NightA memoir by Elie Wiesel

Research With a partner, look up Elie Weisel quotations Pick your favorite 3 Discuss these quotes with your partner Identify at least three common themes

expressed in these quotations Write a paragraph explaining your discussion

Elie Wiesel • 1928-present • Born in Sighet,

Transylvania • 15 years old when he

and his family were deported by the Nazis to Auschwitz

• Awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986

• Professor in the Humanities at Boston University

About Night Night is Elie Wiesel’s

masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply saddening autobiographical account of surviving the Holocaust while a young teenager. It is considered a classic of Holocaust literature, and was one of the first texts to be recognized as such.

Main CharactersEliezer Wiesel (identification number A-

7713) *The narrator of the book, Elie is taken to

concentration camps in Czechoslovakia and Germany at the age of fourteen.

Eliezer's father (Chlomo Wiesel) *Eliezer's father is very respected within the Jewish

community of his hometown, and he spends most of his time occupying himself with community affairs

Minor CharactersMoishe the Beadle:

A poor, humble man who works at the Hasidic synagogue in Sighet

Tzipora: Eliezer's seven-year-old sister

Eliezer's mother: Eliezer is separated from his mother upon

arriving at Birkenau.

Discussion Questions 1. Describe in detail the characters of Eliezer and Moishe the

Beadle. What is the nature of their relationship?

2. Consider Eliezer’s feelings for his family, especially his father. What about his father’s character or place in the Jewish community of Sighet commands Eliezer’s respect or admiration?

3. “And then, one day all foreign Jews were expelled from Sighet,” writes Wiesel, quite bluntly. “And Moishe the Beadle was a foreigner” (p. 6). What is the point of Wiesel’s abruptness? Also, consider the manner in which Moishe is treated by the Jews of Sighet after he has escaped the Gestapo’s capture. Explain why Moishe has returned to the village. Why don’t the Jewish townspeople believe the horrible news he brings back to them?

4. Time and again, the people of Sighet doubt the advance of the German army. Why? When the Germans do arrive, and even once they have moved all the Jews into ghettos, the Jewish townspeople still seem to ignore or suppress their fear. “Most people thought that we would remain in the ghetto until the end of the war, until the arrival of the Red Army. Afterward everything would be as before” (p. 12). What might be the reasons for the townspeople’s widespread denial of the evidence facing them?

Sections 2& 3 1. Describe Mrs. Schachter. Why were the Jews incorrect when they

said she was mad? In reality, what was she? 2. In addition to their belongings, what else did the Jews leave

behind in the cattle cars? 3. What was the significance of the “eight simple words”? 4. What advice and insults do they receive from the veteran

inmates? 5. Why does Elie pinch himself? (pg.32) 6. What makes Elie feel angry for the first time? How has his

character changed since chapter 1? 7. Look at page 34. Paraphrase Elie’s thoughts that first night. 8. What surprises Elie the most about seeing his father get slapped?

Section 5 1. Describe Elie’s tone towards God in this chapter. Choose one

quotation that shows his attitude towards God and his faith. Write 2-3 sentences that explain how that quotation reflects his tone towards God and his faith.

2. What is the key to survival? (pg. 77) 3. What did they forget to do? How is this significant? 4. What was “like an injection of morphine?” How is this significant? 5. Who does Elie’s neighbor trust more than anyone else? Why? How is

this significant? 6. What does Elie learn about the patients who stayed behind in the

infirmary at Buna? 7. According to the commanding officer, why did they need to mop the

floors of the bunks? Describe Elie’s reaction to the irony of this statement.

Section 6 1. What does Elie mean when he says, “I

couldn’t help thinking that there were two of us: my body and I. And I hated that body.”? What does his body represent symbolically?

2. Why does Elie say, “I had no right to die.”? How is this significant?

3. What did Rabbi Eliahu’s son do that Elie prays he will never do? What is unique about this prayer?

4. Who is Juliek? What makes him unforgettable? What was his fate?

Section 7 1. How does Elie save his father’s life? 2. How do the German townspeople react to

the sight of the Jewish inmates? 3. How do the crusts of bread cause two deaths

in Elie’s car? How is this significant? 4. How do Elie’s father and Meir Katz save Elie?

How does Elie’s father save Meir Katz? 5. How many prisoners out of the 100 in Elie’s

car made it to Buchenwald?

Section 8 1. Why is Elie so angry with his father? With whom does

he believe he is actually arguing? 2. What makes Elie feel forever ashamed? How is this

significant? 3. What does Elie mean when he says that “he had not

passed the test”? 4. What does Elie’s father request of him? Why doesn’t

Elie listen to him? 5. What happened to Elie’s father? 6. What pains Elie? What is the only thought that could

cross his mind?

Section 9 1. Why doesn’t Elie describe his life in

Buchenwald? 2. What consumed Elie’s thoughts? 3. Describe the evacuation. What did the

liberated prisoners care about the most? 4. What image has haunted Elie throughout his

life? How is this significant?