Nightby Elie Wiesel

“Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust.”

—Elie Wiesel in Night

Night Intro

• What events can suddenly change the course of a person’s life? What are the possible effects and emotional reactions you or others might have to such events?

• In your table groups, discuss events that unexpectedly change people’s lives—a natural disaster or death of aloved one, for example. Discuss the possible effects and emotional reactions you or others might have to each event.

• Read to find out how young Elie Wiesel’s life is profoundly and forever changed.

The novel begins in Sighet, Transylvania (around 1941).

During the early years of World War II, Sighet remained relatively

unaffected by the war. The Jews in Sighet believed that they would be safe from the persecution that Jews in Germany and Poland suffered.

Elie Wiesel’s Night…

In 1944, however, Elie and all the other Jews in town were deported

to concentration camps in Poland.

He was 14.

Night continued…

They were sent to

Auschwitz and another

concentration camp.

Night continued…

Roll call in Buchenwald, February 1941

After surviving the Nazi concentration camps, Wiesel vowed never to write about his horrific

experiences.He eventually changed

his mind and wrote Night in 1955. Wiesel won the Nobel Prize in

1986.

Night continued…

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and

humiliation. We must always take sides.”

— Elie Wiesel, Jewish-American writer, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor.

Night Unit Overview

• Read Night by Elie Wiesel• Complete discussion questions for each reading section • Discuss Elie’s experience as shown in Night• Explore vocabulary from Night• Identification of:

– point of view– setting – characters – conflict – elements of plot (rising action, climax, falling action, etc.) – tone – symbols– allusion – themes– Motifs

• Write in various forms (journal responses, on-demand prompts, formal responses)

How does Elie Wiesel convey the inhumanity and humanity associated with the Holocaust in the novel Night?

Inhumanity – Humanity –

With a partner, come up with a definition for each of these

terms. Be ready to share. Write down examples in your

journal as you read the novel that

reflect these two terms.

Vocabulary Preview • beadle – n. in Judaism refers to the caretaker of the synagogue • Hasidic – adjective form of Hasidism, describes a branch of

orthodox Judaism originating in Eastern Europe which focuses on the Rabbi as the conduit of God

• Cabbala – n. a system of Jewish teaching about God and the world based on mysticism and miracles

• Talmud – n. the authoritative body of Jewish tradition • mysticism – n. the belief that knowledge of God, spiritual

truth, and ultimate reality can best be understood through subjective experience such as insight or intuition

• Zionism – n. an international movement originally for the establishment of a Jewish national or religious community in Palestine and later for support of modern Israel.

Vocabulary Preview

• Fascism/Fascist – n/adj. a political movement that puts the nation and often race above the individual and that stands for an autocratic government led by a dictator and characterized by strict economic and social regulation.

• ghetto – n. comes from the Venetian word for “slag” and was originally used to refer to a foundry where slag was stored on the same island where the Jewish community lived. During the Holocaust, Jews in Nazi-occupied territory were forced to live in segregated portions of town known as ghettos. Today, it refers to portions of a city where minorities live, especially because of social or economic pressure.

Vocabulary Preview • compatriots - n. fellow countrymen• edict - n. official statement; law• expound - v. to set forth in detail• firmament - n. the sky, or heavens• hermetically - adv. completely sealed; airtight• pestilential - adj. filled with disease; contagious• phylacteries - n. small boxes containing scripture; worn

by some Jewish men for daily prayer• pillage - v. to rob with open violence• premonition - n. anticipation of an event, usually

negative, even without actual warning• truncheon - n. a police officer’s stick

Literary/Rhetorical Terms • First Person Point of View or Narration – a story in which the

narrator speaks in the first person as he relates the tale. The narrator may or may not be the protagonist.

• allusion – a reference to a text, historical figure, event, or place that the writer expects the reader to understand

• metaphor – a comparison between two dissimilar things without using like or as

• simile – a comparison between dissimilar things using like or as

• mood – the feeling created by the setting, characters, or action of a work

• tone – the attitude of the author toward the topic or subject

Wednesday, 5/28/14

• Bell Work: – Get journal

• Night: – Continue reading part I - take notes– Complete Part I work in your journal. Make sure it

is labeled appropriately “Night Part I Reading” • HW: none

NightReading 1

Pg. 1-20 (small book)Pg. 3-22 (large book)

By Elie Wiesel

Night Reading 1 (pg. 1-20 small book; 3-22 large book))

1. As you read, write down any words, ideas, etc. that you do not understand. List questions, comments, & personal connections that come to mind as you read.

2. Identify at least one allusion – a reference to a text, historical figure, event, or place that the writer expects the reader to understand )

3. Describe the setting for this novel.4. Tell what you know about the narrator.5. Choose one quote, copy it down (provide a page number)

and explain its significance to you. Why did you choose this quote?

6. Just from your reading of this first section, why do you think the author chose the title of Night?

Friday, May 30, 2014Learning Goal (s): read Night by Elie Wiesel and determine plot, themes, & use of figurative language.• Bell-work:

– Write homework in planner– Get journal & copy of Night– Sit in chairs as they are – 9th graders are in the middle of Socratic

Seminar! • Night

– Reading Part II– Part II Reading Response: choose a question to respond to in your

journal – follow directions. • HW:

– Part II Reading Response: choose a question to respond to in your journal – follow directions.

– Final due date for ALL outstanding work is Friday, June 4th NO exceptions!

NightReading 2Pg.21-43 (small book)Pg 23 - 46(large book)

By Elie Wiesel

Characters from Night• Moshe the Beadle - Jewish man in Sighet who worked in

the Jewish synagogue (church)• Elie (Eliezer Wiesel) - Jewish boy, main character, only son• Chlomo Wiesel - Elie’s father, a respected man in the

community• Hilde, Bea, Tzipora - Elie’s sisters, two older, one younger• Elie’s mother• Batia Reich - a relative who lives with them in the ghetto• Martha - old servant who helps some leave the ghetto• Madame Schecter - woman on the cattle car with her ten

year old son - loses her mind after losing her family; sees a powerful image and frightens other people in the car

• Madame Schecter’s son - attempts to comfort his mother in her fear; a loyal son

Characters of Night• Dr. Mengele - SS officer and medical doctor

who conducts the prisoners to the left or right• Yechiel - brother of the Rabbi in Sighet• Young Pole (polish man) at Auschwitz - in

charge of block 17• Stein - Reizel’s husband, relative of Elie,

curious about his family• Hersch Genud - spoke of ending of the World

and Coming of the Messiah (savior)• Juliek - Polish violinist•

Characters from Night • Franek - Polish foreman, former student, is nice until he

wants Elie’s crown• Yossi and Tibi - two brother living for each other after

parents were killed• Dentist - Czechoslovakian Jew who extracts gold crowns• Idek - man in charge of the work unit• French girl - another person working in the electrical

warehouse, kind to Elie• Rabbi Eliahou - Rabbi at Buna, looks for son while on march

to Buchenwald• Meir Katz - gardener at Buna, helps Elie• Gustav - head of the children’s block (prison) at Buchenwald

Night Reading 2 Pg.21-43 (small book)Pg 23 - 46(large book)

Choose one of the following to respond to in depth. Above standard writing includes references to text via citations.

1. How is Madame Schächter like Moshe the Beadle? Does she, too, know or sense something that others refuse to believe?

2. How does Eliezer respond when his father is beaten for the first time? How does that response affect the way he sees himself?

3. Wiesel, in recounting the first night in the concentration camp says, “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night…”. What does it mean for a life to be turned into “one long night”?

Monday, June 2, 2014

Learning Goal (s): read Night by Elie Wiesel and determine plot, themes, & use of figurative language.• Bell-work:

– Write homework in planner– Get journal & copy of Night

• Night– Period 4 and 5: Reading Part II Response Question Partner

activity (read/evaluate your partner’s work)– 6th: finish Reading Part II, response question, share with a

partner and evaluate – Begin reading Part III – if time

• HW:– Final due date for ALL outstanding work is Friday, June 4th NO

exceptions!

Night Reading 2 Partner Evaluation

• Exchange journals with a partner – attempt to exchange with someone who has answered a different question than you.

• Read your partners answer to their chosen question. • Grade your partner’s work:

– AS = complete, uses part of question in answer; proper grammar/conventions; thoughtful response with opinion/explanation/commentary with textual evidence/citation from book

– MS = all of the above but maybe not as specific, uses an example but no citation, a few more errors in conventions, spelling, etc. but does not distract from the reader’s understanding

– APS = eludes to an answer but does not use part of the question in the answer; not written in complete sentences; many errors that distract the reader’s attention; lacks organization and focus

– BS = a few sentences that answer the question at a surface level. Little to no effort to really answer the question. No elaboration of ideas.

Tuesday, June 3, 20148th LA: Periods 4, 5, and 6

• Bell Work: – Get journal and copy of Night – Turn in any late work – all work up until this point is due no

later than Friday, June 6th! • Night:– 5th and 6th: finish evaluating Part II reading response – Reading Part III, while you read instructions, & reading

response • HW: – All work up until this point, late or otherwise, due Friday, June

6th – NO EXCEPTIONS!

NightReading 3

Pg 45-62 (small book)Pg 47-65(large book)

By Elie Wiesel

Wednesday, June 4, 20148th LA: Periods 4, 5, and 6

• Bell Work: – Get journal and copy of Night – Turn in any late work – all work up until this point is due no

later than Friday, June 6th! • Night:– 4th: Part II Reading Response/Discuss – 5th and 6th: Finish Reading Part III/complete “while reading”

questions & discuss • HW: – All work up until this point, late or otherwise, due Friday, June

6th – NO EXCEPTIONS!

Night Reading 3 While you read…

• Find one example of an allusion. Define what you think it means.

• Wiesel uses frequent sentence fragments as part of his writing style. How do these sentence fragments contribute to the tone and mood of his story?

• Write down an example of humanity and inhumanity within this section.

Night Reading 3 Pg 45-62 (small book)Pg 47-65(large book)

Choose one of the following to respond to in depth. Above standard writing includes references to text via citations.

1. How do the changes in Eliezer’s relationship with his father affect the way he sees himself as an individual? The way he views his father?

2. When the young boy is hanged, a prisoner asks, “Where is God now?” Eliezer thinks to himself, “He is hanging here on this gallows…”. What does this statement mean? Is it a statement of despair? Anger? Or hope?

3. After the hanging, Elie says “That night the soup tasted of corpses” (62). What do you think he meant by this? Explain.

Thursday, June 5, 20148th LA: Periods 4, 5, and 6

• Bell Work: – Get journal and copy of Night – Turn in any late work – all work up until this point is due no later than Friday, June

6th! – Check updated grades

• Night:– 5th & 6th: Reading Part 3 Response/discuss – Themes, motifs and symbols worksheet (due upon completion of our reading! Fill it

out as we finish reading) (if time)– Reading Part 4 (if time)

• HW: – All work up until this point, late or otherwise, due Friday, June 6th! Come see me if

you need assistance! – Night Themes, motifs, and symbols worksheet (due upon completion of our reading

– you may fill it out as we finish reading)

Friday, June 6, 20148th LA: Periods 4, 5, and 6

• Bell Work: – Get journal and copy of Night – Turn in any other late work – due today by the end of the day –

anything submitted to me online may be turned in up until 11:59 pm but you MUST email me so I know to look for it!

• Night:– 5th : discuss Reading Part III reading response questions – Themes, motifs and symbols worksheet (due upon completion of our

reading! Fill it out as we finish reading) (if time)– Reading Part 4

• HW: – ANight Themes, motifs, and symbols worksheet (due upon completion of

our reading – you may fill it out as we finish reading)

Themes, Motifs and Symbols

• Theme: the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work; underlying issues or ideas of a work; the way in which a work of literature raises a question or explores an issue in addition to telling a story.

• Eliezer’s faith in God/struggle to maintain his faith: “Why did I pray? . . . Why did I live? Why did I breathe?” (7) At the beginning, Eliezer’s faith is strong, and unconditional, and he cannot imagine life without it, but his faith is shaken by the Holocaust and the atrocities he witnesses. As Eliezer witnesses the agonizingly slow death of the Dutch Oberkapo’s pipel, a young boy hanged for collaborating against the Nazis, he hits a low point of questioning his faith, “Where is God now?”And I heard a voice within me answer him:“Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows. . . .” (This symbolizes the death of the child, but also the death of Eliezer’s God, his faith, and his youth and innocence.

Themes, Motifs and Symbols

• Motif: a recurring, structures, contrasts or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes; a recurring pattern of images, words, or symbols that reveals a theme in a work of literature. – Tradition: The Jewish faith is over 6,000 year old. Tradition

plays a significant role in Jewish life. The Nazi’s wanted to destroy the Jews and anything related to their customs, traditions, and way of life. Examples? Eliezer clings to tradition as a link to the outside world. Text Examples?

Themes, Motifs and Symbols

• Symbol: objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts; places, events, characters that carry more than literal meanings, and provide meaning of the work as a whole. – Fire: represents the Nazi’s cruel power, as opposed to what

fire means in the Jewish tradition - fire in the Bible portrays God and his divine wrath, and is also a sign of divine retribution. In the Bible, those who are wicked are punished with fire, but in the Holocaust, those who are wicked (Nazi’s) yielded the power of fire . Text Examples?

Monday, June 9th – Wednesday June 11th 8th ELA: Period 4, 5, and 6

Mrs. Christensen here – be on your BEST behavior! • Bell Work:

– Get your journal and a copy of Night– Please check your backpacks for copies of Night – several are missing. Also, be KIND to

these books! They are worse now than before YOU started reading them! – If you’ve checked out any books from me return them to Mrs. C! I need these to get rid of

your fines! • Night:

– Continue reading, discussing, and completing writing prompts as assigned – Themes, Motifs, and Symbols worksheet (some time in class/rest HW – focus on finding

quotes for each so you can finish this at home) – due Friday! – Oprah & Elie Wiesel at Aushwitz video & notes (after finishing the book– “I learned” written response (assigned after video and due Friday)

• Mrs. Jensen thank you cards (due Friday ) – (time in class TBD) • HW:

– Night: “Themes, Motifs, Symbols” worksheet with explanations due Friday, June 13th/”I learned” typed response due Friday, June 13th

– Mrs. Jensen thank you card – due Friday, June 13th

NightReading 4

Pg. 63-80 (small book) Pg. 66-84 (large book)

By Elie Wiesel

Night Reading 4 Pg. 63-80 (small book) Pg. 66-84 (large book)

Discuss with your table group/report out: • On Rosh Hashanah, Eliezer says, “I was alone – terribly

alone in a world without God and without man. Without love or mercy. I had ceased to be anything but ashes…” (Wiesel 65). Eliezer is describing himself at a religious service attended by ten thousand men, including his own father. What do you think he means when he says that he is alone? In what sense is he alone?

• Choose one other quote from this section with your group and present the significance to the class, by connecting it to a theme in the book.

NightReading 5Pg. 81-109 (small book)Pg. 85-115 ( large book)

By Elie Wiesel

Night Reading 5 Written ResponsePg. 81-109 (small book)Pg. 85-115( large book)

• Class discussion: 1. What does Eliezer mean when he writes that he feels free

after his father’s death? Is he free of responsibility? Or is he free to go under, to drift off into death?

2. Eliezer later states, “After my father’s death, nothing could touch me any more.” What does he mean by these words? What do they suggest about his struggle to maintain his identity?

Oprah & Elie Wiesel in Aushwitz

Directions: As you watch the video please take notes in your journal. Make a new entry. Write down at least 15 facts or examples of things that shocked you, moved you, etc. from the interview!

NightI Learned Response

By Elie Wiesel

Night I Learned Response

• Write about what you learned as you read this text. Be specific. What do you know now that you didn’t know before? It can be about yourself, other human beings, the Holocaust, etc.

• Use textual evidence to make your response stronger.

• Your response must be at least a well organized one page thoughtful, specific (details, points, commentary, and textual evidence explained!) response, and must be typed (double spaced) using complete sentences, with proper grammar and conventions.