Night Notes

Part 1 Notes

Timeline  Novel begins in 1941 – Eliezer is almost 13  Moishe left and returned – end of 1942  1943 passed “normally”  1944 – spring – new gvmt, Nazi takeover, Passover, Ghettos, liquidation

Character list  Ch 1 p.3 – Moishe the Beadle- poor, goofy, religious  Ch 1 p. 4 – Father – cultured, aloof to son, high regard in community (w/ mom runs a store)  Ch 1 p. 4 –Siblings – Hilda, Bea, Tzipora

Pt 1 – Analyzing Identity: Who is Eliezer?  Eliezer’s Perception of Self  Close reading # 1 p.3-4  Close reading # 2 p  Close reading # 3: p  The German Perception of Eliezer/Jews  Close reading # 2 p  Close reading # 3: p

Pt 1 – Analyzing Identity: Who is Eliezer? (3rd period)  Eliezer’s Perception of Self  Close reading # 1 p.3-4  Deeply observant/religious  Studies over work  Independent  Curious  Close reading # 2 p  Lack enthusiasm for Passover/pretend  Close reading # 3: p  Place of worship – prison  Dinner – going through motions  The German Perception of Eliezer/Jews  Close reading # 2 p  Restricting rights – treating like children/prisoners  Going out  Stars  Valuables  Close reading # 3: p  Treated like cattle  “herded” into synagogue  Cattle cars  Bread and “pail” water

Part 2

Timeline  Novel begins in 1941 – Eliezer is almost 13  Moishe left and returned – end of 1942  1943 passed “normally”  1944 – spring – new gvmt, Nazi takeover, Passover, Ghettos, liquidation  May 1944 – train for 3? Days – Birkenau – transferred to Auschwitz – Block 17 – few weeks – taken to Buna

Character list  Pt 1 p.3 – Moishe the Beadle- poor, goofy, religious  Pt 1 p. 4 – Father – cultured, aloof to son, high regard in community (w/ mom runs a store)  Pt 1 p. 4 –Siblings – Hilda, Bea, Tzipora  Pt 2 p. 24 – Mrs. Sch ӓ chter – went ‘crazy’ on train  Pt 2 p. 43 – Stein from Antwerp – relative – Eliezer lied, he found the truth and most likely died  Pt 2 p. 45 – Akiba Drumer – fellow prisoner  Pt 2 p. 45 – Hersh Genud – fellow prisoner

Identity Close Reading – Part 2  Dapperheim & Urafiki: pgs  Sonador & Pemberi: pgs  Read through and find examples of how the Nazis try to strip Eliezer (and more broadly, the Jews) of his identity. Record examples w/ page numbers in your notebook.

Identity Close Reading – Part 2  P.29 – separated from personal items/home  P. 24 – shot like dogs/dehumanizing  P.24 – stealing items/home  P.36 – Kapos beating  P. 35 – strip of clothing/hair – individuality  P.33 – lose faith

Part 3/4

Character list  Part 3 p. 49 – Juliek – Polish – Orchestra  Part 3 p. 49 –Franek – Foreman, wanted crown & tormented father (p. 54)  Part 3 p. 50 – Idek – Kapo of work group – p – fools around w/ girl, 25 lashes for Eliezer  Part 3 p. 50 – Yossi & Tibi – brothers from Czechoslovakia  Part 3 p – French woman – spoke German, gave Eliezer bread

Timeline  May 1944 – train for 3? Days – Birkenau – transferred to Auschwitz – Block 17 – few weeks – taken to Buna  (Part 3) Summer 44 – working at Buna, Idek incident, bombing, hangings  (Part 4) Fall Winter/1944 – Holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur), Selection, Surgery, Evacuation

1.What is keeping the prisoners going? (motivation) 2.Without $, what is used as currency? 3.Find two examples of kindness that Eliezer experiences in pt 3. 4.How does Eliezer watching his father get beaten by Idek differ from the previous beating by the gypsie? 5. Why does Idek give Eliezer 25 lashes? Why do it publicly? 6. Why would Eliezer be happy to see the factory being bombed? 7. What are some differences between the two hangings? 8. Why does the soup taste different after each hanging? (what does it symbolize?)

Part 5/6

Timeline  May 1944 – train for 3? Days – Birkenau – transferred to Auschwitz – Block 17 – few weeks – taken to Buna  Summer 44 – working at Buna, Idek incident, bombing, hangings  Fall Winter/1944 – Holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur), Selection, Surgery, Evacuation  January 1945 – Death March to Gleiwitz (~13 miles 1 st night, ~42 miles total), 3 days w/o food, water, then train to Buchenwald (4? Days)  January 1945 – Arrival at Buchenwald, struggle to help father  January 29 th, 1945 – Father’s death  April 5 th –Beginning of evacuations & no food  April 10 th – Almost evacuated – alert  April 11 th –Resistance, SS fled, Americans arrive

Character list Zalman – young boy who dies during death march Rabbi Eliahu – son abandons him during march Juliek – plays violin until death Meir Katz – gardener/friend – doesn’t survive train

Discussion Questions  1. “I shall always remember that smile. Where in the world did it come from?” (p. 90) Where do you think the smile came from?  2. What horrible realization did Elie come to concerning Rabbi Eliahou and his son?  3. What was Juliek’s last act? Why did he do it?  4. What is the physical condition of Elie and his father after covering more than 42 miles by foot?  5. How did Elie help his father when the selection was made? How did Elie again help his father when they were on the train?  6. How many got out of the wagon? Where had they arrived?

Discussion Questions  1.. What is Elie’s father’s condition and spirit at Buchenwald?  2. When he becomes separated from his father, what is Elie’s thought that he is ashamed of later?  3. What did Elie think of the advice given to him by the head of the block?  4. What was the resistance movement? What did they do?  5. What did the prisoners do when they were freed?  6. Do the released prisoners think of revenge?

Whole-Class Discussion  1. Compare the description of father’s death on p. 112 and xii. Which description is more powerful? Why do you think Wiesel changed it?  2. Compare the ending on pg 115 with his original ending on pg xiii. Which ending do you like better? Why?