140 likes | 331 Views
Night by Elie Wiesel. Why are we reading it?. It’s a memoir It’s a reminder of what happened so history does not repeat itself
E N D
Why are we reading it? • It’s a memoir • It’s a reminder of what happened so history does not repeat itself • “He [Elie] tells the story, out of infinite pain, partly to honor the dead, but also to warn the living – to warn the living that it could happen again and that it must never happen again.” • Hatred still runs rampant today
A Quote from the Preface of Night • Night is “the story of how a cultured people turned to genocide, and how the rest of the world, also composed of cultured people, remained silent in the face of genocide.” • What does that mean? • We read it because WE are capable of it too. • Just think – when did this happen? • 1930’s & 40’s
About the Author • He initially vowed NOT to tell his story of the Holocaust and took a ten year vow of silence • Why? • He felt he couldn’t accurately convey the horror of it • Finally, another writer convinced him to tell his story
The writing style of Night is simple and plain • Why? • He felt the events could speak for themselves; therefore, there’s no need to exaggerate anything • The memoir covers three and a half years in Elie’s life, from late 1941 to 1945 (during WWII) • Setting: Hungary, Poland, and Germany
In 1986, Elie won the Nobel Peace Prize for writing Night • It’s awarded to persons or organizations who help resolve a conflict or help create peace in the world • Other winner = The United Nations and Mother Teresa • The prize includes a medal, a personal diploma, and a large sum of prize money (currently 10 million Swedish crowns). • How would his novel help create peace?
Themes #1. Survival = what helps Elie survive? #2. Change = how does he change through this experience? #3. Death = how does it affect people? #4. Evil = how does it affect people? #5. Faith = what affects Elie’s faith in God?
Night Terms to Know…
TERMS TO KNOW… 1. GHETTO: • An area (usually in a city) where members of a particular race, religion, ethnicity, etc. live in high concentration (either by choice or by force) 2. HOLOCAUST: • A word that actually means complete destruction or a great slaughter 3. SYNAGOGUE: • The place of worship for Jewish people
4. RABBI: • A word that means teacher • A Jewish minister 5. TORAH: • The first five books of the Jewish Bible that contains Jewish laws (note: it’s the first five books of the Christian Bible too) 6. TALMUD: • A sacred book of the Jewish faith where rabbis have commented on Jewish law
#7. BEADLE: • A usher at Jewish religious services #8. CABBALIST: • An expert in difficult matters of the Jewish Bible and other sacred texts #9. GESTAPO: • The secret police in Nazi Germany known for brutal tactics such as terror and torture to eliminate political opposition in Germany • They were in charge of arresting and deporting Jews to concentration camps
#10. KAPO: • A prisoner in charge of a group of inmates in Nazi concentration camp • Note: could be Jewish #11. SS: • The military wing of the Nazi party who served as Hitler’s personal bodyguards and worked as guards at the concentration camps