Transcript Night by Elie Wiesel

NIGHT
BY
ELIE WIESEL
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• TITLE - “NEVER SHALL I FORGET THAT NIGHT, THE FIRST
NIGHT IN CAMP WHICH HAD TURNED MY LIFE INTO
ONE LONG NIGHT... NEVER P.32 & IX
SYMBOL
IMAGE OF CHIMNEY AND NIGHT
• A. THEMATIC LINK
• B. AUTHORIAL INTRUSION
• C. CHARACTER CHANGE
• D. CAUSE AND LASTING EFFECTS OF THE HOLOCAUST
• E. REMEMBRANCE AND MEMORY
HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=EUE5K1BJRKK
BIOGRAPHY
BORN: SEPTEMBER 30, 1928
BIRTHPLACE: SIGHET, TRANSYLVANIA (NOW
ROMANIA)
ELIE WIESEL IS A ROMANIAN-BORN JEWISHAMERICAN AUTHOR, POLITICAL ACTIVIST,
AND HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR. HE IS WELL
KNOWN FOR THE BOOK NIGHT, WHICH
WAS BASED ON HIS EXPERIENCES AS A
PRISONER IN THE AUSCHWITZ, BUNA, AND
BUCHENWALD CONCENTRATION CAMPS.
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
• .
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
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• WIESEL WAS AWARDED THE NOBEL PEACE
PRIZE IN 1986. THE NORWEGIAN NOBEL
COMMITTEE CALLED HIM A "MESSENGER TO
MANKIND," NOTING THAT THROUGH HIS
STRUGGLE TO COME TO TERMS WITH "HIS
OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF TOTAL
HUMILIATION AND OF THE UTTER CONTEMPT
FOR HUMANITY SHOWN IN HITLER'S DEATH
CAMPS," AS WELL AS HIS "PRACTICAL WORK
IN THE CAUSE OF PEACE," WIESEL HAS
DELIVERED A POWERFUL MESSAGE "OF PEACE,
ATONEMENT AND HUMAN DIGNITY" TO
HUMANITY
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
DEC.10, 1986 IN OSLO PP.117-120
• “I REMEMBER : IT HAPPENED YESTERDAY, OR ETERNITIES AGO. A YOUNG JEWISH BOY DISCOVERED THE
KINGDOM OF NIGHT. I REMEMBER HIS BEWILDERMENT, I REMEMBER HIS ANGUISH. IT HAPPENED SO FAST. THE
GHETTO. THE DEPORTATION. THE SEALED CATTLE CAR. THE FIERY ALTAR UPON WHICH THE HISTORY OF OUR
PEOPLE AND THE FUTURE OF MANKIND WERE MEANT TO BE SACRIFICED. P. 118
• “THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE IS NOT HATE, IT'S INDIFFERENCE. THE OPPOSITE OF ART IS NOT UGLINESS, IT'S
INDIFFERENCE. THE OPPOSITE OF FAITH IS NOT HERESY, IT'S INDIFFERENCE. AND THE OPPOSITE OF LIFE IS NOT
DEATH, IT'S INDIFFERENCE.”
• “AND THAT IS WHY I SWORE NEVER TO BE SILENT WHENEVER AND WHEREVER HUMAN BEINGS ENDURED
SUFERING. WE MUST TAKE SIDES.” P.118
― ELIE WIESEL
ONE PERSON OF INTEGRITY CAN MAKE A
DIFFERENCE, A DIFFERENCE OF LIFE AND DEATH
P. 120
• “IF THE ONLY PRAYER YOU SAY THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFE IS "THANK YOU," THEN THAT WILL BE
ENOUGH.”
• “…I SPEAK TO YOU AND EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE AS ONE WHO HAS EMERGED FROM THE
KINGDOM OF NIGHT. WE KNOW THAT EVERY MOMENT IS A MOMENT OF GRACE, EVERY
HOUR AN OFFERING; NOT TO SHARE THEM WOULD MEAN TO BETRAY THEM…OUR LIVES NO
LONGER BELONG TO US ALONE; THEY BELONG TO ALL THOSE WHO NEED US DESPERATELY.”
P.120
NIGHT: TITLE AND SYMBOL
THE KINGDOM OF NIGHT
• THE BIBLE BEGINS WITH GOD’S CREATION OF THE EARTH. WHEN GOD FIRST BEGINS HIS CREATION, THE EARTH IS
“WITHOUT FORM, AND VOID; AND DARKNESS [IS] UPON THE FACE OF THE DEEP” (GENESIS 1:2, KING JAMES
VERSION).
• GOD’S FIRST ACT IS TO CREATE LIGHT AND DISPEL THIS DARKNESS. DARKNESS AND NIGHT THEREFORE SYMBOLIZE A
WORLD WITHOUT GOD’S PRESENCE. IN NIGHT, WIESEL EXPLOITS THIS ALLUSION. NIGHT ALWAYS OCCURS WHEN
SUFFERING IS WORST, AND ITS PRESENCE REFLECTS ELIEZER’S BELIEF THAT HE LIVES IN A WORLD WITHOUT GOD.
• THE FIRST TIME ELIEZER MENTIONS THAT “[N]IGHT FELL” IS WHEN HIS FATHER IS INTERRUPTED WHILE TELLING STORIES
AND INFORMED ABOUT THE DEPORTATION OF JEWS.
•
IT IS NIGHT WHEN ELIEZER FIRST ARRIVES AT BIRKENAU/AUSCHWITZ, AND IT IS NIGHT—SPECIFICALLY “PITCH
DARKNESS”—WHEN THE PRISONERS BEGIN THEIR HORRIBLE RUN FROM BUNA.
SHEMA
• COVER YOU EYES WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND AND SAY:
• HEAR, O ISRAEL, THE L-RD IS OUR G-D, THE L-RD IS ONE.
• RECITE THE FOLLOWING VERSE IN AN UNDERTONE:
• BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE GLORY OF HIS KINGDOM FOREVER AND EVER.
• YOU SHALL LOVE THE L-RD YOUR G-D WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT.
AND THESE WORDS WHICH I COMMAND YOU TODAY SHALL BE UPON YOUR HEART. YOU SHALL TEACH THEM
THOROUGHLY TO YOUR CHILDREN, AND YOU SHALL SPEAK OF THEM WHEN YOU SIT IN YOUR HOUSE AND WHEN
YOU WALK ON THE ROAD, WHEN YOU LIE DOWN AND WHEN YOU RISE. YOU SHALL BIND THEM AS A SIGN UPON
YOUR HAND, AND THEY SHALL BE FOR A REMINDER BETWEEN YOUR EYES. AND YOU SHALL WRITE THEM UPON THE
DOORPOSTS OF YOUR HOUSE AND UPON YOUR GATES
CONTINUED…
• AND IT WILL BE, IF YOU WILL DILIGENTLY OBEY MY COMMANDMENTS WHICH I ENJOIN UPON YOU
THIS DAY, TO LOVE THE L-RD YOUR G-D AND TO SERVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL
YOUR SOUL, I WILL GIVE RAIN FOR YOUR LAND AT THE PROPER TIME, THE EARLY RAIN AND THE
LATE RAIN, AND YOU WILL GATHER IN YOUR GRAIN, YOUR WINE AND YOUR OIL. AND I WILL GIVE
GRASS IN YOUR FIELDS FOR YOUR CATTLE, AND YOU WILL EAT AND BE SATED. TAKE CARE LEST
YOUR HEART BE LURED AWAY, AND YOU TURN ASTRAY AND WORSHIP ALIEN GODS AND BOW
DOWN TO THEM. FOR THEN THE L-RD'S WRATH WILL FLARE UP AGAINST YOU, AND HE WILL CLOSE
THE HEAVENS SO THAT THERE WILL BE NO RAIN AND THE EARTH WILL NOT YIELD ITS PRODUCE,
AND YOU WILL SWIFTLY PERISH FROM THE GOOD LAND WHICH THE L-RD GIVES YOU.
THE SHEMA
• THEREFORE, PLACE THESE WORDS OF MINE UPON YOUR HEART AND UPON YOUR SOUL, AND
BIND THEM FOR A SIGN ON YOUR HAND, AND THEY SHALL BE FOR A REMINDER BETWEEN
YOUR EYES. YOU SHALL TEACH THEM TO YOUR CHILDREN, TO SPEAK OF THEM WHEN YOU SIT
IN YOUR HOUSE AND WHEN YOU WALK ON THE ROAD, WHEN YOU LIE DOWN AND WHEN
YOU RISE. AND YOU SHALL INSCRIBE THEM ON THE DOORPOSTS OF YOUR HOUSE AND ON
YOUR GATES - SO THAT YOUR DAYS AND THE DAYS OF YOUR CHILDREN MAY BE PROLONGED
ON THE LAND WHICH THE L-RD SWORE TO YOUR FATHERS TO GIVE TO THEM FOR AS LONG
AS THE HEAVENS ARE ABOVE THE EARTH.
THE SHEMA
HTTP://WWW.CHABAD.ORG/LIBRARY/ARTICLE_CDO/AID/706162/JEWISH/TRANSLATION.HTM
FROM SIDDUR TEHILLAT HASHEM. © COPYRIGHT KEHOT PUBLICATION SOCIETY, BROOKLYN NY
PUBLISHED AND COPYRIGHT BY KEHOT PUBLICATION SOCIETY, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• THE L-RD SPOKE TO MOSES, SAYING: SPEAK TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AND TELL THEM TO MAKE
FOR THEMSELVES FRINGES ON THE CORNERS OF THEIR GARMENTS THROUGHOUT THEIR
GENERATIONS, AND TO ATTACH A THREAD OF BLUE ON THE FRINGE OF EACH CORNER. THEY SHALL
BE TO YOU AS TZIZIT, AND YOU SHALL LOOK UPON THEM AND REMEMBER ALL THE
COMMANDMENTS OF THE L-RD AND FULFILL THEM, AND YOU WILL NOT FOLLOW AFTER YOUR
HEART AND AFTER YOUR EYES BY WHICH YOU GO ASTRAY - SO THAT YOU MAY REMEMBER AND
FULFILL ALL MY COMMANDMENTS AND BE HOLY TO YOUR G-D. I AM THE L-RD YOUR G-D WHO
BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT TO BE YOUR G-D; I, THE L-RD, AM YOUR G-D. TRUE.
SABBATH
• SABBATH
MOTIFS
• TRADITION
• JUDAISM IS MORE THAN SIMPLY A RELIGION
•
IT IS AN ENTIRE CULTURE THAT HAS, FOR MOST OF ITS ALMOST 6,000-YEAR EXISTENCE, BEEN A DISPERSED CULTURE
•
A NATION WITHOUT A COUNTRY, A PEOPLE WITHOUT A HOME.
• AS A RESULT, MEMORY AND TRADITION PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN JEWISH LIFE. IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY GEOGRAPHIC
CONTINUITY, JUDAISM RELIES ON CUSTOMS, OBSERVANCES, AND TRADITIONS, PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION,
AS THE MARKERS AND BEARERS OF CULTURAL IDENTITY.
• HITLER AND THE NAZIS WANTED NOT ONLY TO DESTROY THE JEWISH PEOPLE BUT ALSO TO HUMILIATE THEM AND ERADICATE ALL
VESTIGES OF JUDAISM.
• AS ELIEZER RELATES IN NIGHT, THE GERMANS DESECRATED JEWISH TEMPLES, FORCED JEWS TO BREAK DIETARY LAWS, AND
DELIBERATELY SHAVED THEIR HEADS AND TATTOOED THEM IN VIOLATION OF JEWISH SCRIPTURE. THE NAZI GENOCIDE WAS AN
ATTEMPT TO WIPE OUT AN ENTIRE PEOPLE, INCLUDING ALL SENSE OF NATIONAL AND CULTURAL UNITY.
STORY TELLING
• CONVERSATION AND STORYTELLING HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF JEWISH FOLK TRADITION
• SHLOMO’S STORYTELLING SYMBOLIZES JEWISH CULTURE AS A WHOLE. HIS STORY IS INTERRUPTED BY THE
ARRIVAL OF THE NAZIS, JUST AS THE HOLOCAUST ATTEMPTED TO INTERRUPT JEWISH HISTORY AS A WHOLE.
• THROUGHOUT THE BOOK, ELIEZER CLINGS TO TRADITION, EVEN AFTER HIS FAITH HAS APPARENTLY BEEN LOST,
BECAUSE IT SERVES AS AN IMPORTANT LINK TO LIFE OUTSIDE THE HOLOCAUST, BEYOND THE TERROR AND
OPPRESSION HE IS EXPERIENCING.
• HE STRUGGLES WITH THE QUESTION OF FASTING ON YOM KIPPUR.
• HE EXPRESSES REGRET WHEN HE FORGETS TO SAY KADDISH (A MOURNER’S PRAYER) FOR HIS DECEASED
FRIEND AKIBA DRUMER, NOT BECAUSE HE FEELS THAT HE HAS FORSAKEN AN OBLIGATION TO GOD, BUT
BECAUSE HE FEELS THAT HE HAS FORSAKEN HIS COMMITMENT TO HIS FELLOW JEWS AND FELLOW PRISONERS.
THE MOURNERS KADDISH
• THE KADDISH
Humanity is not concerned with us. Today anything is allowed...p. 30
“I was face to face with the Angel of Death”p.30
Elie’s farther loses faith in mankind...in his God?
He weeps
And they begin to recite the Kaddish the prayer for the dead for
themselves
Faith crisis
Elie wishes for own death p.31
Biblical allusion- note reference to SS
ELIEZER WIESEL (IDENTIFICATION NUMBER A-7713)
• ELIEZER WIESEL (IDENTIFICATION NUMBER A-7713)
• THE NARRATOR OF THE BOOK, ELIEZER IS TAKEN TO CONCENTRATION CAMPS IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA
AND GERMANY AT THE AGE OF FOURTEEN.
• AS A YOUNG BOY IN SIGHET, TRANSYLVANIA, HE IS VERY DEVOUT AND INTERESTED IN JEWISH
MYSTICISM-KABBALAH
• HIS RELIGIOUS FAITH IS CHALLENGED BUT NOT DESTROYED DURING HIS TIME IN CONCENTRATION
CAMPS.
• SEPARATED FROM HIS MOTHER AND SISTER UPON FIRST ARRIVING AT BIRKENAU
• ELIEZER AND HIS FATHER ARE ABLE TO REMAIN TOGETHER ALMOST ENTIRELY IN CONCENTRATION
CAMPS.
• GRAPHIC ORGANIZER CHARACTER MAP
A7713
• IS VERY DEVOTED TO HIS FATHER . EXAMPLES: SHARING RATIONS AND LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER.
• INTERNAL CONFLICT: THE BRUTALITY OF CAMP LIFE WEAKENS ELIEZER'S DEVOTION TO FATHER, CAUSING HIM
RESENTMENT, ANGER, SHAME AND GUILT. ELIEZER BECOMES CONCERNED WITH HIS OWN SURVIVAL-FEEDING
HIMSELF, TRYING TO ESCAPE NAZI BRUTALITY. THE INSTINCT OF SELF-PRESERVATION OFTEN OVERSHADOW HIS
CONCERN FOR HIS FATHER, WHO HE BITTERLY EXPECTS TO TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF.
• A FEW MONTHS BEFORE THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS ARE LIBERATED, ELIEZER'S FOOT SWELLS FROM THE
COLD, AND HE HAS TO UNDERGO AN OPERATION
• IRONICALLY, THREE DAYS AFTER LIBERATION OF BUCHENWALD HE BECAME ILL FROM SOME KIND OF
POISONING AND SPENT 2 WEEKS FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE
A7713: PROTAGONIST AND POINT OF VIEW
• ELIEZER IS MORE THAN JUST A TRADITIONAL PROTAGONIST; HIS DIRECT EXPERIENCE IS THE ENTIRE SUBSTANCE
OF NIGHT.
• HE TELLS HIS STORY IN A HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE, FIRST-PERSON, AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL VOICE.
• RESULT: INTIMATE, PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE HOLOCAUST THROUGH DIRECT DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE.
THROUGH THE VOICE OF AN ADOLESCENT
• MANY BOOKS ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST USE A GENERALIZED HISTORICAL OR EPIC PERSPECTIVE TO PAINT A
BROAD PICTURE OF THIS PERIOD IN HISTORY
• ELIEZER’S ACCOUNT IS LIMITED IN SCOPE BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IT IS A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE THEREBY
AFFORDING THE READER A GLIMPSE INTO A BRUTAL BUT INTIMATE DESCRIPTION OF LIFE UNDER THE NAZIS.
A7713
• IT IS IMPORTANT TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THE AUTHOR OF NIGHT, ELIE WIESEL, AND ITS
NARRATOR AND PROTAGONIST, ELIEZER.
• THAT A DISTINCTION CAN BE MADE DOES NOT MEAN THAT NIGHT IS A WORK OF FICTION. FOR
INSTANCE, WHAT HAPPENS TO ELIEZER IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO WIESEL DURING THE
HOLOCAUST. BUT ELIE ALTERS SOME SMALL FACT TO DISTANCE HIMSELF FROM THE PROTAGONIST;
FOR INSTANCE , HE ACTUALLY WOUNDED HIS KNEE IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS, WHEREAS
ELIEZER WOUNDS HIS FOOT.
• REMEMBER: IT IS EXTREMELY TRAUMATICFOR A SURVIVOR TO REMEMBER AND WRITE ABOUT HIS OR
HER HOLOCAUST EXPERIENCE;THUS THE CREATING A NARRATOR ALLOWS THE AUTHOR TO
DISTANCE HIMSELF SOMEWHAT FROM THE TRAUMA AND SUFFERING ABOUT WHICH HE WRITES.
THE PURPOSE-WHY WIESEL WROTE NIGHT?
WHAT AUDIENCE WOULD IT APPEAL TO?
POINTS
• WIESEL DID NOT WRITE NIGHT MERELY TO
DOCUMENT HISTORICAL TRUTHS ABOUT PHYSICAL
EVENTS. THE MEMOIR IS CONCERNED WITH THE
EMOTIONAL TRUTH ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST, AS
EXPERIENCED BY INDIVIDUALS. BOOKS LIKE
PEOPLE HAVE A DESTINY… FOR IN THE END,
IT IS ALL ABOUT MEMORY, ITS SOURCES AND
MAGNITUDE…ITS CONSEQUENCES. P.XV
QUOTES
• DID I WRITE IT SO AS NOT TO GO MADOR,
ON THE CONTRARY. TO GO MAD IN ORDER
TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF MADNESS,
TERRIFYING MADNESS THAT HAD ERUPTED IN
HISTORY AND IN THE CONSCIENCE OF
MANKING? P.VII
THE PREFACE
POINTS
• AS ELIEZER STRUGGLES FOR SURVIVAL, HIS
MOST FUNDAMENTAL BELIEFS—HIS FAITH IN
GOD, FAITH IN HIS FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS,
AND SENSE OF JUSTICE IN THE WORLD—
ARE CALLED INTO QUESTION. HE EMERGES
FROM HIS EXPERIENCE PROFOUNDLY
CHANGED.
QUOTES P. VII
• WAS IT TO LEAVE BEHIND A LEGACY OF
WORD, OF MEMORIES, TO HELP PREVENT
HISTORY FROM REPEATING ITSELF?
• OR WAS IT SIMPLY TO RECORD THE ORDEAL I
EXPERIENCED AS AN ADOLESCENT, AT AN AGE
WHEN ONE’S KNOWLEDGE OF DEATH AND
EVIL SHOULD BE LIMITED TO WHAT
DISCOVERS IN LITERATURE?
TO FORGET THE DEAD WOULD BE AKIN TO KILLING
THEM A SECOND TIME. P. XV
POINTS
• THE HOLOCAUST SHAKES HIS FAITH IN GOD AND
THE WORLD AROUND HI
• HE SEES THE DEPTHS OF CRUELTY AND SELFISHNESS
TO WHICH ANY HUMAN BEING—INCLUDING
HIMSELF—CAN SINK.
• THROUGH ELIEZER, WIESEL INTIMATELY CONVEYS
HIS HORRIBLE EXPERIENCES AND HIS
TRANSFORMATION AS A PRISONER DURING THE
HOLOCAUST
QUOTES P. VIII
• I DON’T KNOW HOW I SURVIVED…IT WAS
NOTHING MORE THAN CHANCE…HOWEVER,
HAVING SURVIVED, I NEEDED TO GIVE SOME
MEANING TO MY SURVIVAL =
PURPOSE/RESPONSIBILITY
• TO PRESERVE JEWISH MEMORY WHICH
ENCOMPASSES JEWISH MEN, WOMAN, CHILDREN,
JEWISH RELIGION, JEWSIH CULTURE, JEWISH
TRADITION- SO THE NAZI DID NOT WIN!
A7713
AT SOME LATER DATE (WE DON’T KNOW EXACTLY
WHEN), ELIE WIESEL, WHO WAS 16 YEARS OLD
ON APRIL 16, 1945, SAID THAT HE WAS THE FACE
SHOWN INSIDE THE RED CIRCLE
.(2) IN OCTOBER 1983 (WHEN THE CAMPAIGN TO
GET WIESEL A NOBEL PRIZE BEGAN) THIS PICTURE
WAS PUBLISHED IN THE SAME HIGH CIRCULATION
SUNDAY NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE IN AN
ARTICLE TITLED “BEARING WITNESS: THE LIFE AND
WORK OF ELIE WIESEL,”
“ON APRIL 11, 1945, AMERICAN TROOPS
LIBERATED THE CONCENTRATION CAMP’S
SURVIVORS, INCLUDING ELIE, WHO LATER
IDENTIFIED HIMSELF AS THE MAN CIRCLED IN THE
PHOTO.”(3)
http://www.eliewieseltattoo.com/the-evidence/photographicevidence/buchenwald/
WITHIN MINUTES WE HAD CEASED TO BE MEN
ORDERED:
1. REMOVE CLOTHES, BELTS AND SHOES- NAKEDNESS
2. BARBER SHAVED HEADS
3. RUN TO NEW BARRACKS
4. DISINFECTED/SHOWERS
5. UNIFORMS
CHARACTERISTICS OF ELIE: FROM HIS WORDS
1
2
4
3
5
CHARACTER MAP
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Character
Theme
External
Conflict
Internal
Conflict
1
1
1
ELIEZER'S FATHER (CHLOMO WIESEL)
• ELIEZER'S FATHER IS VERY RESPECTED WITHIN
THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF HIS
HOMETOWN
• HE SPENDS MOST OF HIS TIME OCCUPYING
HIMSELF WITH COMMUNITY AFFAIRS.
• A MEMBER OF THE JEWISH COUNCIL,
WHICH IS THE FIRST GROUP TO HEAR
ABOUT DEPORTATION, AND HE REFUSES TO
TRY TO ESCAPE THE COUNTRY.
• FATHER WAS “A CULTURED, RATHER UNSENTIMENTAL
MAN...MORE CONCERNED WITH OTHERS THAN HIS
OWN FAMILY”P.2
• “MY FATHER WEPT. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAD
EVER SEEN HIM WEEP.”P.16
• MARTHA:AN OLD GENTILE SERVANT OF THE WIESEL
FAMILY. WHEN THE FAMIKLY ARE MOVED INTO THE
SMALLER GHETTO, SHE OFFERS TO HIDE THE FAMILY
IN THE COUNTRY.
• ELIEZER'S FATHER REFUSES TO FLEE, AND ELIEZER
DECIDES TO STAY WITH THE REST OF HIS FAMILY.
ELIEZER'S FATHER (CHLOMO WIESEL)
•
IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS, HE AND ELIEZER TAKE CARE OF
ONE ANOTHER.
•
A FIFTY-YEAR-OLD MAN, HE IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY WEAK
AND DRIED UP
•
HE FINDS IT HARDER THAN ELIEZER TO ESCAPE THE ABUSE OF
CONCENTRATION CAMP LIFE.
•
ON THE LAST MARCH TO GLEIWITZ, HE BECOMES VERY WEAK AND
SICK,
•
AND AT BUCHENWALD HE CATCHES A DEADLY CASE OF DYSENTERY.
•
HE DIES ON JANUARY 29, 1945, AFTER AN SS OFFICER SHATTERS HIS
SKULL WITH A TRUNCHEON. HIS LAST WORD IS A WHISPERED
"ELIEZER."
1
2
3
4
5
SHILOMO – ELIE’S FATHER
•
ASIDE FROM ELIEZER, ELIEZER’S FATHER, SHLOMO, IS THE ONLY OTHER CONSTANT PRESENCE IN THE WORK.
•
HOWEVER, WHEREAS ELIEZER DEVELOPS THROUGHOUT NIGHT, EXPERIENCING HORRIBLE REVELATIONS AND UNDERGOING NUMEROUS CHANGES, ELIEZER’S FATHER
REMAINS A FAIRLY STATIC CHARACTER, AN OLDER MAN WHO LOVES HIS SON AND DEPENDS UPON HIM FOR SUPPORT. THE READER DOES NOT GET TO HEAR SHLOMO’S
THOUGHTS ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE , WE WITNESS HIS GRADUAL EXPERIENCE OF DECLINE/LOSS OF LIFE, A DECLINE THAT IS EVIDENT FOR MANY OF THE CAMP’S PRI
•
NIGHT IS TOLD FROM ELIEZER’S POINT OF VIEW AND IT IS THROUGH HIS EYES, WE SEE SHILOMO.
•
ELIEZER IS CONSTANTLY THINKING OF HIS FATHER, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS CRUCIAL TO ELIEZER’S EXPERIENCE AND GROWTH- HIS EVOLVING AND AS SUCHELIEZER’S
FATHER IS BUT AS AN ASPECT OF ELIEZER’S LIFE. ELIEZER CAN TELL US ONLY ABOUT HIS OWN EXPERIENCEAND NOT HIS FATHER’S.
•
SHLOMO IS A CENTRAL N THIS MEMOIR BECAUSE HE IS OF SO FUNDAMENTALLY IMPORTANCE TO ELIEZER. HE IS THE CENTER OF ELIEZER’S STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL.
ELIEZER’S RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FATHER REMINDS HIM OF FUNDAMENTAL FEELINGS OF LOVE, DUTY, AND COMMITMENT TO HIS FAMILY AS WELL AS HIS DESPAIR IN
BETRAYING THOSE BONDS. ELIE’S COMMITMENT TO HIS FATHER ALSO REMINDS HIM OF HIS OWN HUMANITY, OF HIS COMPASSION, LOVE AND EMPATHY.
•
ALL AROUND HIM, HE SEES FELLOW PRISONERS DESCENDING TO THE DEEPEST DEPTHS OF SELFISHNESS AND CRUELTY, BUT HIS RELATIONSHIP TO HIS FATHER REMINDS HIM
OF HIS HUMANITY;THAT THERE IS LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE HOLOCAUST, AND A SET OF FUNDAMENTAL MORAL VALUES THAT TRANSCENDS THE CRUELTY AND HATRED OF THE
NAZI WORLD AND REALITY.
JOURNEY OF DESPAIR AND FEAR
Elie blames God. p 64 read
Irony: Rosh Hashanah - New Year
Yom Kippur ( Day of Atonement)
SS give selection as a New Year’s gift
note his anger and loss of faith ..“I was the accuser, god the accused. My eyes were open and I was alone in a
world without God and without men. Without love, without mercy. I had ceased to be anything but ashes, yet I felt
myself stronger than the Almighty... observing like a stranger”p.65 and his father ... “ Whose was the tear? Mine?
His?...We had never understood each other so clearly...Not the shadow of an expression. Beaten.” p.65
wishes father Happy New Year
Should we fast?
Symbol: bells p.70 “ I could only imagine a universe of no bells”
“in the depths of my heart I felt a great void”p.66
Fears for father ( who is in Block 36)yet “ Suddenly I remember him. How would
he pass selection? He had aged so much.”p.67
The forgotten numbersDr. Menegele had not forgotten. Elie’s father is selected - his inheritance - a
knife and a spoon. Tries to reassure Elie but feels “his time is short” p.71
Survives 2nd selection and Elie gives him back his inheritance.
The forgotten numbers- Dr. Menegele had not forgotten. Elie’s father is selected - his inheritance - a knife and a
spoon. Tries to reassure Elie but feels “his time is short” p.71 Survives 2nd selection and Elie gives him back his
inheritance.
WE WERE MASTERS OF NATURE, MASTERS OF THE
WORLD” P.82 AND THE MORNING STAR APPEARED
Dancing a dance of death- Father makes Elie wake up and not fall asleep and freeze tp death - he is kept moving by father
surrounded by stiffened corpses“to sleep meant to die”p.85 Revolts against death
Next Elie has to keep his father awake and he does with a smile Elie will always remember because “[f]rom which world did it
come?” p.86
“I held onto my father’s hand- the old familiar fear: not to
lose him. “p..99
Father - dysentery other patients hit him and take his bread
Father resting in the snow - “I can’t go on...This is the end...I’m
going to die here...Leave me...I could have wept with rage... I
felt I was not arguing with him, but with death itself, with a
death he had already chosen...p. 100 Elie falls asleep - note
guilt- I had abandoned him- could be rid of dead weight...felt
ashamed, ashamed forever.p.101// to Rabbi Eliahou’s son sharing of soup with heavy heart
MIRROR OF DEATH
Chapter 9: Living Death
reread pp 107-109
“ After my father’s death, nothing could touch me
anymore.”p.107- survival theme
only wanted to eat
didn’t think of father or mother
Mirror- “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse
gazed back at me. The look in his eyes, as they
stared into mine, has never left me.” p.109
Thematic statement, authorial intrusion
And Elie was silent for ten years - a self imposed
vow
Elie has learned: the darkest side of humanity
nothing in life can be taken for granted
L of F dual nature- man is both heroic and sick
Loss of innocence
“FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE MIRROR, A CORPSE GAZED
BACK AT ME. THE LOOK IN HIS EYES, AS THEY STARED INTO
MINE, HAS NEVER LEFT ME.”
ELIE’S FAMILY
MOTHER
SILENT, COOKS FOR DEPARTURE
“I’VE GOT A PREMONITION OF EVIL” P.10/
“...SHE WALKED WITH A SET EXPRESSION ON
HER FACE, WITHOUT A WORD, DEEP IN
THOUGHT”P.17
LAST IMAGE OF ELIEHAS OF HIS MOTHER…
SHE IS REASSURING TZIPORA BY
SMOOTHING HER HAIR
ELIEZER IS SEPARATED FROM HIS MOTHER
UPON ARRIVING AT BIRKENAU. SHE DIES IN
THE CONCENTRATION CAMP.
HILDA (ELDEST)
BEATRICE- BEA
” TIME TO FIND A SUITABLE YOUNG MAN
FOR HILDA”P.5
2ND CHILD
TIME FOR BETHROTHAL
WORKS IN FAMILY STORE
ASSISTS WITH WORK IN STORE
TZIPORA
HER ARM, A LITTLE GIRL OF SEVEN...( CARRIED A HEAVY
BUNDLE)SHE GRITTED HER TEETH...USELESS TO
COMPLAIN”P.19
“THAT WAS WHEN I BEGAN TO HATE THEM, AND MY
HATRED REMAINS OUR ONLY LINK TODAY. THEY WERE
OUR FIRST OPPRESSORS. THEY WERE THE FIRST FACES
OF HELL AND DEATH.” P.19
ELIEZER'S SEVEN-YEAR-OLD SISTER, TZIPORA AND HER
MOTHER ARE SEPARATED FROM ELIEZER AND HIS
FATHER UPON ARRIVING AT BIRKENAU.
SHE ALSO DIES IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMP
HTTPS://WWW.GOOGLE.CA/SEARCH?Q=IMAGE+OF+LITTLE+GIRL+IN+A+RED+COAT+SYMBOL&BIW=1366&BIH=573&TBM=ISCH&IMGIL=EUHZPUYNMJKW0M%253A%253BHTTPS%253A%252F%252FENCRYPTEDTBN3.GSTATIC.COM%252FIMAGES%253FQ%253DTBN%253AAND9GCQNLLD5VCDSTFJIPFOPVIZGBZSBN4CYSRP94ZIAC25FGH_31W8%253B634%253B562%253BMJCJWJVBOBO3HM%253BHTTP%25253A%25252F%25252FWWW.DAILYMAIL.CO.UK%25252FNEWS%25252FARTICLE-2287890%25252FSCHINDLERSLIST-TRAUMA-GIRL-RED-COAT-HOLOCAUST-ICON.HTML&SOURCE=IU&USG=__8E-RQ9NBHWKDP-YQ8DGGD0SBSMK%3D&SA=X&EI=RUBOU-INJ5CTYATHYL4AQ&VED=0CCOQ9QEWAA#FACRC=_&IMGDII=HOKHJ8JV4EAN_M%3A%3B-0KXUWI0PEHTZM%3BHOKHJ8JV4EAN_M%3A&IMGRC=HOKHJ8JV4EAN_M%253A%3B4U9G9ONDECCFM%3BHTTP%253A%252F%252FAUSCHWITZ.DK%252FREDGIRLAAA.JPG%3BHTTP%253A%252F%252FAUSCHWITZ.DK%252FREDGIRL.HTM%3B303%3B210
MOCHÉ THE BEADLE: A MESSENGER WHO
WARNS THEM BUT THEY DO NOT LISTEN
• ELIE’S MENTOR; RECOGNIZES ELIES SPIRITUAL HUNGER AND
QUEST
• A POOR, SILENT, HUMBLE MAN WHO WORKS AT THE
HASIDIC SYNAGOGUE IN SIGHET
HE TEACHES ELIE THAT IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO ASK GOD THE
RIGHT QUESTIONS THAN TO TRY TO FIND THE RIGHT ANSWERS.
• HANDYMAN AT SYNOGOGUE
• “ MAN QUESTIONS GOD AND GOD ANSWERS. BUT WE DON’T
UNDERSTAND HIS ANSWERS. WE CAN’T UNDERSTAND THEM...
THEY COME FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE SOUL, AND THEY STAY
THERE UNTIL DEATH. YOU WILL FIND THE TRUE ANSWERS
...ONLY WITHIN YOURSELF!”PP.2-3
•
MOCHÉ IS WELL-LIKED BY ALL THE TOWNSPEOPLE.
• MASTER OF THE KABBALA-JEWISH MYSTICISM
• HE HELPS ELIEZER TO STUDY THE KABBALA,
• FOREIGN JEW EXPELLED BY HUNGARIAN POLICE
• EARLY IN THE WAR, MOCHÉ IS DEPORTED TO NAZI
CONCENTRATION CAMPS BECAUSE HE IS A FOREIGNER.
HE MANAGES TO ESCAPE AND TRIES TO WARN THE
TOWNSPEOPLE OF THE HORRORS OF THE HOLOCAUST.
THEY IGNORE HIM AND THINK HE'S MAD.
• MANIC SOBBING …POST-TRAUMATIC SHOCK (MENTAL
DISORDER)
• BEADLE A MINOR OR INFERIOR CHURCH OFFICIAL
MOSHE
• MOSHE THE BEADLE IS THE FIRST CHARACTER INTRODUCED IN NIGHT
•
CONVEYS TWO CONCEPTS KEY TO ELIEZER’S STRUGGLE: 1. THE IDEA THAT GOD IS EVERYWHERE, EVEN WITHIN EVERY
INDIVIDUAL, AND 2. THE IDEA THAT FAITH IS BASED ON QUESTIONS, NOT ANSWERS. ELIEZER’S STRUGGLE WITH FAITH IS, FOR
THE MOST PART, A STRUGGLE OF QUESTIONS.
• .HE CONTINUALLY ASKS WHERE GOD HAS GONE AND QUESTIONS HOW SUCH EVIL COULD EXIST IN THE WORLD.
• MOSHE’S STATEMENT TELLS US THAT THESE MOMENTS DO NOT REFLECT ELIEZER’S LOSS OF FAITH; INSTEAD THEY
DEMONSTRATE HIS ONGOING SPIRITUAL COMMITMENT/ EVOLVING OF FAITH .
• THE READER ALSO SEE THAT AT THE LOWEST POINTS OF ELIEZER’S FAITH—PARTICULARLY WHEN HE SEES THE PIPEL (A YOUTH)
HUNG IN BUNA—HE IS FULL OF ANSWERS, NOT QUESTIONS. AT THESE MOMENTS, HE HAS INDEED LOST THE SPIRIT OF FAITH
HE LEARNED FROM MOSHE, AND IS TRULY FAITHLESS.
• FINALLY, MOSHE MAY ALSO SERVE AS A REPRESENTATIVE FOR ELIE HIMSELF, AS HIS PRESENCE ILLUSTRATES A PURPOSE OF THE
ENTIRE WORK. REMEMBER NIGHT CAN BE READ AS AN ATTACK AGAINST SILENCE. - EVIL IS PERPETUATED BY A SILENT LACK OF
RESISTANCE OR—AS IN INCIDENTS OF MOSHE’S WARNINGS—BY IGNORING REPORTS OF EVIL.
• WITH NIGHT, WIESEL, LIKE MOSHE, BEARS WITNESS TO TRAGEDY IN ORDER TO WARN OTHERS, TO PREVENT ANYTHING LIKE
THE HOLOCAUST FROM EVER HAPPENING AGAIN.
CHARACTERS
HTTP://WWW.GRADESAVER.COM/NIGHT/STUDY-GUIDE/CHARACTER-LIST
AUTHOR OF CLASSICNOTE AND SOURCES
JENNIFER MOON, AUTHOR OF CLASSICNOTE. COMPLETED ON MAY 30, 2000, COPYRIGHT HELD BY GRADESAVER.
WIESEL, ELIE. NIGHT BANTAM DOUBLEDAY DELL PUBLISHING GROUP. 1982.
Dr. Mengele
The SS officer who decides who is to go to the crematories during selections. Eliezer sees him twice, once upon arrival at Birkenau
and again at Buna.
• “ a typical SS officer; a cruel face, but not devoid of intelligence, and wearing a monocle”p.29
• conductor’s baton
• SYMBOL?
Stein of Antwerp
Stein of Antwerp is the husband of Reizel, who is the niece of Eliezer's mother. He finds Eliezer and his father at Auschwitz and is
desperate to hear news of his family. Eliezer lies and tells him his family is doing fine, which keeps him alive for awhile.
SYMBOL?
CHARACTERS: MATCH SYMBOLS TO CHARCTERS
A
RABBI ELIAHOU
•
•
A VERY DEVOUT, PURE, AND WELL-LIKED
RABBI WHO APPEARS AFTER THE RUN TO
GLEIWITZ.
IS LOOKING FOR HIS SON, WHO HAD BEEN
WITH HIM FOR THREE YEARS IN THE
CONCENTRATION CAMP BECAUSE THEY HAD
GOTTEN SEPARATED DURING THE RUN.
•
ELIEZER REALIZES THAT THE SON
DELIBERATELY TRIED TO BE SEPERATED FROM
HIS FATHER BECAUSE RESPONSIBILITY OF
LOOKING OUT FOR ANOTHER HUMAN
BEING IS TOO OVERWHELMING.
MEIR KATZ
ZALMAN
•
•
•
A FRIEND OF ELIEZER'S FATHER WHO
WORKED IN THE GARDEN AT BUNA. .
•
IN THE TRAIN TO BUCHENWALD, MEIR
KATZ SAVES ELIEZER'S LIFE WHEN
SOMEONE TRIES TO STRANGLE HIM
WORKED WITH ELIEZER IN THE WAREHOUSE
AT BUNA.
•
•
A YOUNG MAN
TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT BY THE MASSES
BEHIND HIM AS HE BECOMES SICK WITH
STOMACK CRAMP
“DEATH WRAPPED ITSELF AROUND ME UNTIL
I FELT STIFLED”IT STUCK TO ME. I FELT LIKE I
COULD TOUCH IT. THE IDEA OF DYING, OF
NO LONGER BEING, FASCINATED ME. NOT
TO EXIST ANY LONGER” P.82 S
•
“I QUICKLY FORGOT HIM” -ELIE
•
IRONICALLY, HE SOON LOSES HIS
WILL TO LIVE AND DIES.
MATCH SYMBOLS TO CHARACTERS
ALPHONSE
FRANEK
ALPHONSE
A GERMAN JEW WHO IS HEAD OF THE
MUSICIAN'S BLOCK AT BUNA. HE IS VERY
KINDLY AND TRIES TO GIVE HIS CHARGES
EXTRA SOUP WHENEVER HE CAN.
THE POLISH FOREMAN OF THE
MUSICIAN'S BLOCK AT BUNA. HE GETS
ELIEZER'S FATHER TO WORK IN THE SAME
BLOCK AS ELIEZER, BUT HE LATER FORCES
ELIEZER TO GIVE HIM HIS GOLD CROWN
BY REPEATEDLY BEATING HIS FATHER.
JULIEK
A POLISH VIOLIN PLAYER IN THE MUSICIAN'S
BLOCK AT BUNA. HE LATER REAPPEARS AT
GLEIWITZ WHEN ELIEZER DISCOVERS THAT HE
IS LYING ON TOP OF HIM IN THE INCREDIBLY
CROREACH CAMP - TRAMPLING OVER
BODIES- JULIEK [VIOLIN]
“THE DEAD WERE HEAPED ON THE LIVING”
. HE PLAYS BEETHOVEN SOULFULLY IN THE
NIGHT.
VIOLIN- CONCERT TO DEAD AND DYING MEN
HE DIES WITH HIS VIOLIN NEXT TO HIM
“SMASHED, TRAMPLED, A STRANGE
OVERWHELMING LITTLE CORPSE” P.91
WORDS DEPICTING THE JOURNEYP.15;THE DARKESS
ZONE OF MAN & P. IX ELIE’S AND YOURS ACTIVITY
ELIE’S
MINE
MINE
HUNGER
HEART BROKEN FOR ALL ETERNITY P.IX
WHISTLE
THIRST
NIGHT
WHEELS
FEAR
TRANSPORT
SELECTION
FIRE
CHIMNEY
READ PAGE IX
ANGUISH
BARBED WIRE
AN OPEN TOMB
YELLOW STAR
TRANSPORT
RUN AND MARCH
SHOT LIKE DOGS
DOORS NAILED SHUT
FIRE
MEN TO LEFT WOMEN TO THE RIGHT
HELL
SURREAL
EMPTY AND DEAD
CATTLE CARS
NAKED
CHIMNEY
BLACK GALLOWS
SILENCE
DEATH KNELL
LIBERATION
DEPORTATION TIMETABLE:
A.M.. -preparation made for journey
8 a.m. -police move Jewish peple from homes they are treated cruelly
and”weariness like molten lead began to settle in the veins...”
10 a.m. - roll call
1 p.m.-signal to leave
8 a.m father returns and says will be moving to little ghetto to avoid deportation
9 a.m -police round up
Night---> Dawn---> move on Saturday (Jewish Sabbath)
moved to Synagogue which had been pillaged and detained for 24 hours
Sunday morning: 80 people board each cattle car, car is sealed, person put in charge if there was an
escapee he would shot, few loaves of bread and few buckets of water only substance
“The race toward death had begun...
1.Jews forbidden to leave homes for 3 days on pain of death
2. Jews no longer had the right to possess; gold, silver, jewels, objects of value
3.Day 3- new decree- all Jews must wear a yellow star
4. Additional decrees: no longer could a Jew eat in a restaurant, travel on the railroad,, attend
synagogue, curfew after 6:00
5. All Jews-------> ghetto
JOURNAL ENTRY
WHAT POSSESSIONS WOULD YOU HAVE PACKED?
ALLOWED TO BRING PERSONAL
BELONGINGS
• A BACKPACK
• SOME FOOD
• FEW ITEMS OF CLOTHING
• NOTHING ELSE
• ONE BY ONE , THE HOUSES EMPTIED AND THE
STREETS FILLED WITH PEOPLE CARRYING
BUNDLES. P.16
YOURS
THE GHETTO WAS RULED BY NEITHER GERMAN OR
JEW; IT WAS RULED BY DELUSION
P. 12
THE GHETTOS
HTTPS://WWW.GOOGLE.CA/SEARCH?Q=THE+GHETTO+IN+SIGHET+TRANSYLVANIA&BIW=1366&BIH=573&TBM=I
SCH&IMGIL=83665GO22-H5TM%253A%253BHTTPS%253A%252F%252FENCRYPTEDTBN2.GSTATIC.COM%252FIMAGES%253FQ%253DTBN%253AAND9GCQNS7DM9T94JBIFYWUOUU3BZO1HIDNYXQ3
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%253A%252F%252FBRIANITEBLOG.BLOGSPOT.COM%252F%3B375%3B234
ALL JEWS MUST LIVE IN A
GHETTO
ALL JEWS MUST WEAR A
YELLOW STAR
JEWS FORBIDDEN TO LEAVE HOMES FOR 3 DAYS ON
PAIN OF DEATH
DAY 3- NEW DECREE- ALL JEWS MUST WEAR A
YELLOW STAR. ADDITIONAL DECREES: NO
LONGER COULD A JEW EAT IN A RESTAURANT,
TRAVEL ON THE RAILROAD,, ATTEND
SYNAGOGUE, CURFEW AFTER 6:00
JEWS NO LONGER HAD THE RIGHT TO POSSESS;
GOLD, SILVER, JEWELS, OBJECTS OF VALUE
SYMBOL OF ENTRAPMENTDOMINANT IMPRESSION ONE OF ABANDONMENT-OPEN TOMB“THE RACE TOWARD DEATH HAD BEGUN...”
EVERYTHING MOVED SO
FAST….
FATHER RETURNS AND SAYS WILL BE
MOVING TO LITTLE GHETTO TO AVOID
DEPORTATION
THE YELLOW STAR
CATTLE CARS
THE YELLOW STAR? OH WELL, WHAT OF
IT? YOU DON’T DIE OF IT...”P.9
80 PEOPLE BOARD EACH CATTLE CAR
TRANSPORTS
WE CAN’T GO LIKE BEASTS TO THE SLAUGHTER”P.29
THE FIRST INSENSIBLE CRUELTY ELIEZER EXPERIENCES IS THAT OF THE NAZIS. YET, WHEN THE NAZIS
FIRST APPEAR, THEY DO NOT SEEM MONSTROUS IN ANY WAY. ELIEZER RECOUNTS, “[O]UR FIRST
IMPRESSIONS OF THE GERMANS WERE MOST REASSURING. . . . THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARD THEIR
HOSTS WAS DISTANT, BUT POLITE.”
MADAME SCHAECHTER
VISIONS AND WARNINGS
•
FIFTY YEARS OLD - IN THE SAME TRAIN CAR AS ELIEZER DURING THE INITIAL
DEPORTATION TO AUSCHWITZ.
•
HUSBAND AND TWO ELDEST SONS DEPORTED IN FIRST TRANSPORT CAR AND SHE
“HAD GONE OUT OF HER MIND”P.22
•
ACCOMPANIED BY TEN YEAR OLD SON WHO TRIES TO TAKE CARE OF HER - TRIES
TO COMFORT HER... AND HER LITTLE BOY CLINGS TO HER MUTE AND TEARLESS.
•
LOSES HER MIND DURING THE JOURNEY AND SCREAMS HYSTERICALLY AND
REPEATEDLY ABOUT A FLAMING FURNACE THAT SHE APPARENTLY SEES IN THE
DISTANCE.
•
SHE TERRIFIES THE OTHER OCCUPANTS OF THE TRAIN, AND SHE IS REPEATEDLY
BEATEN BY YOUNG MEN TRYING TO SILENCE HER. SHE IS HIT WITH SUCH FORCEFUL
BLOWS THAT “THEY MIGHT HAVE KILLED HER.”P.24
•
CONTRAST HER SCREAMING AND HER SILENCE
SYMBOLS: CHIMNEY AND FIRE
QUOTES
FIRE
• I CAN SEE FIRE!...A TERRIBLE FIRE!
MERCY...THERE WAS NOTHING ONLY
DARKNESS...THIS TERRIBLE AWAKENING
STAYED WITH US...WE FELT THAT AN ABYSS
WAS ABOUT TO OPEN BENEATH OUR
BODIES.” PP.22-23
CHIMNEY
• “..WE SAW THIS TIME THAT FLAMES WERE
GUSHING OUT A TALL CHIMNEY INTO THE
BLACK SKY...P.25 ...IN FRONT OF US FLAMES.
IN THE AIR THE SMELL OF BURNING FLESH. IT
MUST HAVE BEEN MIDNIGHT. WE HAD
ARRIVED AT BIRKENAU, RECEPTION CENTER
FOR AUSCHWITZ
THE CAMPS
HTTPS://WWW.GOOGLE.CA/SEARCH?Q=IMAGES+OF+AUSCHWITZ+BIRKENAU&SOURCE=LNMS&TBM=ISCH&SA=X&EI=NZTOU46HDTGEYASNZIHACA&VED=0CAYQ_AUOAQ&BIW=1366&BIH=573#Q=IMAGES+O
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BIRKENAU
CHIMNEY
FLAMES
“..WE SAW THIS TIME THAT FLAMES WERE
GUSHING OUT A TALL CHIMNEY INTO THE
BLACK SKY...P.25 ...FLAMES P.27
IN FRONT OF US FLAMES. IN THE AIR THE
SMELL OF BURNING FLESH. IT MUST HAVE
BEEN MIDNIGHT.
WE HAD ARRIVED AT BIRKENAU,
RECEPTION CENTER FOR AUSCHWITZ
GOODNESS WITHIN
Lies about age
Elie must be 18 not 15; father must be 40
and not 50
their savior disappears into “night shadows”p.28
The beating of Elie by Idek’s savage frenzyThe anecdote of the French girl
“...little brother ...Don’t cry. Keep your anger and hatred for another day, for later
on...wait.” p.51
“Many years later, in Paris...a very beautiful woman with black hair and dreamy
eyes. I had seen those eyes before. It was she.” p.51
Elie is warned at hospital to get out before next
selection and these words came from “a faceless
shape” -discuss p.75
A rumor of Front drawing nearer. -My neighbor ,the faceless one, said:
“Don’t be fooled by illusions. Hitler has made it very clear that he will
annihilate the Jews before the clock strike s twelve, before they can hear
the last stroke.
BRUTALITY WITHIN
Idek ( Kapo)- beats Elie & later his father with an iron bar
rapes young Polish girl and whips Elie until he faints-and for his
silence, p.56
“ At first my father crouched under the blows, then he broke in
two, like a dry tree struck by lightning, and collapsed...What is
more the anger I felt at the moment was not directed against the
Kapo, but against my father...for not knowing how to avoid
Idek’s outbreak. This is what the concentration camp life had
made of me.” p.52
Franek- the foreman- wants Elie’s gold tooth
After thrashing Elie’s father for 2 weeks gets gold crown and
ration of bread
The beating of Elie by Idek’s savage frenzyThe anecdote of the French girl
“...little brother ...Don’t cry. Keep your anger and hatred for
another day, for later on...wait.” p.51
“Many years later, in Paris...a very beautiful woman with black
hair and dreamy eyes. I had seen those eyes before. It was she.”
p.51
INHUMANITY
“..a black gallows”p.58
Long live liberty! A curse upon Germany!”p.60
“Ten thousand prisoners paid their last respects, p.60
the youth from Warsaw- a condemned man p.59
refuses to be blindfolded. All prisoners had to march
past the hanged man- no one wept
After execution Elie states he found the soup
excellent that evening” - why?
Sabotage of electric power station- the Dutchman
and the pipel -The hanging of the “sad little
angel”p.61- “..being so light the child was still alive...
For more than half an hour...”p.62
“Where is God? Where is He?” p.61 They all wept
and that night the “soup tasted of corpses”p.62
And Elie continues to lose faith in his God.
CHARACTERS
AKIBA DRUMER
•
A FELLOW PRISONER AT AUSCHWITZ
AND BUNA,
•
A DEVOUT MYSTIC
•
BEAUTIFUL VOICE.
•
LOSES HIS WILL TO LIVE.
SENT TO THE CREMATORIES AFTER
THE SELECTION AT BUNA.
ALPHONSE
THE KAPO OF THE MUSICIAN'S BLOCK
AT BUNA.
•
OFTEN HAS VIOLENT RAGES AIMED
OTHER PRISONERS.
•
ELIEZER CATCHES HIM HAVING SEX
WITH A YOUNG POLISH GIRL
LOSES HIS FAITH AT BUNA
•
•
•
IDEK
•
IDEK HAS ELIEZER LASHED TWENTYFIVE TIMES.
•
•
A GERMAN JEW
LEADER OF THE MUSICIAN'S BLOCK AT
BUNA.
•
HE IS VERY GENEROUS- TRIES TO
GIVE HIS EXTRA SOUP TO THOSE IN
NEED.
CONFLICT & THEME
THEME & CONFLICT
SETTING & THEME
THEME & SETTING
Themes: Journey unity
motif
journey of self discovery, identity->usually but in this
case-> fear, horror, disbelief and anxiety
CONFLICT
• ELIEZER’S STRUGGLE TO MAINTAIN FAITH IN A BENEVOLENT GOD
• ELIEZER’S STRUGGLE WITH HIS FAITH IS A DOMINANT CONFLICT IN NIGHT. AT THE BEGINNING
OF THE WORK, HIS FAITH IN GOD IS ABSOLUTE. WHEN ASKED WHY HE PRAYS TO GOD, HE
ANSWERS, “WHY DID I PRAY? . . . WHY DID I LIVE? WHY DID I BREATHE?” HIS BELIEF IN AN
OMNIPOTENT, BENEVOLENT GOD IS UNCONDITIONAL, AND HE CANNOT IMAGINE LIVING
WITHOUT FAITH IN A DIVINE POWER. BUT THIS FAITH IS SHAKEN BY HIS EXPERIENCE DURING
THE HOLOCAUST.
CONFLICT RESULTS FROM CORE BELIEF
• INITIALLY, ELIEZER’S FAITH IS A PRODUCT OF HIS STUDIES IN JEWISH MYSTICISM
• IT TEACH HIM THAT GOD IS EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD, NOTHING EXISTS WITHOUT GOD, THAT
IN FACT EVERYTHING IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD IS A REFLECTION OF THE DIVINE WORLD
• NOTE :ELIEZER HAS GROWN UP BELIEVING THAT EVERYTHING ON EARTH REFLECTS GOD’S
HOLINESS AND POWER
• RELATIONSHIP TO GOD IS A PERSONAL ONE
• HIS FAITH IS GROUNDED IN THE IDEA THAT GOD TOUCHES EVERY ASPECT OF DAILY LIFE.
• GOD IS GOOD + GOD IS EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD = THEREFORE, THE WORLD MUST BE
GOOD.
BUT THE REALITY DOES NOT MATCH IT CONFLICTS
FATHER-SON BONDS/RELATIONSHIP/FAMILIAL BONDS
INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT
• ON FOUR OCCASIONS, ELIE MENTIONS SONS MISTREATING FATHERS AND HE FINDS THIS
IRREPRESSIBLE:
1. THE FIGHT FOR FOOD THAT HE WITNESSES ON THE TRAIN TO BUCHENWALD, IN WHICH A
SON BEATS HIS FATHER TO DEATH.
2. THE PIPEL WHO ABUSED HIS FATHER
3. RABBI ELIAHOU’S SON
4. WHEN HE ACTS NO DIFFERENT THAN ELIAHOU’S SON
ACTS OF CRUELTY ARE PROVOKED BY THE CONDITIONS THE PRISONERS ARE FORCED TO ENDURE. IN
ORDER TO SAVE THEMSELVES, THESE SONS SACRIFICE THEIR FATHERS.
HOW DOE THIS CONNECT TO ISAAC AND ABRAHAM?
•
THE GUILT AND DESPAIR THAT ELIE FEELS AFTER HIS FATHER’S DEATH - WHOSE NAME DID ELIE’S FATHER UTTER IN HIS LAST BREATH?
•
DESPITE THE LOVE AND CARE HE HAS SHOWN HIS FATHER, ELIEZER FEELS THAT HE HAS SOMEHOW SACRIFICED HIS FATHER FOR HIS OWN
SAFETY. GIVE EXAMPLES.
•
THIS SACRIFICE IS THE INVERSE OF THE AKEDAH, IN WHICH A FATHER (ABRAHAM) IS WILLING TO SACRIFICE HIS SON (ISAAC). DISCUSS HOW
CHILDREN OFTEN TAKE ON THE ROLE OF PARENT
•
NIGHT’S REVERSAL OF THIS EXAMPLE ILLUSTRATES HOW THE HOLOCAUST HAS TURNED ELIEZER’S ENTIRE WORLD TOPSY TURVY.
•
YET, ELIEZER’S DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS BEHAVIOR TOWARD HIS FATHER SEEM TO INVALIDATE HIS GUILTY FEELINGS.
•
HE DEPENDS ON HIS FATHER FOR SUPPORT, AND HIS LOVE FOR HIS FATHER ALLOWS HIM TO ENDURE. DURING THE LONG RUN TO GLEIWITZ
•
“MY FATHER’S PRESENCE WAS THE ONLY THING THAT STOPPED ME [FROM ALLOWING MYSELF TO DIE]. . . . I HAD NO RIGHT TO LET MYSELF DIE.
WHAT WOULD HE DO WITHOUT ME? I WAS HIS ONLY SUPPORT.”
•
THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS CO-DEPENDENT THEREBY DEMONSTRATING THAT ELIEZER’S LOVE AND COMMITMENT ARE STRONGER FORCES OF
SURVIVAL THAN HIS INSTINCT FOR SELF-PRESERVATION AND SURVIVAL.
HOW THEN DOES ELIE’S FAITH SURVIVE?
ELIEZER MANAGES TO RETAIN SOME OF THIS FAITH THROUGHOUT HIS EXPERIENCES- HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?
THE HANGING OF THE PIPEL- A KEY SCENE PP.64-54
FOR GOD’S SAKE, WHERE IS GOD?
AND FROM WITHIN ME, I HEARD A VOICE ANSWER: WHERE IS HE/ THIS IS WHERE –HANGING FROM THE
GALLOWS…THAT NIGHT, THE SOUP TASTED OF CORPSES
AT CERTAIN MOMENTS: 1. DURING HIS FIRST NIGHT IN THE CAMP AND 2. DURING THE HANGING OF THE PIPEL—
ELIEZER DOES QUESTION HIS FAITH
BUT HIS INTERNAL CONFLICT SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED WITH A COMPLETE LOSS OF FAITH. THIS STRUGGLE
DOESN’T DIMINISH HIS BELIEF IN GOD; RATHER, IT IS ESSENTIAL TO THE EXISTENCE OF THAT BELIEF. DISCUSS WHY
THIS IS SO…
THE ANGELIC PIPEL
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Do we regard
Hitler as a
prophet? ( Elie)
Faceless one: “I’ve
got more faith in
Hitler than anyone
else. He’s the only
one who’s kept...all
his promises to the
Jewish people.
p.77"
REMEMBER
•
WHEN MOSHE THE BEADLE IS ASKED WHY HE PRAYS, HE REPLIES, “I PRAY TO THE GOD WITHIN ME THAT HE WILL GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TO ASK HIM THE RIGHT
QUESTIONS.”
•
THEREFORE, QUESTIONING IS FUNDAMENTAL TO THE IDEA OF FAITH IN GOD. THE HOLOCAUST FORCES ELIEZER TO ASK HORRINDOUS QUESTIONS:
•
ABOUT THE NATURE OF GOOD AND EVIL
•
ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT GOD EXISTS
•
HAS GOD ABANDONED HIM? THEM?
•
BUT THE VERY FACT THAT HE ASKS THESE QUESTIONS REFLECTS HIS COMMITMENT TO GOD.
•
DISCUSSING HIS OWN EXPERIENCE, WIESEL ONCE WROTE, “MY ANGER RISES UP WITHIN FAITH AND NOT OUTSIDE IT.” ELIEZER’S STRUGGLE REFLECTS SUCH A SENTIMENT.
ONLY IN THE LOWEST MOMENTS OF HIS FAITH DOES HE TURN HIS BACK ON GOD. INDEED, EVEN WHEN ELIEZER SAYS THAT HE HAS GIVEN UP ON GOD COMPLETELY,
WIESEL’S CONSTANT USE OF RELIGIOUS METAPHORS UNDERCUTS WHAT ELIEZER SAYS HE BELIEVES. ELIEZER EVEN REFERS TO BIBLICAL PASSAGES WHEN HE DENIES HIS
FAITH. WHEN HE FEARS THAT HE MIGHT ABANDON HIS FATHER, HE PRAYS TO GOD, AND, AFTER HIS FATHER’S DEATH, HE EXPRESSES REGRET THAT THERE WAS NO
RELIGIOUS MEMORIAL. AT THE END OF THE BOOK, EVEN THOUGH HE HAS BEEN FOREVER CHANGED BY HIS HOLOCAUST EXPERIENCE, ELIEZER EMERGES WITH HIS FAITH
INTACT.
GOOD VERSUS EVIL: THEME AND INTERNAL CONFLICT
• ELIEZER’S FAITH IN THE GOODNESS OF THE WORLD IS IRREPARABLY SHAKEN,
• THE CRUELTY AND EVIL HE WITNESSES DURING THE HOLOCAUST CAUSE HIM TO QUESTION AND DESPAIR
• ELIE CANNOT IMAGINE THAT THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS’ UNBELIEVABLE INHUMANE CRUELTY COULD POSSIBLY REFLECT THE DIVINE
•
HOW CAN A CARING GOD BE PART OF SUCH DEPRAVITY? HOW CAN OMNIPOTENT GOD ALLOW SUCH BRUTALITY? BRUTALITY
FROM HIS OPPRESSOR AS WELL AS FELLOW PRISONERS?
• HOW CAN ONE THE BELIEVE THAT HUMANKIND IS ESSENTIALLY GOOD?
•
DUAL NATURE OF HUMANKIND: THE HOLOCAUST EXPOSES THE SELFISHNESS, EVIL, AND CRUELTY OF WHICH EVERYBODY—NOT ONLY
THE NAZIS, BUT ALSO HIS FELLOW PRISONERS, HIS FELLOW JEWS, EVEN HIMSELF—IS CAPABLE.
•
LOGICALLY HE SURMISES - IF THE WORLD IS SO BRUTAL, HE FEELS, THEN GOD EITHER MUST BE JUST AS BRUTAL OR MUST NOT EXIST AT
ALL!
• BUT IN THE END HIS FAITH SURVIVES! WHY?
SILENCE: THEME AND INTERNAL CONFLICT
WHERE IS GOD?
“NEVER SHALL I FORGET THAT NOCTURNAL SILENCE WHICH DEPRIVED ME, FOR ALL ETERNITY, OF
THE DESIRE TO LIVE.”
THE IDEA OF GOD’S SILENCE THAT ELIE FINDS MOST TROUBLING, AS THIS DESCRIPTION OF AN
EVENT AT BUNA REVEALS: AS THE GESTAPO HANGS A YOUNG BOY, A MAN ASKS, “WHERE IS
GOD?” YET THE ONLY RESPONSE IS “[T]OTAL SILENCE THROUGHOUT THE CAMP.”P.64 NOTE EVEN
THE PIPEL IS SILENT!
ELIEZER AND HIS COMPANIONS ARE LEFT TO WONDER HOW AN OMNISCIENT GOD CAN
ALLOW SUCH INHUMANITY TO HAPPEN,P.65
THE EXISTENCE OF THIS HORROR, AND THE SILENCE OF GOD, FOREVER ERODES ELIEZER’S FAITH
IN GOD.
SILENCE- AKEDA-THE BINDING OF ISAAC
THEME AND INTERNAL/EXTERNAL CONFLICT
•
IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT GOD’S SILENCE DURING THE HANGING OF THE YOUNG BOY RECALLS THE STORY OF THE AKEDAH—THE BINDING OF ISAAC—FOUND IN THE
HEBREW SCRIPTURES (GENESIS 22).
•
GOD DECIDES TO TEST THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM BY ASKING HIM TO SACRIFICE HIS ONLY SON, ISAAC. ABRAHAM DOES NOT DOUBT HIS GOD, AND HE TIES ISAAC TO A
SACRIFICIAL ALTAR. HE RAISES A KNIFE TO KILL THE BOY, BUT AT THE LAST MINUTE GOD SENDS AN ANGEL TO SAVE ISAAC. THE ANGEL EXPLAINS THAT GOD MERELY
WANTED TO TEST ABRAHAM’S FAITH AND, OF COURSE, WOULD NEVER PERMIT HIM TO SHED INNOCENT BLOOD.
•
HOWEVER THE GOD IN NIGHT, THE GOD IS SILENT.
•
NIGHT CAN BE READ AS A REVERSAL OF THE ABRAHAM/ISAAC STORY: AT THE MOMENT OF A SACRIFICE, GOD DOES NOT INTERVENE TO SAVE INNOCENT LIVES.
•
THERE IS NO ANGEL DESCENDING FROM HEAVEN AS MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN BURN IN THE CREMATORIUMS, OR AT THE BEATINGS … FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN
ELIEZER’S FATHER LIES BEATEN AND BLOODIED- WHERE IS THE ANGEL THEN? WHERE IS GOD?
•
WHEN ELIEZER AND THE OTHER PRISONERS CALL OUT FOR GOD, AND THEIR ONLY RESPONSE IS SILENCE
•
DURING HIS FIRST NIGHT AT BIRKENAU, ELIEZER SAYS, “THE ETERNAL . . . WAS SILENT. WHAT HAD I TO THANK HIM FOR?”
•
THE LESSON ELIE LEARNS IS THE REVERSE OF THE LESSON/MORAL OF THE AKEDAH- GOD DEMANDS SACRIFICE BUT IS ULTIMATELY COMPASSIONATE. DURING THE
HOLOCAUST, HOWEVER, ELIEZER FEELS THAT GOD’S SILENCE ILLUSTRATES THE ABSENCE OF GOD’S COMPASSION SO DOES HE EVEN EXIST?
SILENCE
• THERE IS ALSO A SECOND TYPE OF SILENCE OPERATING THROUGHOUT NIGHT: THE SILENCE AND
FEAR OF THE VICTIMS, AND THE LACK OF RESISTANCE TO THE NAZI THREAT.
• WHEN ELIE’S FATHER IS BEATEN AT THE END OF HIS LIFE, ELIEZER REMEMBERS, “I DID NOT MOVE. I
WAS AFRAID,” AND HE FEELS GUILTY, DESPAIR, AND SORROWABOUT HIS INABILITY TO ACT.
• IT IS IMPLIED THROUGHOUT THE TEXT THAT SILENCE AND PASSIVITYARE WHAT PERMITTED THE
HOLOCAUST TO CONTINUE. DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THIS IMPLICATION?
• WIESEL’S WRITING OF NIGHT IS ITSELF AN ATTEMPT TO BREAK THE SILENCE, TO RECALL TO THE
WORLD THAT REMAINED SILENT LOUDLY THE ATROCITIES OF THE HOLOCAUST -TO TRY TO PREVENT
ANYTHING SO HORRIBLE FROM EVER HAPPENING AGAIN TO ANYONE.
INHUMANITY TOWARD OTHER HUMANS: THEME &
INTERNAL CONFLICT
• HOW COULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO BURN PEOPLE, CHILDREN, AND FOR THE WORLD TO KEEP SILENT? NO, NONE OF THIS
COULD BE TRUE.”P.30
• INTERNAL CONFLICT- ELIEZER’S SPIRITUAL STRUGGLE OWES TO HIS SHAKEN FAITH NOT ONLY IN GOD BUT IN EVERYTHING AROUND
HIM. AFTER EXPERIENCING SUCH CRUELTY, ELIEZER CAN NO LONGER MAKE SENSE OF HIS WORLD. HIS DISILLUSIONMENT RESULTS
FROM HIS PAINFUL EXPERIENCE WITH NAZI PERSECUTION, BUT ALSO FROM THE CRUELTY HE SEES FELLOW PRISONERS INFLICT ON EACH
OTHER. ELIEZER ALSO BECOMES AWARE OF THE CRUELTY OF WHICH HE HIMSELF IS CAPABLE. EVERYTHING HE EXPERIENCES IN THE WAR
SHOWS HIM HOW HORRIBLY PEOPLE CAN TREAT ONE ANOTHER—A REVELATION THAT TROUBLES HIM DEEPLY.
• THE FIRST INSENSIBLE CRUELTY ELIEZER EXPERIENCES IS THAT OF THE NAZIS. YET, WHEN THE NAZIS FIRST APPEAR, THEY DO NOT SEEM
MONSTROUS IN ANY WAY. ELIEZER RECOUNTS, “[O]UR FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE GERMANS WERE MOST REASSURING. . . . THEIR
ATTITUDE TOWARD THEIR HOSTS WAS DISTANT, BUT POLITE.” SO MANY ASPECTS OF THE HOLOCAUST ARE INCOMPREHENSIBLE, BUT
PERHAPS THE MOST DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND IS HOW HUMAN BEINGS COULD SO CALLOUSLY SLAUGHTER MILLIONS OF INNOCENT
VICTIMS. WIESEL HIGHLIGHTS THIS INCOMPREHENSIBLE TRAGEDY BY PULLING THE NAZIS INTO FOCUS FIRST AS HUMAN BEINGS, AND
THEN, AS THE MEMOIR SHIFTS TO THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS, SHOWING THE BRUTAL ATROCITIES THAT THEY COMMITTED.
CRUELTY BREED CRUELTY;INHUMANITY BREEDS
INHUMANITY
• FURTHERMORE, NIGHT DEMONSTRATES THAT CRUELTY BREEDS CRUELTY. INSTEAD OF COMFORTING EACH
OTHER IN TIMES OF DIFFICULTY, THE PRISONERS RESPOND TO THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES BY TURNING AGAINST
ONE ANOTHER. NEAR THE END OF THE WORK, A KAPO SAYS TO ELIEZER, “HERE, EVERY MAN HAS TO FIGHT
FOR HIMSELF AND NOT THINK OF ANYONE ELSE. . . . HERE, THERE ARE NO FATHERS, NO BROTHERS, NO
FRIENDS. EVERYONE LIVES AND DIES FOR HIMSELF ALONE.” IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT A KAPO MAKES THIS
REMARK TO THE NARRATOR, BECAUSE KAPOS WERE THEMSELVES PRISONERS PLACED IN CHARGE OF OTHER
PRISONERS. THEY ENJOYED A RELATIVELY BETTER (THOUGH STILL HORRENDOUS) QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE CAMP,
BUT THEY AIDED THE NAZI MISSION AND OFTEN BEHAVED CRUELLY TOWARD PRISONERS IN THEIR CHARGE. AT
THE BEGINNING OF THE FIFTH SECTION, ELIEZER REFERS TO THEM AS “FUNCTIONARIES OF DEATH.” THE KAPOS’
POSITION SYMBOLIZES THE WAY THE HOLOCAUST’S CRUELTY BRED CRUELTY IN ITS VICTIMS, TURNING PEOPLE
AGAINST EACH OTHER, AS SELF-PRESERVATION BECAME THE HIGHEST VIRTUE.
RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE
•
DURING THE FIRST SECTIONS OF NIGHT, THERE ARE FREQUENT MENTIONS OF RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE. ELIEZER BEGINS HIS STORY
MENTIONING THE TALMUD AND HIS JEWISH STUDIES AND PRAYER RITUALS. HE IS UPSET THAT THE NAZIS DESECRATE THE SABBATH AND HIS
SYNAGOGUE. BY THE END OF NIGHT, HOWEVER, MENTIONS OF JEWISH OBSERVANCE HAVE ALMOST VANISHED FROM THE TEXT. MOST
STRIKING, ELIEZER DOES NOT MENTION THE KADDISH BY NAME AFTER HIS FATHER’S DEATH, AND SAYS ONLY THAT “[T]HERE WERE NO PRAYERS AT
HIS GRAVE. NO CANDLES WERE LIT IN HIS MEMORY.” BY SPECIFICALLY AVOIDING JEWISH TERMINOLOGY, ELIEZER IMPLIES THAT RELIGIOUS
OBSERVANCE HAS CEASED TO BE A PART OF HIS LIFE. ELIEZER’S FEELINGS ABOUT THIS LOSS ARE AMBIGUOUS: HE HAS CLAIMED THAT HE HAS
LOST ALL FAITH IN GOD, YET THERE IS CLEARLY REGRET AND SADNESS IN HIS TONE WHEN HE DISCUSSES THE LACK OF A RELIGIOUS MEMORIAL
FOR HIS FATHER.
•
ALTHOUGH ELIEZER’S EXPLICIT MENTIONS OF RELIGION VANISH, RELIGIOUS METAPHOR HOLDS NIGHT’S ENTIRE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
TOGETHER. AS NOTED ABOVE, THE AKEDAH IS A FOUNDATIONAL METAPHOR FOR THE WORK. THROUGHOUT THE MEMOIR, FURTHERMORE,
WIESEL INDIRECTLY REFERS TO BIBLICAL PASSAGES (PSALM 150, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN ELIEZER DISCUSSES HIS LOSS OF FAITH) AND JEWISH
TRADITION (THE NAZIS’ SELECTIONS ON YOM KIPPUR OF WHICH PRISONERS WILL DIE—A CRUEL VERSION OF THE JEWISH BELIEF THAT GOD
SELECTS WHO WILL LIVE AND WHO WILL DIE DURING THE DAYS OF AWE). THOUGH ELIEZER CLAIMS THAT RELIGION AND FAITH ARE NO LONGER
PART OF HIS LIFE, BOTH NEVERTHELESS FORM A TACIT FOUNDATION FOR HIS ENTIRE STORY.
CONFLICT
• ELIEZER’S STRUGGLE WITH HIS FAITH IS A DOMINANT CONFLICT IN NIGHT.
THEME
• ELIEZER’S STRUGGLE TO MAINTAIN FAITH IN A BENEVOLENT GOD
• LOOK FOR QUOTES THAT REFLECT THIS THEME
Rule of concentration camp -“no fathers, no Death of civilization- savagery
brothers, no friends. Everyone lives and dies
for himself alone.”
MIRROR OF DEATH
Chapter 9: Living Death
reread pp 107-109
“ After my father’s death, nothing could touch me
anymore.”p.107- survival theme
only wanted to eat
didn’t think of father or mother
Mirror- “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse
gazed back at me. The look in his eyes, as they
stared into mine, has never left me.” p.109
Thematic statement, authorial intrusion
And Elie was silent for ten years - a self imposed
vow
Elie has learned: the darkest side of humanity
nothing in life can be taken for granted
L of F dual nature- man is both heroic and sick
Loss of innocence
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A FINAL THOUGHT
• “FOR IN THE END, IT IS ALL ABOUT MEMORY, ITS SOURCES AND ITS MAGNITUDE, AND, OF
COURSE, ITS CONSEQUENCES.”
― ELIE WIESEL, NIGHT
• HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=NXAQM09LPNIHTTP:
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