2. Night
“Preface,” vii-x and “this may be because…to become their future” on xv
According to Elie Wiesel, why does he write Night? Explain using specific details.
Section 1 (3-22)
How is Elie initially described in the text? Why does Wiesel want us to know these details? How might this serve as a potential theme later in the novel?
What happens to Moishe the Beadle? Why don’t the other Jews of Sighet believe him? How does Wiesel use this to promote the theme of inhumanity? Explain.

3. How do you interpret this quote? What do you think it means? Explain.
Warm up
The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
How do you interpret this quote? What do you think it means? Explain.

4. Dr. Josef Mengele “Angel of Death”
Mengele performed both physical and psychological experiments, experimental surgeries performed without anesthesia, transfusions of blood from one twin to another, isolation endurance, reaction to various stimuli (Hypothermia, Hot baths). He made injections with lethal germs, sex change operations, the removal of organs and limbs, incestuous impregnations.

5. Section 3
Stein has hope for his wife and children; he claims that this hope is the only thing sustaining him. Eliezer knows that they are likely dead, but he lies by giving Stein false hope that his family is alive. In your opinion, is Eliezer justified to lie, or should he be completely honest? Explain.
One of the men in charge says, “We shall all see the day of liberation.” This belief might be wishful thinking or simply a hope that has not been extinguished yet. How do you think this person, or anyone for that matter, can continue to believe in a “liberation” while in such a nightmarish place? Do you think that you could still have hope if you had been in Auschwitz? Explain.

6. Section 4
Describe Wiesel’s response to his father being hit. Why does he respond this way? How does his response help to develop a particular theme in the text?
A young boy is executed when a raid reveals a stash of weapons in his quarters. At the execution, both prisoners and guards are clearly troubled by the victim’s young age. After the hanging, as the crowd is leaving, a man asks, “For God’s sake, where is God?” Eliezer responds, “Where He is? This is where—hanging here from this gallows….” Write a commentary on Eliezer’s statement by explaining what he means.

7. Warm up
How would you define “father?” how would you define “dad?” is there a difference? Explain.

8. Section 5
On pages 66 and 67, Wiesel writes two paragraphs where he asks a series of rhetorical questions. Why does write these paragraphs? What is the point of asking these questions?
Akiba Drumer is chosen for Birkenau during the selection, but he is not surprised. He had become resigned to death, which Eliezer blames for his demise when he says, “As soon as he felt the first chinks in his faith, he lost all incentive to fight and opened the door to death.” Imagine that you are Akiba’s friend, and you see him slowly losing his will to live. What might you say to him to convince him not to give up his fight for survival.

9. What is the denotative meaning of “night?”
Warm up
What is the denotative meaning of “night?”
What is the connotative meaning of “night?”

10. Warm up (after quiz)
Below are several review scores for the film version of The Book Thief. How would you explain the disparity between critical and public opinion?
Rogerebert: 1.5/ %
Telepgrph: 2/ %
Rottentomatoes: %
Metacritic: %
IMDb: 7.6/ %
Amazon Reviews (2,500+): 4.6/5 92%

11. Section 6
During a short rest, Eliezer and his father fight to stay awake because they know that sleep could lead to their deaths. At one point, Eliezer has to wake his dozing father, who is startled and then smiles. Eliezer writes, “I shall always remember that smile. What world did it come from?” Why do you suppose his father smiled?
Rabbi Eliahu is searching for his son, whom Eliezer remembers seeing during the march. To his horror, Eliezer realizes that the Rabbi’s son may have intentionally kept running to put distance between himself and his weakening father. What reasons would the son have for abandoning his father? Do you believe that the son is justified in his actions? Explain. If you were Elie, would you tell Rabbi Eliahu that you saw his son? Why/why not?

12. Warm up
“‘Stop teaching about the holocaust so that children see Germany in a better light,’ says Lord Baker.”
“‘British schools should no longer teach children about the Nazis because it makes them think less favourably of modern Germany,’ the architect of the National Curriculum has claimed.”
Consider the claim made in this article from do you agree or disagree? Explain.

13. Section 7
The prisoners endure days of train travel without food; their only nourishment is water from melted snow. One day, while going through a town, a German worker throws a piece of bread into the train car. A stampede follows, which the citizen watches “with great interest.” In a paragraph, describe the image that this scenario creates in your mind. Why would the citizen find this so interesting?
Eliezer witnesses a son kill his father for a morsel of bread before being killed for the same morsel. Eliezer ends the account with the statement, “I was sixteen.” How does his age impact the story? How might this event have altered his perspective of life?

14. Section 8
This section contains several emotionally disturbing events. In a paragraph, explain the part of it that affected you the most and why. What words or images were particularly effective?

15. Section 9
Eliezer is unable to cry for his father’s death, and he admits that, deep inside, he is relieved of being freed from the burden of caring for his father. How has Eliezer’s experiences in the concentration camps altered his perspectives on life and death? What is your perspective on death? Do you fear dying? Explain.

16. journal
The word “night” is mentioned more than 75 times in the text. What is the significance of night in Elie Wiesel’s memoir? Why do you think he chooses to name the memoir Night?

17. Journal
In “Keep Memory Alive,” Elie Wiesel states, “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
Evaluate the validity of the following statement. To what extent do you believe this statement to be true? Explain your reasoning. Provide any helpful examples? Why does this matter to us?

18. What is evil? Why does evil exist? What is the purpose of evil?
Warm up
What is evil? Why does evil exist? What is the purpose of evil?

19. Warm up
Is Bruno to blame for what happens to him? Explain. If it is not Bruno’s fault, then who is responsible? Explain.

20. Warm up
Do you think you could ever actually kill someone? Under what circumstances? Explain why or why not.