish • Emotional Death • “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me” • Dignity in the Face of Inhuman Cruelty • Moments of compassion, continued observance of religious obligations, and other acts of humanity may seem insignificant compared to the acts of indignity inflicted on prisoners,

4. Motifs • Night • Imagery associated with nighttime • “The long dark night of the soul” • Eyes • Windows into the soul • Characterization of the personality/emotional health of those encountered

5. Principle Characters • Eliezer • Devout Jewish boy • Only child • Experiences in ghettos and camps transform him into a faithless survivor, orphan, physically alive but emotionally dead • Chlomo Wiesel • Eliezer’s father • Good man with a good standing in the Sighet Jewish community • Emotionally distant from his family and faith • Moche the Beadle • Wise but poor man whom young Eliezer chooses as a instructor of faith • Survive Nazi Massacre in 1942 and returns to warn the Jews of Sighet—they do not believe him

6. Secondary Characters ** These characters show the complexity of human response to the duress of the concentration camp experience** Madame Schachter • Losses her mind during the train transport and screams out her hysterical visions of fire Akibe Drumer • Encourages other by singing Hasidic melodies but eventually loses his faith in the face of his selection for imminent. Rabbi Eliahou • A good man who searched in vain for his beloved son Juliek • A Polish boy whose violin playing gives a few moments of solace to the suffering

7. Things to Remember • Realities of life are not always logical or rational. “I hope that you will understand that which cannot be understood” -Elie Wiesel • Use critical thinking when reading this novel. Analyze arguments and identify underlying assumptions • Use metacognition when thinking about the themes and motifs of the novel. Become aware of your own feelings and reflect on your beliefs, morals and values.

8. In Order to be Successful • Complete the assigned reading. • Critically read and think, taking notes on what interests or disturbs you; what you disagree with, want to challenge, or do not understand. • Reflect further on your thoughts and feelings in response to the readings in your journal. • Fully participate in class discussions (critical listening and articulating) • Make this class meaningful to you. This intellectual experience is a chance to ponder questions of great importance about yourself, your world, and your future. • Remember: memorizing someone else’s thoughts about Elie Wiesel, Night, and the Holocaust will not make any difference in your life. YOU need to be responsible for your own learning and should WANT to learn!