HANNAH+B.

//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? Eliezer prays because he want to study so he can be better and he cries because he feels a little part of him feels the need to. 2. Why don’t people believe Moche’s stores? People don't believe Moche's stories because they think he is mad and lying. 3. Site examples of how the Jews gradually lose their freedom. Jews lose their freedom when they can't own valubles,they must wear little gold stars and they must move into Ghettos. __Chapter 2, pages 23-28__ 4. What does Madam Shachter’s nightmares about a fire foreshadow? Madam Shchter's nightmares foreshadow the burning flames from the crematorium. 5. Where does the train finally stop? The train finally stops at Birkenau. __Chapter 3, pages 29-46__ 6. When questioned by the SS officer, why does Elie lie about his occupation and age? Elie lies so that he and his father will be grouped together, so they will not be killed and because a cell mate said to do so. 7. Why does Elie disbelieve what his own eyes show him? Elie disbelieves what he sees because what he sees is so horrible he does not want to see it. He also does not want to lose his faith. 8. Why is Elie now reluctant to pray? Elie is now reluctant the will to pray because he has no hope and faith in God and when he does pray it will be when he will die.

__Chapter 4, pages 47-65__ 9. Why is Elie summoned to the dentist? Elie is summoned to the dentist because the dentist wants his gold tooth. 10. How does Elie react to his father’s beating? Elie reacts to his father's beating by staying there and waching his father get beat. 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 angle" is the most profoundly moving events in this novel beacause it shows the terror and brutality that happened in the camps.

__Chapter 5, pages 66-84__ 12. What is selection? Selection is when you are chosen to be killed based on your health,strenght and over all apperance.

__Chapter 6, pages 85-97__ 13. Why couldn’t Elie allow himself to die? Elie could not allow himself to die beacause he had already gotton this far so he did not want to quit now. 14. Why does Juliek play the violin? Juliek plays the violin because that is the onlly thing left. 15. Compare how the other boys treat their fathers with Eliezer’s treatment of his own father. The other boys try to take advantage of their fathers but Elie tries to take care of his father the best that he can. __Chapter 7-9 pages 98-115__ 16. Why can’t Elizer weep at his father’s death? Elizer can't weep because he has no more tears left to shed. 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 want to see hislef in the mirror because he had not seen himslef since he was in the Ghetto. He can't forget the look in the eyes of the corpse that gazes back at him because that corpse was him.

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? I think that "night" symbolizes that the camps were nightmares and that the "night" is the darkness that covers every thing. 2. What fires does he speak of that consumed his faith forever? Why do these fires consume his faith? The fires are the flames of the cremartorium. These fires consume his faith beacause when he sees the children being burned he loses all his Faith in God. 3. Do you find it difficult to believe that a boy so devout in his faith could lose his faith? Why? I do not think it is hard to believe that a boy so devout could lose his faith beacause he thought that God would not let such horrible things happen and yet they happened. I also think that beacause when he saw the little children being burned with his own eyes he thought that there is no way that God would let this happen. 4. Why does he lose his desire to live? I think that he loses his desire to live because he lost all faith in God and that the world is not the way he thinks anymore. I also think that he knows he is going to be killed so what is the point anymore. 5. Elie spoke these words as an adolescent. Do you think that as an adult his feelings have changed? Why? I think that is would be hard to tell because he had lost all faith but people came in and stoped these concentration camps. Sadily it still took too long. so i think that his feelings might have changed but those feeling from before most likely still haunt him. 6. Why do you suppose Elie wrote this novel? I think that Elie wrote this book to show what happened in those camps and what it did to people. I also think that he wrote it to show all he pain he and the people around him felt and went 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: Elie lies to a relative named Stein about how his wife and children are safe.

What I think: I think that Elie lied because he knows that Stein is love shis family very much and only wants for them to be safe. I would’ve done: I would of done the same thing because knowing that your family is safe can be the only thing that can keep you going. 2. Page 49-50

Relationship shown: Elie want to stay by his father and he wants to work with his father too. What I think: I think that Elie wants to stay near his father so that they can stand by each other.

I would’ve done:I would of done the same thing so that we would be able to help each other.

3. Page 55-56

Relationship shown:Elie was debating weather to give up his gold crown or not. Elie's father tells him not to so that they will not take revenge o him.

What I think: I think that Elie's father just wanted to keep him safe and so that later Elie could sell the crown. I would’ve done: I would of done the same thing because the crown could of really helped alot. 4. Page 90-91 Relationship shown: Rabbi Eliahu's son has rid himself of his father by running to the front of the group.

What I think: I think that to that is horrible to just rid yourself of your father because you are tired. I would’ve done: I would of stayed by my father side just as Elie did. 5. Page 101

Relationship shown: A father has a peace of bread for his son and himself and his son comes and kills his father for it. What I think: I think that is the worst father son reletionship ever and that is one of the worst things to do to a father. I would’ve done:I would of never even think of doing anything like that to my dad!

6. Page 112

Relationship shown:Elie is told that he should be taking his father food and to just let him die but he does not want to let go. What I think:That what Elie was told is completely wrong anf you should stand by your family.

I would’ve done: I would of thought the same thing because you have to take care of your loved ones no matter what.

__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) This is ironic because the work wold end up killing you and having to work to be free is not 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) This is ironic because if you do wear the star it will get you killed because that star means you are Jewish. 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) This is ironic because because every single place in the camp had a danger of death. So what is the point of having one sign on one little fence!?

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 ironic because even if he did keep all his promises they all were to kill ever Jew and promises are ment to be positive.

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 is inhumane because the Nazis killed so many peopel and no one did anything about it for a long time. 2. “Work makes you free.” (page 40) This is inhumane because you should never have to work to be free and that work would end up killing you anyway. 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 is inuhmane because peopel should not feel joy from seeing a bomb hit. This is also inhumane because peoplel should not not fear 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 inhumane because people should not be treated so badly that death is better than being alive.