ELI+W.

//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 I wrote in my own format:Chapters one questions:

1 Why does Eliezer pray and why does he cry when he prays? Eliezer doesn't know why he prays. Eliezer cries when he prays because something inside of him wants to cry.

2 Why don’t people believe Moche’s storys? People don’t believe Moche’s stories because they think he is crazy. They are also in denial. People don't think it can happen or they think Hitler is losing and won't keep attacking.

3 Cite examples of how the Jews gradually lose their freedom. Some examples of how the Jews lost their freedom are they are forced into ghettos and food is rationed. They also loose their rights in the community. The rights they loose are they have to give up any positions in the community and have to wear Jewish star patches.

Chapter two questions:

4 What does Madam Shachter’s nightmares about a fire foreshadow? Madam Shachter’s nightmares foreshadow the crematoriums and the death in the concentration camps.

5 Where does the train finally stop? The train finally stops in Birkenau.

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 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 occupation because he wants to stay with father and he doesn't want to be killed because he is too weak. 7. Why does Elie disbelieve what his own eyes show him? Elie disbelieves his own eyes because he can't believe what is going on with all the death and killing. 8. Why is Elie now reluctant to pray? Elie is reluctant to pray because he thought God didn't exist anymore and why he should praise His name when all He did was bring death. __Chapter 4, pages 47-65__ 9. Why is Elie summoned to the dentist? Elie is summoned to the dentist because he needs his gold crown removed. 10. How does Elie react to his father’s beating? Elie reacts to his father's beating by being mad at his father for not avoiding the blows and standing silent. 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 said to be one of the most profoundly moving events in this novel because it shows the inhumanity of the Nazi's and how the SS officer didn't even want to hang him and how he sat there for 30 minutes before dying because he was so light. __Chapter 5, pages 66-84__ 12. What is selection? Selection is the process where Dr. Mengele and the SS come in snd check everyone to see if they are weak. If they are weak they are to be killed. The test for the selection is running. Tobi and Yoshi run with Elie.

__Chapter 6, pages 85-97__ 13. Why couldn’t Elie allow himself to die? Elie won't allow himself to die because he needs to survive and he has come so far he can't now. 14. Why does Juliek play the violin? Juliek plays the violin because when he does he escapes the outside world of suffering and pain. 15. Compare how the other boys treat their fathers with Eliezer’s treatment of his own father. The other boys don't really treat there father very special they just want to survive. Elie treats he very extremely special because he loves him very much. __Chapter 7-9 pages 98-115__ 16. Why can’t Elizer weep at his father’s death? Eli can't cry at his father death because he has no more tears left to cry with. 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? He can't ever forget the look in the eyes of the corpse that gazes back at him because it looks like he is dead and it still haunts him.

Literary Analysis Characterization/Author’s Purpose After page: 34 1 What does “Night” symbolize to Ellie? Why do you think he selected //Night// as the title of his memoir? Night symbolizes his struggles about what goes on during the night. He selected it because it was the main point of the novel. This means night must have been a very significant part of Elie's experiences.

2 What fires does he speak of that the consumed his faith forever? Why do these flames consume his faith? The fires were the pits of death and horror that the SS threw babies and children in. They consume his faith because they make him believe God can’t help him.

3 Do you find it difficult to believe that a boy so devout in his faith could loose his faith? Why? I think a boy so devout in his faith could loose his faith because faith is just an invisible force that can’t affect what goes on in life.

4 Why does he lose his desire to live? Ellie loses his desire to live becasue he thinks there is no hope left for him.

5 Elie spoke these words as an adolecent. Do you think that as an adult his feelings would have changed? Why? I think it would be different because he would have more experience in life and have a better understanding of what was going on.

6 Why do you suppose Elie wrote this novel. I think he wrote it to inform us of what horrible things went on and for us not to go into denial like his town did if something like this happened again.

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.

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: The relationship shown was a distant relative named Stien and Elie. Stien brings Elie food and always cries when he sees Elie.

What I think: I think even though Stien is some far off relative he still brings Elie food and treats him like he's his own children.

I would’ve done: I would of taken the food from Stien and thanked him greatly. I also would of given him courage and said his family was O.K.

2. Page 49-50

Relationship shown: The relationship shown is with Elie and the new friends he has made: Tobi and Yoshi who are talking and singing Jewish songs.

What I think: I think it is always good to have friends in such a horrible place but you shouldn't get too close to them or you will suffer later if they die.

I would’ve done: I would have been very open to getting new friends but I still would have been cautious about them and singing Jewish songs.

3. Page 55-56

Relationship shown: The relationship was between Elie and his father. He would get beat for not walking in place and Elie would try to help him do that.

What I think: I think that was a very nice and generous thing for Elie to do. Although Elie and his father were made fun of they kept at it.

I would’ve done: I would of done the same thing because if one of parents were getting beat for not walking in place I would of done anything I could of done.

4. Page 90-91

Relationship shown: The relationship shown was between Elie's father and Rabbi Eliahu. They were talking about his son and how he had lost him.

What I think: I think that was a very sad about what happened to Rabbi Eliahu and how he lost his son and I would of done the same thing because he wouldn't of had the will to go on if he knew his son had abandoned him.

I would’ve done: I would have lied too because he would of had the chance of wanting to just sit there and die if he knew his son had left hima nd maybe died.

5. Page 101

Relationship shown: The relationship show is all the inmates because they were fighting over bread and killing each other.

What I think: I think it is horrible to kill someone over a piece of bread especially when it's your father.

I would’ve done: I would of sat back and not interfered because if I got in the way of that I could have died and it just wasn't worth it.

6. Page 112

Relationship shown: The relationship is between Elie and his father because it was when in the night he had been taken away and killed.

What I think: I think it was very saddening but he couldn't afford to be sad or morn you need yo keep going and survive.

I would’ve done: I would of done the same because you can't afford to mourn or stop everything to pray for him you need to get up and move on.

__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 irony of this statement is the Nazi's are really working the Jews to death not to freedom. 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 irony of that statement is the star really is their death because all the Jews were taken away and the way the Nazis identified Jews were from the stars. 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 irony of this statement is that the whole place is one big place card of death not a warning. 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) The irony of this statement is Hitler's promises were to exterminate the Jews and he had kept his promise and was in the process of doing that. The irony of this statement is that Hitler's promise was to kill the Jews and he certainly kept that promise. 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) The inhumanity of this statement is that other people knew what was going on but choose to ignore it and do nothing about it. 2. “Work makes you free.” (page 40) The inhumanity of this statement is that it is one big lie because work really kills you. The Nazis never were planning to let the Jews go. 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) The inhumanity of this statement is that the bombs were very scary and yet it means the Allies were getting closer. 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) The inhumanity of this statement is that people were used to that kind of pain and suffering so they didn't cry anymore when they saw death.