Night Study Guide

Global Literature Name:________________________
Unit: Holocaust

Chapter 1:

1. What do the following lines tell us about the people of Sighet? What might explain this mood?

A. “Yes, we even doubted that he wanted to exterminate us. Was he going to wipe out a whole people? Could he exterminate a population scattered throughout so many countries? So many millions? What methods could he use? And in the middle of the twentieth century!”




B. “Little by little life returned to normal. The barbed wire which fenced us in did not cause us any real fear. We thought ourselves rather well off.




C. “At dawn there was nothing left of this melancholy. We felt as if we were on holiday. Maybe we were being deported for our own good.”





2. Explain the importance (symbolic meaning) of the following passage.
Be sure to refer to the underlined words. What do they represent? What is ironic about them?

Night. No one prayed, so that the night would pass quickly. The stars were only sparks of the fire which devours us. Should that fire die out one day, the would be nothing left in the sky but dead stars, dead eyes (Wiesel 18)










Chapter 2:

1. Write down one line from Night that you think best describes the experience of the transport. Why did you select this line?





2. Give one example of how Elie Wiesel creates a sense of foreboding in this chapter (foreshadowing)?




Chapter 3:

1. Why were Elie and his father persuaded to lie about their ages? What difference would it have made?


2. One of the prisoners in charge gave Elie some advice for surviving in the concentration camps. What did he advise?


Chapter 4:

1. Possessions take on a very significant role in this chapter. Give an example of what the prisoners did to obtain or keep their possessions.



2. Who was the “sad-eyed angel”? Why was he killed?



3. Juxtapose these two remarks about soup.
“I remember that I found the soup excellent that evening” (Wiesel 60)
“That night the soup tasted of corpses” (Wiesel 62)
What do these lines show us about Elie Wiesel’s changed character?






Chapter 5:

1. What do Elie Wiesel’s prayers tell us about his internal conflict regarding his faith?



2. How important was luck in surviving the concentration camp? Explain.




Chapter 6:

1. Why are the prisoners marching?

2. Describe the hardships of this journey.




3. Where are they going?

4. What happens at this new camp that forces Elie Wiesel into a struggle to survive?



5. What does Juliek, the violinist, represent?



Chapter 7:

1. There are several moments where Elie Wiesel focuses our attention to family relationships, usually in regard to fathers and sons. Why does he do that? What do the different examples show us about the relationship between Elie and his father?










2. How old is Elie Wiesel at this point in the book?

Chapter 8:

1. Show Elie Wiesel’s reaction to his father’s deteriorating health.



2.What was Elie Wiesel’s father’s last word before he died?

3. Explain the significance of the last words in this chapter: “free at last” (Wiesel 106)




Chapter 9:

1. What does Elie Wiesel see in the mirror after liberation? Explain.







Response:

1. What moment in the memoir was the most

A. Shocking


B. Terrifying


C. Sad


D. Hopeful


2. Read the foreword to Night. Write a short foreword to introduce the memoir. Why should it be read? What did you get out of it?