Night by Elie Wiesel

Review/Summary(Pages 66-115)

Characters

1. Eliezer2. Shlomo (Elie’s Father) 3. Yossi and Tibi4. Zalman5. Rabbi Eliahu and his son6. Juliek7. Meir Katz

PAGE 66 ->1. Rosh Hashanah: The Jewish New Year. The Jews force themselves

to pray before eating their soup2. STRUGGLE WITH FAITH (page 66-68)

- Elie questions and refuses to bless God during Rosh Hashanah

- Blames God for creating the camps and torture- Calls himself a former mystic (referring to past belief in

studying the Kabbalah)- Claims that man is stronger than God- Calls God the accused and Elie’s the accuser

3. Yom Kippur: The Day of Atonement. The Jews question whether or not to fast.

- Ironic because it’s “Yom Kippur year-round” in Buna- Elie chooses not to fast – why?

4. Selection process (71-72)

- Dr. Mengele and SS officers examine inmates- Must undress and present yourself to show health- Elie’s Blockalteste encourages the inmates to run to

make themselves look lively and healthy- “Muselman”: Inmates considered too weak to survive

selection (70)- Eliezer, Yossi, and Tibi make it through selection

• Blockalteste and Dr. Mengele tell the Jews who had their numbers written down that they have nothing to fear.

- How does this relate to the symbol of night?

5. Shlomo has his number written down during selection (page 73)

- Must take part in the decisive selection the following day- Shlomo leaves Elie his inheritance (knife and spoon)- Shlomo survives decisive selection (76)

6. STRUGGLING WITH FAITH (76-77)- Akiba Drumer loses faith/desire to live and is taken during

selection. The men forget to recite Kaddish for him.- A Polish rabbi claims, “It’s over. God is not longer with us.”

7. Winter arrives and Elie’s foot begins to swell from the cold- Taken to the infirmary and informed that he must get surgery;

no anesthetic given- Elie’s neighbor in the infirmary warns him that selection also

exists in the infirmary – “no need for sick Jews” (78)- Elie’s recovery time is said to be 2 weeks – but rumors begin

to circulate of the battlefront approaching the camp (possible liberation)

8. Elie’s infirmary neighbor says he has more faith in Hitler than anyone else – Hitler is the only person who has kept all of his promises (81)9. Evacuation of Buna: (81)

- Rumors circulate about the fate of infirmary patients – liberated or killed?

- Elie and his father choose to evacuate rather than await the unknown fate of infirmary patients – the infirmary was liberated two days after the evacuation (CHANCE TO ESCAPE?)

- Preparation for evacuation involves stocking up on bread and clothing

Journey to Gleiwitz (Page 85 )1. Jewish inmates are forced to run through winter conditions with

armed SS officers on their heels- Those who fall behind are shot

2. Zalman – a young Polish boy running next to Eliezer. He gets stomach cramps while running and is trampled by the other inmates.

3. Elie becomes fascinated by the thought of death (a release from pain, cold, and exhaustion)- Elie’s father is the only thing that keeps him going (page 86)

**Start of a recurring trend: Those separated from their son or father lose hope in survival and die shortly after**

4. After 20 km of running, the prisoners and SS officers stop in an abandoned village to rest (page 87)

- Elie and his father keep each other awake – falling asleep in the snow is likely to result in death

- Many inmates die from cold and exhaustion (page 89)

4. Rabbi Eliahu loses his son during the march (90)

- Elie tells the Rabbi that he hasn’t seen his son, but later remembers that he saw his son intentionally continue his pace when his father fell behind

- Elie realizes that the Rabbi’s son wanted to break away from the burden of his father**Forshadowing: the circumstances between Rabbi Eliahu and his son are very similar to Elie and his father later in the section

- Where else have we seen foreshadowing used?

5. Arrival in Gleiwitz (page 92)

Gleiwitz – roughly 60 km from Buna

6. Inmates trample one another and cram into barracks to escape the cold and rest – suffocation is a major risk

7. Elie’s hears Juliek being crushed within the pile of inmates; his only concern is his violin being broken (page 93-94)

- Juliek plays Beethoven before he dies – as a last act of defiance against the German Nazis

8. The inmates spend 3 days in the Gleiwitz barracks with no food or water before being loaded into cattle cars (page 95)

- Elie’s father avoids selection a second time due to Eliezer and other inmates running and causing confusion

- 100 men are crammed into cattle cars – only 12 survive the trip

9. Shlomo is close to death during transport in the cattle cars

- “Gravediggers” throwing bodies off the train almost toss him off; Elie is able to wake him before

10. BREAKDOWN OF HUMANITY (page 100-101)- German laborers throw bread on train to watch inmates fight over it- Elie witnesses a man beaten to death by his own son for a piece of

bread (101); two inmates then kill the son

11. STRUGGLE WITH FAITH- Meir Katz, a gardener from Buna, saves Elie from being strangled –

he is physically stronger than most inmates due to his access to food- Meir Katz lost his son during the first selection and gives up during

the train journey. He is one of the many casualties that died on the way to Buchenwald.*Recurring trend: importance of father-son relationships when trying to keep hope and survive**

Arrival at Buchenwald (Page 104 )1. Shlomo is exhausted and seems to have chosen death

- Elie must encourage his father to stay awake and keep fighting –they must survive for one another

2. BREAKDOWN OF HUMANITYa) After their first night in Buchenwald, Elie can’t find his father

- Thoughts of being freed from his responsibility cross his mind (106)b) Elie begrudgingly gives his father most of his soup – connections between himself and Rabbi Eliahu’s son (107)c) Shlomo becomes ill with dysentery and is abused by fellow inmates when he’s no longer able to get up to relieve himselfd) The Blockälteste encourages Eliezer to take care of himself, and to stop trying to save his father. When Elie considers the idea of getting his fathers’ rations, he feels guilty.

e) Elie doesn’t/can’t defend his father when being hit over the head by an officer (111)f) Shlomo is taken to the crematory while Elie is asleep

- Elie doesn’t cry or pray over his father’s death- Deep within his conscience: “Free at last!...” (112)

3. Elie spends 4 months alone in Buchenwald- Nothing matters to him but food after the death of his father (113)

4. Buchenwald is liberated by Americans on April 10, 1945 – Elie is finally free.

5. Elie looks at himself in the mirror for the first time and sees the reflection of a corpse.

6. “The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left me” (page 115)- Making the point that the effects of the Holocaust have never left Elie,

and that a major part of him died in his experiences. He will never be the same as he was before the Holocaust began.

Dysentery• Mostly caused by poor hygiene and exposure

to contaminated water• Inflammatory disorder in the intestines,

resulting in abdominal pain, vomiting, fever, and diarrhea containing blood and mucus.

• In severe cases, can affect the brain, lungs, and liver.

• Cause of death is typically dehydration

Exam Outline – 70 Marks• Multiple Choice – 30 marks (from both halves

of the book)• Matching/True and False – 15 marks• Short Answer – 25 marks (focus on the last

half)– Themes, symbolism, and ideas from the first half

will be included, but the focus will be on examples from the second half.

Information to Know

1. Any points from this slideshow are fair game.2. Anything from your focus questions (available on Mr.

Smadu’s wiki)3. Multiple choice and matching/true and false will include

things like plot points, locations, characters, and vocabulary

4. Vocabulary will only include terms that are of importance to the book.

5. Short answer will involve night symbolism, Struggling with Faith, Breakdown of Humanity, changes in Eliezer’s character, and other points we have discussed in class.