HANNAH+V.

//NIGHT// PREREADING ACTIVITY

Imagine yourself in the following situation: You and your family have been driven from your home. Now separated from them, you are suddenly alone. Shoved into a train like cattle, you are surrounded by screaming women, weeping children, silent old men, and ruthless soldiers. There is no food, no water, horror, and madness everywhere. Having arrived at your destination, you smell the stench of burning flesh: babies, children like yourself. Men and boys are hanged daily. There is only soup and perhaps a few morsels of stale bread to eat. You work until exhausted and are beaten for not marching in step. The gold in your teeth is extracted without anesthesia. Frozen and broken bodies surround you. Weekly you must run like a madman to escape being selected to die in the gas chambers or to burn in the crematory. You can’t even wonder if it will end, and you know that God has deserted you. You try to survive each day and lie through each night!

1. Do you believe something like this could ever happen to you? Why or why not?

2. What would be your first reaction to this horrifying experience?

3. What means might you use to deal with what is happening (example: would you lie, cheat, steal)?

4. Do you think it would be better to give up and die or try to survive?

5. Inhumanity means being inhumanly cruel and brutal. Do you think the world could ever allow this kind of inhumanity to happen again?

6. What kind of punishment do you feel would be suitable for this kind of inhumanity?

7. Do you think this kind of inhumanity could exist in our day and age?

Reading Guide

The following questions are thought questions that relate to various themes and ideas in the reading. Use these questions to guide your reading and better understanding of the novel. Be prepared to share your responses in class discussion or in a writing assignment. Please answer all questions in COMPLETE SENTENCES.

__Chapter 1, pages 1-22__ 1. Why does Eliezer pray and why does he cry when he prays Elie prays because praying is apart of his life! Elie cries when he prays because he feels like he should and some of the prayers are sad so he has a reason to cry.

2. Why don’t people believe Moche’s stores? They don’t believe Moche’s story because they thought he was going mad and crazy!

3. Site examples of how the Jews gradually lose their freedom. The Jews lose their freedom in several ways! They are put in ghettos and treated like they are toys! Also just because they are Jews they are treated unfairly and different than everyone else!

__Chapter 2, pages 23-28__ 4. What does Madam Shachter’s nightmares about a fire foreshadow? Madam Shachter’s nightmares foreshadow sacredness, loneliness and she is going crazy!

5. Where does the train finally stop? The train finally stops in Birkenau, Auschwitz! The work camp!

__Chapter 3, pages 29-46__ 6. When questioned by the SS officer, why does Elie lie about his occupation and age? Elie lies about his age and job because the inmate told him to!

7. Why does Elie disbelieve what his own eyes show him? Elie disbelieves what his eyes show him because everything that he does see is all very graphic and real! Elie is also very disturbed and its almost as if he is like in his own dream, dreaming this! 8. Why is Elie now reluctant to pray? Elie is now reluctant to prey because he now has a reason to and he preys that he wont die and preys that his whole family wont die!!! __Chapter 4, pages 47-65__ 9. Why is Elie summoned to the dentist? Elie is summoned to the dentist because he has a gold tooth and the SS officers are trying to make him! Then Elie says "No" and he is threatened by the SS that they will get back at him somehow! They get back at him by working is Father to death! So he finally goes to the dentist and they pull his tooth out with a rusty spoon and NO medicine to stop the pain! 10. How does Elie react to his father’s beating? Elie reacts to his Fathers beating by finally going to the dentist and getting his gold tooth pulled by a rusty spoon! 11. Why is the hanging of the “sad eyed angel” said to be one of the most profoundly moving events in the novel? The hanging of the "sad eyed angel" is so moving because it says that the 13 year old boy was so small and thin that he was hanging there and was dying a slow death! It says he was hanging there/struggling there for about 30 minutes!! __Chapter 5, pages 66-84__ 12. What is selection? Selection is where there are three SS officers and they come and choose ten people based on how fit and muscular they are. if they are too thin then they are picked which means they are chosen to get burned into the gas chambers and die!!! That is what selection means!

__Chapter 6, pages 85-97__ 13. Why couldn’t Elie allow himself to die? Elie couldn't allow himself to die because he wanted to survive the camp! He wanted to survive Auschwitz and he wanted to survive life! 14. Why does Juliek play the violin? Juliek plays the violin for all of the Dead and the spirits among him! 15. Compare how the other boys treat their fathers with Eliezer’s treatment of his own father. Elie treats his Father with respect and he treats him as if his Father was himself! He treats him differently than others because the others just care about themself and only themself! They don't are about anyone! Elie cares about him but more his Father!! __Chapter 7-9 pages 98-115__ 16. Why can’t Elizer weep at his father’s death? If Elie weeps at his Father's death then he will die!! 17. When he is finally free, Elie wishes to see himself in the mirror. Why can’t he ever forget the look in the eyes of the corpse that gazes back at him? Elie can't forget the corpse of himself because he almost looked like a walking dead person, and he will never forget how he looked in the mirror.

Literary Analysis Characterization/Author’s Purpose After page: 34

Elie is a Jewish child who is extremely strong in his faith. He often spent nights in the synagogue weeping and praying. He was preparing himself to be initiating into “eternity.” Then came night.

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames, which consumed my faith forever. 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. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.

Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

1. What does “night’ symbolize to Elie? Why do you think he selected it as the title of his memoir? "Night" symbolizes everything that goes on in Elie's journey in Auschwitz! Elie chose this title "Night" because he was explaining the brutal things that went on when he was at the concentration camps! He also wanted the word/title "Night" to be stood out and remembered! 2. What fires does he speak of that consumed his faith forever? Why do these fires consume his faith? The fires that consume Elie's faith forever are the gas chambers! When Elie and his Father were waiting in line to be put in them it said that you could smell the burning flesh from the gas chambers as Elie and his Father grew closer and closer to them! The fires consume Elie's faith because he knew he was going to die a slow and painful death so he was losing faith to keep trying and not to give up! Elie was also thinking about running into the barbed wire/electric fences to die more quickly! 3. Do you find it difficult to believe that a boy so devout in his faith could lose his faith? Why? I think that Elie can lose his faith whether he is devout or not! Anyone can have faith, but something so horrible and tragic like the gas chambers, anyone can lose there faith in the blink of an eye! 4. Why does he lose his desire to live? Elie loses desire to liv because he know that he is going to die sooner or later and he thinks that there is no point in staying alive if you are being worked to death or being threatened to be killed! 5. Elie spoke these words as an adolescent. Do you think that as an adult his feelings have changed? Why? As being an adult, Elie's feelings can change because he can understand more of what is going on and he can also change his feelings because as an adult you are more mature and you can handle more things! 6. Why do you suppose Elie wrote this novel? Elie wrote this novel because he wanted to write it all down so he and everyone can read what he went through and he wanted to remember it for a memory! I also think he wrote this because he wanted to have proof that the holocaust was true and wanted to show how cruel it was and everything!

Literary Analysis: Characterization Elie explicitly recounts events that describe his relationship with his father during imprisonment in the camps. He also describes events in the relationships of other fathers and sons in the camps.

In your book there are many examples of father-son relationships. Give examples, including the page number of a father son relationship and tell what you think about that relationship, tell why you might or might not have acted in a similar way. This does not have to be done on Elie and his father. There are many other examples of father-son relationships as well. An example has been done for you.

Example: Page 39: Relationship shown:Elie’s father is struck, but Elie does not move to help him. His father whispers that the blow does not hurt. Although Elie does not move, he feels remorse and hatred toward the gypsy. He is angry and unforgiving.

What I think: Elie is a child and probably fears that if he helps his father, he too will be beaten. His father does not blame him and does not want to see him beaten or do something he might regret; thus, he tells Elie that the blow des not hurt.

I would’ve done: This seems to be a relationship where the father is protective of the son who is young and frightened. I would have acted in the same way if I were the father, thinking that I need to protect my child.

1. Page 43-44

Relationship shown:Stein is Elie's Father's relative. They haven't seen eachother in awhile and they are both at the camp!

What I think:I think that Stein is very nice and I think that him and Father are scared just like everyone else for being in the camp!

I would’ve done:I would have at least tried to run away from the camp instead of worked to death and such!

2. Page 49-50

Relationship shown:Everyone arrived at the camp! Also All of the Germans are expressing how they feel by these concentration camps!

What I think:I think that the Germans are very mean and cruel to do all of this!!

I would’ve done:I would have ran away!

3. Page 55-56

Relationship shown:Father is struggling and Elie is trying to help him out but Father is just too old and weak!

What I think:I think that it is really sad that Father is struggling to walk in step and work like everyone else!

I would’ve done:I would have tried to march/walk in the same beat as everyone else!

4. Page 90-91

Relationship shown:Rabbi Eliahu was nice enough to try and share the bread with his son but his son was very hungry and killed his own Father!

What I think:I think that Rabbi Eliahu was a good man and i think that his son was selfish and was just trying to save himself and nobody else!

I would’ve done:I would have gotten very mad at Rabbi Eliahu's son if i was Rabbi Eliahu!

5. Page 101

Relationship shown:Everyone in the cattle car was very hungry and they wanted food because they were being starved.

What I think:I think that everyone in the cattle car was going crazy because they all went for the piece of bread and the son killed his own Father just for a piece of bread! I just think that that was pretty pointless!!

I would’ve done:I would have stopped the son from choking his own Father and I would have gotten angry!

6. Page 112

Relationship shown:Elie tried everything he could to try and push his Father to stay alive!

What I think:I think that Father tried to survive and he fought hard to stay alive! He was getting old not in age but his body was and he just couldn't take all of that cruelty anymore!

I would’ve done:I would have sat next to him and comforted him the whole night and i would have tried to push him to stay alive and live! I would have told him that its almost over just a few more days an we will be free!!

__Night__ Irony

Read each passage below. Explain what is //ironic// about the meaning of the passage.

1. “but we had been marching for only a few moments when we saw the barbed wire of another camp. An iron door with this inscription on it: ‘Work is liberty!’ “ (page 40) The ironic thing in this passage is that it says "Work is liberty" And for the camps that they have to go to that it isn't liberty! 2. “Some of the prominent members of the community came…to ask him what he thought of the situation. My father did not consider it so grim…’The yellow star? Oh well, what of it? You don’t die of it…’ ” (page 11) The ironic thing in this passage is that the yellow star is bad and Elie's Father is saying it is not that bad! 3. “On we went between the electric wires. At each step, a white placard with a death’s head on it stared us in the face. A caption: ‘Warning, Danger of Death.’ ” (page 40) The ironic thing in this passage is that it says on a sign "Warning danger of death" That pretty much says that the Germans don't even care about killing the Jews and they think it is funny! 4. I’ve got more faith in Hitler than anyone else. He’s the only one who’s kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people.” (page 51) I think that when it says "I've got more faith in Hitler than anyone else is quite odd because he is the one who started the concentration camps and it was his idea to build the gas chambers and the crematories, and this person is saying that he likes him more than anyone yet he created all of this cruelty!! Inhumanity //Night// is filled with thoughts and comments that reflect inhumanity of World War II. Explain what each of the following excerpts from the novel mean.

1. “The world? The world is not concerned with us. Today anything is allowed. Anything is possible, even these crematories.” (page 33) This means that anything is allowed even putting bodies in the crematories! I also think it means that the Jews should be aware and well behaved! 2. “Work makes you free.” (page 40) I think that "Work makes you free" means that all Jews should behave and be careful of what they do! If they work hard they could possibly be free! But know one knows for sure! 3. “we were not afraid. And yet, if a bomb had fallen on the blocks, it alone would have claimed hundreds of victims on the spot. But we were not longer afraid of death; at any rate, not of that death. Every bomb that exploded filled us with joy and gave us new confidence in life.” (page 60) This quote from Night is pretty much saying that the Jews are happy that the camps are being bombed! If parts of the camp were to get bombed then the Jews could possibly be free! 4. “I witnessed other hangings. I never saw a single one of the victims weep. For a long time those dried up bodies had forgotten the bitter taste of tears.” (page 63) This means that Elie hasn't seen someone get hung before and The dried up bodies have been forgotten and they can taste the bitter taste of tears!!