FireSymbol from the novella Night

Calvin Martin, Greg Bowman, Andrew Shin, Julian Vela

Emotions about fire

Fear

Isolation

Despair

Fire as a Symbol

Can be helpful: Survival

Cooking

Warmth

Can be harmful: Destruction

Pain

All-consuming rage

Quotes: Pages 1-27

Pg. 18 Elie Wiesel: “The stars were only sparks of the fire which devoured us. Should the fire die out one day, there would be nothing left in the sky but dead stars, dead eyes.”

Pg. 22 Madame Schächter “Look! Look at it! Fire! A terrible fire! Mercy! Oh, that fire!”

Analysis

Destruction

Death

Rage

Everything consumed completely

Quotes: Pages 28-54

Pg. 30-Elie Wiesel: "Not far from us, flames were leaping up from a ditch, gigantic flames. They were burning something. A lorry drew up at the pit and delivered its load--little children. Babies! Yes, I saw it--saw it with my own eyes...those children in the flames.“

Pg. 34-Elie Wiesel: "A dark flame had entered into my soul and devoured it."

Analysis

Indiscriminate

Complete and thorough

Lost all will

At the mercy of the Nazis

Quotes: Pages 55-81

Pg.64, Elie Wiesel: Because He had had thousands of children burned in His pits?

Pg. 64, Elie Wiesel: When Sodom no longer found favor in Your eyes, you made the sky rain down fire and sulphur.

Analysis

God had gone through it before, he wasn’t looking after his children, they were alone and didn’t matter

The unthinkable had happened, as if the world was actually coming to an end

Quotes: Pages 82-109

Pg. 82, Elie Wiesel: “A spurt of red flame. A shot. Death wrapped itself around me till I was stifled. It stuck to me.”

Pg. 103, Elie Wiesel: “Oh, to strangle the doctor and the others! To burn the whole world! My father’s murderers.”

Pg. 106, Elie Wiesel: “They must have taken him away before dawn and carried him to the crematory.”

Pg. 107, Elie Wiesel: “Afterward they were going to blow up the camp.”

Analysis

Fire is consuming his life, it’s going to destroy it and kill him. Make everything that hurts go away

Let out the rage and anger, to tear apart like fire does

His father’s road had ended, this was how he moved on

To end the camp, get rid of it and leave behind only memories and ashes of what had happened there

Purpose for Fire

To show not only death, but total consumption of an entire race, to exterminate and get rid of completely, leave behind ashes of formal life

Was also what actually happened

Fire was showing his own fear as well as others

Only ashes remain

Purpose for writing Night

To show just how horrible the holocaust really was

To remind us of what happened

To make sure it never happens again

To share his story

Questions?