REECE

//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? noo i feel like the times have changed and knowone could ever succsed.

2. What would be your first reaction to this horrifying experience? i would think it was a nightmare just like the author.

3. What means might you use to deal with what is happening (example: would you lie, cheat, steal)? i would lie about my age and strength so i could live longer and wait for the usa.

4. Do you think it would be better to give up and die or try to survive? try to survive cuz if you try to survive atleast you have a chance of survivial.

5. Inhumanity means being inhumanly cruel and brutal. Do you think the world could ever allow this kind of inhumanity to happen again? i dont think its possivble to ever happen again because because its a cruel and unusaul punishment for no reason.

6. What kind of punishment do you feel would be suitable for this kind of inhumanity? dealth sentence a slow and panful one.

7. Do you think this kind of inhumanity could exist in our day and age? its happening in dar4 so it is possible.

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? he prayed because he study and was a faithful jew and moche the deable asked him and he doesnt know why he crys.

2. Why don’t people believe Moche’s stores? because people dont beleve such inhumanity could happen.

3. Site examples of how the Jews gradually lose their freedom. they had curview and were ordered by the ss and put into goetos then the camps.

__Chapter 2, pages 23-28__ 4. What does Madam Shachter’s nightmares about a fire foreshadow? In her mind she saw the cremetorials of he chimny in flames.

5. Where does the train finally stop? the train finally stops in Auschwitz.

__Chapter 3, pages 29-46__ 6. When questioned by the SS officer, why does Elie lie about his occupation and age? When Elie is questioned he lies because he wants young strong men but not to young, so to stay alvive he lied into saying what they want.

7. Why does Elie disbelieve what his own eyes show him? He can't beleve that he will never forget what he saw when the babies were getting thrown into the fire.

8. Why is Elie now reluctant to pray? Elie is reluctant to pray because he is starting to lose his faith, he didnt think his god would let this happen

__Chapter 4, pages 47-65__ 9. Why is Elie summoned to the dentist? Elie needs to go to the dentist because the dentist needs to take out fillings and sell it.

10. How does Elie react to his father’s beating? He doesn't try to help because his dad said the blows don't hurt so Elie doesn't go to help him and get beaten to.

11. Why is the hanging of the “sad eyed angel” said to be one of the most profoundly moving events in the novel? Its really sad because it symbolized that all the jews are going to die. __Chapter 5, pages 66-84__ 12. What is selection? Its when the kapos decide if you stay at the camp or transfer to a different camp

__Chapter 6, pages 85-97__ 13. Why couldn’t Elie allow himself to die? He couldnt leave his father alone because if he dies his father does to.

14. Why does Juliek play the violin? He wanted to die happily because violin was the only thing he could do.

15. Compare how the other boys treat their fathers with Eliezer’s treatment of his own father. The other boys would kill there fathers for there own scraps of bed and eliezer gave his bread to his father

__Chapter 7-9 pages 98-115__ 16. Why can’t Elizer weep at his father’s death? Eliezer cant weap because he ran out of tears.

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? Eliezer couldent imagine himself dead.

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 means to Elie scary things and he selected it as a memory. 2. What fires does he speak of that consumed his faith forever? Why do these fires consume his faith? the fire burns his faith because he doesn't believe a god could let something like this happen 3. Do you find it difficult to believe that a boy so devout in his faith could lose his faith? Why? yes because when you go through what elie has gone through it is unfathanable how you could.

4. Why does he lose his desire to live? he is about to die and every night is pain and he cant take it.

5. Elie spoke these words as an adolescent. Do you think that as an adult his feelings have changed? Why? no i feel like they have stuck with him forever. 6. Why do you suppose Elie wrote this novel? soo he can imform kids what he had to go through.

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:

What I think:

I would’ve done:

2. Page 49-50

Relationship shown: How close eli and his dad are

What I think: I think that anyother kid would let his dad go

I would’ve done: I would have tried to do the same thing but back then who knows

3. Page 55-56

Relationship shown:

What I think:

I would’ve done:

4. Page 90-91

Relationship shown: Awful didnt even seem like his dad

What I think: I think that for anyone to do that should feel awful kill there own father for bread.

I would’ve done: I Would have let my dad have all the bread.

5. Page 101

Relationship shown:That eli doesnt want his father to die.

What I think:I think it was really hard for them not to sleep.

I would’ve done: I woukd have let my dad sleep wake him up when ss were coming

6. Page 112

Relationship shown: That eleizer really cared about his dad

What I think:I think that this really shows eleizers love.

I would’ve done: I beleve or hope that i would have done the same thing.

__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 about that is the said they only for a few moments they have been marching but they marched from one camp to the other.

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 about that is he says the yellow star does not kill them but it kinda does because it symbolizes they are jewish which kills them.

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.’ ”Its ironic because why are you warning them about death when the hole reason there, there is to kill them. (page 40)

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)This is really ironic because any jewish person who believens hitler after he put you in the camps.

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) People should not have to worry about dying just because there jewish.

2. “Work makes you free.” (page 40)Jewish people shouldn't have to work to be free even when they dont go free for working they should just be free.

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)They were getting bomb they were so cruel they weren't even scared of death.

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 is the most inhuman because they hung a 13 year old kid. The fact that they hung anyone is just awful.