1. Night By Elie Wiesel “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me. The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me.”

2. Elie Wiesel Born in Hungary in 1928. As a teenager his family was taken from their home to the Auschwitz concentration camp. After the war he lived in France where he wrote Night, a memoir of his experience as a Holocaust survivor. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.

3. Introduction to Night Night is Elie Wiesel’s account of his family’s deportation to Nazi concentration camps during WWII. Night documents its author’s struggle to maintain faith in the face of unspeakable evil.

4. Non-Fiction Based on real events, people, and places. Written to convey factual information but shaped according to the writer’s purpose and attitude. Must be examined closely to uncover bias, gaps, or errors in logic.

5. Rhetoric/ Rhetorical Analysis Rhetoric is the art of formal/persuasive speech. Authors have a purpose behind their writing – but how does an author achieve his/her purpose? Fiction  Literary Devices (Characterization, imagery, foreshadowing, allusions, etc.) Non-Fiction  Rhetorical Devices (ethos, pathos, logos, parallelism, repetition, etc.) These tropes and schemes can be used interchangeably. Pay attention to the rhetorical devices Wiesel uses to achieve his purpose.

6. Genre A Memoir is a form of autobiography, typically focused on meaningful incidents in a person’s life. A Memoir relies on an author’s memories, feelings, and interpretations of these incidents. A Memoir cannot always be taken as absolute objective truth. Readers must consider the possibility that the author is manipulating events for artistic effect.

7. Anti-Semitism  “Anti-Jewish” racism.  For centuries in Europe, Jewish business people have been resented and stereotyped as greedy and dishonest.  Jews were considered outsiders and largely made scapegoats.  This treatment has persisted for centuries, as Jews were killed or exiled.

8. The Third Reich Following Germany’s defeat in WWI, Jews were again made a scapegoat. Adolf Hitler, and the National Socialist Party (NAZI), used Anti- Semitism to gain popular support. The NAZIs claimed that the Aryans (Germans) were a “Master Race” deserving to rule over all others. Social Darwinism

9. The Holocaust In 1933, the Nazis enforced segregation on the Jews, seized their assets and property, and used secret police to terrorize. By 1939, Jews and Slavic people, also considered “subhuman”, were rounded into Ghettos and concentration camps. In 1942, Nazis began their “final solution” – extermination in death camps. The sick, elderly, women, and children were killed on arrival; fit men and women worked construction, mine, or factory jobs to supply the German army. Approximately 6 million Jews died.

10. Genocide The deliberate and systematic killing of a particular national, racial, political, or cultural group. Examples in the 20 th century: Armenia (1 million between 1915-1923), The Holocaust (6 million between 1938-1945), Cambodia (2 million between 1975-1979), Bosnia (96,000 between 1991-1993), Rwanda (1 million in 100 days in 1994).

12. Ch. 1-3 Vocabulary 1. Encumbered (adj.) 2. Mysticism (n.) 3. Anecdotes (n.) 4. Expound (v.) 5. Farce (n.) 6. Hermetically (adv.) 7. Monotonous (adj.) 8. Pestilence (n.) 9. Stench (n.) 10. Abominable (adj.) 11. Unremittingly (adv.) 12. Lucidity (n.) 13. Leprous (adj.) 14. Congealing (v.) 15. Blandishments (n.)

14. Ch. 1-3 Vocabulary 1. Encumbered (adj.) – held back; hindered. 2. Mysticism (n.) – vague, obscure thinking or belief. 3. Anecdotes (n.) – short, entertaining, personal stories. 4. Expound (v.) – explain or interpret. 5. Farce (n.) – exaggerated comedy. 6. Hermetically (adv.) – sealed in a completely airtight way. 7. Monotonous (adj.) – tiresome (because of no variation). 8. Pestilence (n.) – fatally contagious or infectious disease. 9. Stench (n.) – offensive smell or odor. 10. Abominable (adj.) -- nasty and disgusting; unpleasant. 11. Unremittingly (adv.) – not stopping or relaxing. 12. Lucidity (n.) – clarify; cleanliness. 13. Leprous (adj.) – having a progressively infectious disease. 14. Congealing (v.) – thickening; solidifying. 15. Blandishments (n.) – flattering statements.

15. Levels of Understanding Ch. 1 Response (+2): 1. What do you think of young Elie so far? What evidence leads you to form this impression? 2. In a dangerous situation, is someone like Moishe justified in fleeing to save himself? Analysis (+4): 3. Why is it ironic that the townspeople are reassured when German military officers are billeted in Jewish homes? 4. How is Mr. Wiesel’s insistence that the yellow star is “not lethal” ironic? Synthesis (+6): 5. The Chief Rabbi’s appearance among the deported Jews prompts allusions to “the captivity in Babylon or the Spanish Inquisition”. Explain the relevance of these allusions Evaluation (+8): 6. By the end of the chapter, which character emerges as more influential: Moishe the Beadle or Mr. Wiesel? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

16. Levels of Understanding Ch. 2-3 Response (+2): 1. Is the deportees’ treatment of Mrs. Schacter defensible? Explain. 2. Who is doing a better job of adapting to life in Auschwitz, Eliezer or his father? Explain. Analysis (+4): 3. Describe the tone of the German officers’ dialogue. Give a specific example. 4. Explain the irony of Mr. Wiesel telling his son Elie that it is “a shame you did not go with your mother”. Synthesis (+6): 5. How is the author developing “night” into a symbol? Briefly explain the meaning of this symbol as it has been developed at this point. Evaluation (+8): 6. The author does not describe his own family during the train transport to Birkenau. Is this omission important to the narrative? Why or why not?

17. Ch. 4-6 Vocabulary 1. Emigrate (v.) 2. Immigrate (v.) 3. Sanctity (n.) 4. Reprieve (n.) 5. Imperceptibly (adv.) 6. Stricken (adj.) 7. Afflicted (adj.) 8. Din (n.) 9. Balm (n.) 10. Summarily (adv.) 11. Automatons (n.) 12. Entities (n.) 13. Stifled (adj.) 14. Famished (adj.) 15. Encumbrance (n.)

20. Ch. 4-6 Vocabulary 1. Emigrate (v.) – to leave one country or region to settle in another. 2. Immigrate (v.) – to come to a new country or region. 3. Sanctity (n.) – saintliness or holiness. 4. Reprieve (n.) – postponement of penalty. 5. Imperceptibly (adv.) – slight; gradual; subtle. 6. Stricken (adj.) – struck down; pain or suffering. 7. Afflicted (adj.) – affected with something painful or distressing. 8. Din (n.) – a loud, continuous noise. 9. Balm (n.) – something healing or soothing. 10. Summarily (adv.) – hastily; arbitrarily; quickly. 11. Automatons (n.) – something that operates automatically. 12. Entities (n.) – beings. 13. Stifled (adj.) – suffocated or smothered. 14. Famished (adj.) – weakened from hunger. 15. Encumbrance (n.) – hindrance or obstruction.

21. Levels of Understanding Ch. 4 Response: 1. Do you agree with the veteran inmates’ statement that “Buna is a very good camp”? Why or why not? 2. Who appears to be a stronger person in this chapter, Eliezer or his father? Explain. Analysis: 3. What does the episode concerning Eliezer’s gold tooth indicate about his character? 4. Explain the function of the prolepsis to the author’s meeting with the French woman in Paris. Synthesis: 5. Compare the three incidents at the end of Chapter 4 that describe the shooting and hanging deaths in the Buna camp. What do these incidents emphasize about the meaning of death? Evaluation: 6. Does Chapter 4 effectively reveal the irony of the inmates claim that “Buna is a very good camp”.

22. Levels of Understanding Ch. 5-6 Response: 1. Is the veteran inmates’ description of early days at the Buna camp encouragement or mockery? Explain. 2. Is the abandonment of Rabbi Eliahu by his son justifiable? Why or why not? Analysis: 3. Explain how the events of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur develop the theme of Eliezer’s struggle to maintain his religious faith. 4. Explain the irony created by Eliezer and his father’s decision to be evacuated with the other prisoners. Synthesis: 5. How are Eliezer’s actions on Rosh Hashanah in opposition to the traditional meaning of the holiday? Evaluation: 6. What are the most important reasons why Eliezer decides to join the evacuation instead of remaining in the Buna infirmary as the Russian army approaches?

23. Ch. 7-9 Vocabulary 1. Indifference (n.) 2. Livid (adj.) 3. Avidly (adv.) 4. Grimace (n.) 5. Tether (v.) 6. Hillock (n.) 7. Plaintive (adj.) 8. Beseeching (v.) 9. Riveted (v.) 10. Spasmodically (adv.) 11. Idleness (n.) 12. Truncheon (n.) 13. Liquidated (v.) 14. Innumerable (adj.) 15. Deportees (n.)

25. Ch. 7-9 Vocabulary 1. Indifference (n.) – lack of concern, interest, or feeling. 2. Livid (adj.) – discolored. 3. Avidly (adv.) – enthusiastically. 4. Grimace (n.) – a twisting or distortion. 5. Tether (v.) – to fasten or confine. 6. Hillock (n.) – a small hill. 7. Plaintive (adj.) – sad; mournful. 8. Beseeching (v.) – earnestly, eagerly. 9. Riveted (v.) – fixed or held (attention). 10. Spasmodically (adv.) – violently; fitfully; intermittently. 11. Idleness (n.) – inactivity; laziness. 12. Truncheon (n.) – a short, thick club. 13. Liquidated (v.) – eliminated; disposed of. 14. Innumerable (adj.) – too numerous to be counted; many. 15. Deportees (n.) – a person sentenced to be banished.

26. Levels of Understanding Ch. 7-8 Response 1. The author provides two instances in which people freely give to others: The German laborers and passersby who throw pieces of bread into the train, and the Parisian lady who throws coins to the people of Aden. Why do you think these people “give charity”? Explain. 2. Do you think Eliezer’s anger towards his father is justified? Explain. Analysis 3. What other father-son relationships develop parallel to Eliezer and his father’s? What do they contribute to the narrative? 4. Explain how Chapter 8’s final sentence creates ambiguity. Synthesis 5. Explain how Chapter 8 completes the role reversal between father and son that has developed throughout Night. Evaluation 6. Is Eliezer’s father a static or dynamic character? Explain.

27. Levels of Understanding Ch. 9 Response 1. Based on what you know about Eliezer’s experiences so far, what are the likely reasons the narrator does not describe life in Buchenwald? 2. What is your reaction to the statement that six hundred children were at Buchenwald? Analysis 3. What does the metaphor “wheel of history” suggest? 4. Explain the paradox in this statement: “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me.” Synthesis 5. What can be inferred from the statement that “Hitler was going to keep his promise”? Evaluation 6. The ending of Night has been criticized for being bleak rather than uplifting. Do you agree or disagree? Justify your answer.

28. Night Individual Projects Write a half-page reflection on Night. Write your thoughts, feelings, ideas, and reaction to the reading of Night. Create a book cover of Night. Include 3 important quotes. Include color and/or detail. Create a graphic novel version of an important scene from Night. Include color, action, and dialogue. Minimum of 4 panels. Create a collage of at least four important quotes from Night. Create a found poem of at least 10 lines using words, phrases, and sentences from Night. It must center around an important theme from the novel.