1. Night by Elie Wiesel
“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.” —Elie Wiesel in Night

2. Night Intro
What events can suddenly change the course of a person’s life? What are the possible effects and emotional reactions you or others might have to such events?
In your table groups, discuss events that unexpectedly change people’s lives—a natural disaster or death of aloved one, for example. Discuss the possible effects and emotional reactions you or others might have to each event.
Read to find out how young Elie Wiesel’s life is profoundly and forever changed.

3. The novel begins in Sighet, Transylvania (around 1941).
Elie Wiesel’s Night…
The novel begins in Sighet, Transylvania (around 1941).
During the early years of World War II, Sighet remained relatively unaffected by the war. The Jews in Sighet believed that they would be safe from the persecution that Jews in Germany and Poland suffered.
TONE  · Eliezer’s perspective is limited to his own experience, and the tone of Night is therefore intensely personal, subjective, and intimate. Night is not meant to be an all-encompassing discourse on the experience of the Holocaust; instead, it depicts the extraordinarily personal and painful experiences of a single victim.

5. Night continued…
In 1944, however, Elie and all the other Jews in town were deported to concentration camps in Poland. He was 14.

6. They were sent to Auschwitz and another concentration camp.
Night continued…
They were sent to Auschwitz and another concentration camp.
Roll call in Buchenwald, February 1941

7. Night continued…
After surviving the Nazi concentration camps, Wiesel vowed never to write about his horrific experiences.
He eventually changed his mind and wrote Night in Wiesel won the Nobel Prize in 1986.

8. “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides.”
— Elie Wiesel, Jewish-American writer, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor.

9. Night Unit Overview Read Night by Elie Wiesel
Complete discussion questions for each reading section
Discuss Elie’s experience as shown in Night
Explore vocabulary from Night
Identification of:
point of view
setting
characters
conflict
elements of plot (rising action, climax, falling action, etc.)
tone
symbols
allusion
themes
Motifs
Write in various forms (journal responses, on-demand prompts, formal responses)
NARRATOR  · Eliezer (a slightly fictionalized version of Elie Wiesel)
POINT OF VIEW  · Eliezer speaks in the first person and always relates the autobiographical events from his perspective.
TONE  · Eliezer’s perspective is limited to his own experience, and the tone of Night is therefore intensely personal, subjective, and intimate. Night is not meant to be an all-encompassing discourse on the experience of the Holocaust; instead, it depicts the extraordinarily personal and painful experiences of a single victim.
TENSE  · Past
SETTING (TIME)  · 1941–1945, during World War II
SETTINGS (PLACE)  · Eliezer’s story begins in Sighet, Transylvania (now part of Romania; during Wiesel’s childhood, part of Hungary). The book then follows his journey through several concentration camps in Europe: Auschwitz/Birkenau (in a part of modern-day Poland that had been annexed by Germany in 1939), Buna (a camp that was part of the Auschwitz complex), Gleiwitz (also in Poland but annexed by Germany), and Buchenwald (Germany).
PROTAGONIST  · Eliezer
MAJOR CONFLICT  · Eliezer’s struggles with Nazi persecution, and with his own faith in God and in humanity
RISING ACTION  · Eliezer’s journey through the various concentration camps and the subsequent deterioration of his father and himself
CLIMAX  · The death of Eliezer’s father
FALLING ACTION  · The liberation of the concentration camps, the time spent in silence between Eliezer’s liberation and Elie Wiesel’s decision to write about his experience, referred to in the memoir when Eliezer jumps ahead to events that happened after the Holocaust
THEMES  · Eliezer’s struggle to maintain faith in a benevolent God; silence; inhumanity toward other humans; the importance of father-son bonds
MOTIFS  · Tradition, religious observance
SYMBOLS  · Night, fire
FORESHADOWING  ·  Night does not operate like a novel, using foreshadowing to hint at surprises to come. The pall of tragedy hangs over the entire novel, however. Even as early as the work’s dedication, “In memory of my parents and my little sister, Tzipora,” Wiesel makes it evident that Eliezer will be the only significant character in the book who survives the war. As readers, we are not surprised by their inevitable deaths; instead, Wiesel’s narrative shocks and stuns us with the details of the cruelty that the prisoners experience.

10. Inhumanity – Humanity –
How does Elie Wiesel convey the inhumanity and humanity associated with the Holocaust in the novel Night?
With a partner, come up with a definition for each of these terms. Be ready to share. Write down examples in your journal as you read the novel that reflect these two terms.
Inhumanity –
Humanity –

11. Vocabulary Preview
beadle – n. in Judaism refers to the caretaker of the synagogue
Hasidic – adjective form of Hasidism, describes a branch of orthodox Judaism originating in Eastern Europe which focuses on the Rabbi as the conduit of God
Cabbala – n. a system of Jewish teaching about God and the world based on mysticism and miracles
Talmud – n. the authoritative body of Jewish tradition
mysticism – n. the belief that knowledge of God, spiritual truth, and ultimate reality can best be understood through subjective experience such as insight or intuition
Zionism – n. an international movement originally for the establishment of a Jewish national or religious community in Palestine and later for support of modern Israel.

12. Vocabulary Preview
Fascism/Fascist – n/adj. a political movement that puts the nation and often race above the individual and that stands for an autocratic government led by a dictator and characterized by strict economic and social regulation.
ghetto – n. comes from the Venetian word for “slag” and was originally used to refer to a foundry where slag was stored on the same island where the Jewish community lived. During the Holocaust, Jews in Nazi-occupied territory were forced to live in segregated portions of town known as ghettos. Today, it refers to portions of a city where minorities live, especially because of social or economic pressure.

13. Vocabulary Preview compatriots - n. fellow countrymen
edict - n. official statement; law
expound - v. to set forth in detail
firmament - n. the sky, or heavens
hermetically - adv. completely sealed; airtight
pestilential - adj. filled with disease; contagious
phylacteries - n. small boxes containing scripture; worn by some Jewish men for daily prayer
pillage - v. to rob with open violence
premonition - n. anticipation of an event, usually negative, even without actual warning
truncheon - n. a police officer’s stick

14. Literary/Rhetorical Terms
First Person Point of View or Narration – a story in which the narrator speaks in the first person as he relates the tale. The narrator may or may not be the protagonist.
allusion – a reference to a text, historical figure, event, or place that the writer expects the reader to understand
metaphor – a comparison between two dissimilar things without using like or as
simile – a comparison between dissimilar things using like or as
mood – the feeling created by the setting, characters, or action of a work
tone – the attitude of the author toward the topic or subject

15. Wednesday, 5/28/14 Bell Work: Night: HW: none  Get journal
Continue reading part I - take notes
Complete Part I work in your journal. Make sure it is labeled appropriately “Night Part I Reading”
HW: none 

16. Night Reading 1 Pg. 1-20 (small book) Pg. 3-22 (large book)
By Elie Wiesel

17. Night Reading 1 (pg. 1-20 small book; 3-22 large book))
As you read, write down any words, ideas, etc. that you do not understand. List questions, comments, & personal connections that come to mind as you read.
Identify at least one allusion – a reference to a text, historical figure, event, or place that the writer expects the reader to understand )
Describe the setting for this novel.
Tell what you know about the narrator.
Choose one quote, copy it down (provide a page number) and explain its significance to you. Why did you choose this quote?
Just from your reading of this first section, why do you think the author chose the title of Night?
Allusions
Horthy – the reigning leader of Hungary before and during WWII
Nyilas – Hungarian Nazi Party
Gestapo – German secret police
Passover – a holiday held during the first month of Jewish calendar, celebrating the Israelites liberation
from the Egyptians after God sent the plagues upon the Egyptians, the tenth of which was the
slaughtering of the first-born of each household. Passover, then, refers specifically to the Angel of Death
passing over the homes of the Israelites.
Maimonides – the preeminent medieval Jewish scholar, also known as Rambam.
Boches – n. an offensive slang word used to refer to German soldiers during WWI and WWII.

18. Friday, May 30, 2014
Learning Goal (s): read Night by Elie Wiesel and determine plot, themes, & use of figurative language.
Bell-work:
Write homework in planner
Get journal & copy of Night
Sit in chairs as they are – 9th graders are in the middle of Socratic Seminar!
Night
Reading Part II
Part II Reading Response: choose a question to respond to in your journal – follow directions.
HW:
Final due date for ALL outstanding work is Friday, June 4th NO exceptions!

19. Night Reading 2 Pg.21-43 (small book) Pg 23 - 46(large book)
By Elie Wiesel

20. Characters from Night
Moshe the Beadle - Jewish man in Sighet who worked in the Jewish synagogue (church)
Elie (Eliezer Wiesel) - Jewish boy, main character, only son
Chlomo Wiesel - Elie’s father, a respected man in the community
Hilde, Bea, Tzipora - Elie’s sisters, two older, one younger
Elie’s mother
Batia Reich - a relative who lives with them in the ghetto
Martha - old servant who helps some leave the ghetto
Madame Schecter - woman on the cattle car with her ten year old son - loses her mind after losing her family; sees a powerful image and frightens other people in the car
Madame Schecter’s son - attempts to comfort his mother in her fear; a loyal son

21. Characters of Night
Dr. Mengele - SS officer and medical doctor who conducts the prisoners to the left or right
Yechiel - brother of the Rabbi in Sighet
Young Pole (polish man) at Auschwitz - in charge of block 17
Stein - Reizel’s husband, relative of Elie, curious about his family
Hersch Genud - spoke of ending of the World and Coming of the Messiah (savior)
Juliek - Polish violinist

22. Characters from Night
Franek - Polish foreman, former student, is nice until he wants Elie’s crown
Yossi and Tibi - two brother living for each other after parents were killed
Dentist - Czechoslovakian Jew who extracts gold crowns
Idek - man in charge of the work unit
French girl - another person working in the electrical warehouse, kind to Elie
Rabbi Eliahou - Rabbi at Buna, looks for son while on march to Buchenwald
Meir Katz - gardener at Buna, helps Elie
Gustav - head of the children’s block (prison) at Buchenwald

23. Night Reading 2 Pg.21-43 (small book) Pg 23 - 46(large book)
Choose one of the following to respond to in depth. Above standard writing includes references to text via citations.
How is Madame Schächter like Moshe the Beadle? Does she, too, know or sense something that others refuse to believe?
How does Eliezer respond when his father is beaten for the first time? How does that response affect the way he sees himself?
Wiesel, in recounting the first night in the concentration camp says, “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night…”. What does it mean for a life to be turned into “one long night”?

24. Monday, June 2, 2014
Learning Goal (s): read Night by Elie Wiesel and determine plot, themes, & use of figurative language.
Bell-work:
Write homework in planner
Get journal & copy of Night
Night
Period 4 and 5: Reading Part II Response Question Partner activity (read/evaluate your partner’s work)
6th: finish Reading Part II, response question, share with a partner and evaluate
Begin reading Part III – if time
HW:
Final due date for ALL outstanding work is Friday, June 4th NO exceptions!

25. Night Reading 2 Partner Evaluation
Exchange journals with a partner – attempt to exchange with someone who has answered a different question than you.
Read your partners answer to their chosen question.
Grade your partner’s work:
AS = complete, uses part of question in answer; proper grammar/conventions; thoughtful response with opinion/explanation/commentary with textual evidence/citation from book
MS = all of the above but maybe not as specific, uses an example but no citation, a few more errors in conventions, spelling, etc. but does not distract from the reader’s understanding
APS = eludes to an answer but does not use part of the question in the answer; not written in complete sentences; many errors that distract the reader’s attention; lacks organization and focus
BS = a few sentences that answer the question at a surface level. Little to no effort to really answer the question. No elaboration of ideas.

26. Tuesday, June 3, 2014 8th LA: Periods 4, 5, and 6
Bell Work:
Get journal and copy of Night
Turn in any late work – all work up until this point is due no later than Friday, June 6th!
Night:
5th and 6th: finish evaluating Part II reading response
Reading Part III, while you read instructions, & reading response
HW:
All work up until this point, late or otherwise, due Friday, June 6th – NO EXCEPTIONS!

27. Night Reading 3 Pg 45-62 (small book) Pg 47-65(large book)
By Elie Wiesel

28. Wednesday, June 4, 2014 8th LA: Periods 4, 5, and 6
Bell Work:
Get journal and copy of Night
Turn in any late work – all work up until this point is due no later than Friday, June 6th!
Night:
4th: Part II Reading Response/Discuss
5th and 6th: Finish Reading Part III/complete “while reading” questions & discuss
HW:
All work up until this point, late or otherwise, due Friday, June 6th – NO EXCEPTIONS!

29. Night Reading 3 While you read…
Find one example of an allusion. Define what you think it means.
Wiesel uses frequent sentence fragments as part of his writing style. How do these sentence fragments contribute to the tone and mood of his story?
Write down an example of humanity and inhumanity within this section.

30. Night Reading 3 Pg 45-62 (small book) Pg 47-65(large book)
Choose one of the following to respond to in depth. Above standard writing includes references to text via citations.
How do the changes in Eliezer’s relationship with his father affect the way he sees himself as an individual? The way he views his father?
When the young boy is hanged, a prisoner asks, “Where is God now?” Eliezer thinks to himself, “He is hanging here on this gallows…”. What does this statement mean? Is it a statement of despair? Anger? Or hope?
After the hanging, Elie says “That night the soup tasted of corpses” (62). What do you think he meant by this? Explain.

31. Thursday, June 5, 2014 8th LA: Periods 4, 5, and 6
Bell Work:
Get journal and copy of Night
Turn in any late work – all work up until this point is due no later than Friday, June 6th!
Check updated grades
Night:
5th & 6th: Reading Part 3 Response/discuss
Themes, motifs and symbols worksheet (due upon completion of our reading! Fill it out as we finish reading) (if time)
Reading Part 4 (if time)
HW:
All work up until this point, late or otherwise, due Friday, June 6th! Come see me if you need assistance!
Night Themes, motifs, and symbols worksheet (due upon completion of our reading – you may fill it out as we finish reading)

32. Friday, June 6, 2014 8th LA: Periods 4, 5, and 6
Bell Work:
Get journal and copy of Night
Turn in any other late work – due today by the end of the day – anything submitted to me online may be turned in up until 11:59 pm but you MUST me so I know to look for it!
Night:
5th : discuss Reading Part III reading response questions
Themes, motifs and symbols worksheet (due upon completion of our reading! Fill it out as we finish reading) (if time)
Reading Part 4
HW:
ANight Themes, motifs, and symbols worksheet (due upon completion of our reading – you may fill it out as we finish reading)

33. Themes, Motifs and Symbols
Theme: the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work; underlying issues or ideas of a work; the way in which a work of literature raises a question or explores an issue in addition to telling a story.
Eliezer’s faith in God/struggle to maintain his faith: “Why did I pray? Why did I live? Why did I breathe?” (7) At the beginning, Eliezer’s faith is strong, and unconditional, and he cannot imagine life without it, but his faith is shaken by the Holocaust and the atrocities he witnesses. As Eliezer witnesses the agonizingly slow death of the Dutch Oberkapo’s pipel, a young boy hanged for collaborating against the Nazis, he hits a low point of questioning his faith, “Where is God now?”And I heard a voice within me answer him:“Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows ” (This symbolizes the death of the child, but also the death of Eliezer’s God, his faith, and his youth and innocence.

34. Themes, Motifs and Symbols
Motif: a recurring, structures, contrasts or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes; a recurring pattern of images, words, or symbols that reveals a theme in a work of literature.
Tradition: The Jewish faith is over 6,000 year old. Tradition plays a significant role in Jewish life. The Nazi’s wanted to destroy the Jews and anything related to their customs, traditions, and way of life. Examples? Eliezer clings to tradition as a link to the outside world. Text Examples?

35. Themes, Motifs and Symbols
Symbol: objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts; places, events, characters that carry more than literal meanings, and provide meaning of the work as a whole.
Fire: represents the Nazi’s cruel power, as opposed to what fire means in the Jewish tradition - fire in the Bible portrays God and his divine wrath, and is also a sign of divine retribution. In the Bible, those who are wicked are punished with fire, but in the Holocaust, those who are wicked (Nazi’s) yielded the power of fire . Text Examples?

36. Monday, June 9th – Wednesday June 11th 8th ELA: Period 4, 5, and 6 Mrs
Monday, June 9th – Wednesday June 11th 8th ELA: Period 4, 5, and 6 Mrs. Christensen here – be on your BEST behavior!
Bell Work:
Get your journal and a copy of Night
Please check your backpacks for copies of Night – several are missing. Also, be KIND to these books! They are worse now than before YOU started reading them!
If you’ve checked out any books from me return them to Mrs. C! I need these to get rid of your fines!
Night:
Continue reading, discussing, and completing writing prompts as assigned
Themes, Motifs, and Symbols worksheet (some time in class/rest HW – focus on finding quotes for each so you can finish this at home) – due Friday!
Oprah & Elie Wiesel at Aushwitz video & notes (after finishing the book
“I learned” written response (assigned after video and due Friday)
Mrs. Jensen thank you cards (due Friday ) – (time in class TBD)
HW:
Night: “Themes, Motifs, Symbols” worksheet with explanations due Friday, June 13th/”I learned” typed response due Friday, June 13th
Mrs. Jensen thank you card – due Friday, June 13th

37. Night Reading 4 Pg. 63-80 (small book) Pg. 66-84 (large book)
By Elie Wiesel

38. Night Reading 4 Pg. 63-80 (small book) Pg. 66-84 (large book)
Discuss with your table group/report out:
On Rosh Hashanah, Eliezer says, “I was alone – terribly alone in a world without God and without man. Without love or mercy. I had ceased to be anything but ashes…” (Wiesel 65). Eliezer is describing himself at a religious service attended by ten thousand men, including his own father. What do you think he means when he says that he is alone? In what sense is he alone?
Choose one other quote from this section with your group and present the significance to the class, by connecting it to a theme in the book.

39. Night Reading 5 Pg. 81-109 (small book) Pg. 85-115 ( large book)
By Elie Wiesel

40. Night Reading 5 Written Response Pg. 81-109 (small book) Pg
Night Reading 5 Written Response Pg (small book) Pg ( large book)
Class discussion:
What does Eliezer mean when he writes that he feels free after his father’s death? Is he free of responsibility? Or is he free to go under, to drift off into death?
Eliezer later states, “After my father’s death, nothing could touch me any more.” What does he mean by these words? What do they suggest about his struggle to maintain his identity?

41. Oprah & Elie Wiesel in Aushwitz
Directions: As you watch the video please take notes in your journal. Make a new entry. Write down at least 15 facts or examples of things that shocked you, moved you, etc. from the interview!

42. Night I Learned Response
By Elie Wiesel

43. Night I Learned Response
Write about what you learned as you read this text. Be specific. What do you know now that you didn’t know before? It can be about yourself, other human beings, the Holocaust, etc.
Use textual evidence to make your response stronger.
Your response must be at least a well organized one page thoughtful, specific (details, points, commentary, and textual evidence explained!) response, and must be typed (double spaced) using complete sentences, with proper grammar and conventions.