Night by Elie Wiesel Allusions At the end of tonight’s homework you will know more about the current section we are reading, what to look for while reading, and take a look at allusions as seen in Night.

Current Section of the Novel The Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins to take on new meaning for the Jews in the camp, except for Elie. He begins to accuse God for what is happening around him and starts to feel strength in his hatred. Another inspection occurs, and Elie is hoping his dad will live through it. Elie sees his old family friend, Akiba Drumer, for the last time. Elie’s father passes the latest inspection they both give each other the strength to survive. Elie goes through a very painful surgery on his foot to help with the swelling. The Russians are coming and that the prisoners must evacuate immediately. Elie and his father decide to go on the newest death march instead of staying in the infirmary.

As we read… Keep track of the new characters being introduced as well as the main events in the story. Start looking for allusions how do they give greater meaning to the novel Start to notice cause and effect relationships in the novel

Allusion Allusion is a reference to a well-known historical person, place, thing, or event in a story. Writers often include allusions in order to add deeper meaning to the subject about which they are writing. Night contains many allusions to the characters and stories of the Old Testament because the experience of Elie and his family centers around the fact that they are Jewish and, therefore, singled out by Hitler and the Nazi party for extermination.

Apply your Knowledge! Allusion Activity Directions: Create a t-chart like that seen on the next slide. You will write down the examples from the text, and comment on the allusions think about their purpose in adding meaning to Elie’s experiences. You may need to search the web on some names or events in order to have further knowledge of the allusions themselves.

Example from Text Comment on the deeper meaning of this allusion (you don’t have to write the red text): 1. “At that time it was still possible to obtain emigration permits to Palestine. Remember when we looked up the word Zionism in class (reference that in your answer here) 2. “Here came the Rabbi, his back bent, his face shaved, his pack on his back. His mere presence among the deportees added a touch of unreality to the scene. It was like a passage from some book, from some historical novel about the captivity of Babylon or the Spanish Inquisition.” Remember how we talked about the significance of this section in class (you might need to look up Captivity of Babylon or Spanish Inquisition for your answer on this one) 3. “How I sympathized with Job! I did not deny the existence of God, but I doubted His absolute justice.” Might have to look up who Job is, and why one might sympathize with him.

You are finished! Don’t forget to answer the questions in the digital section!