NIGHT

 WEDNESDAY - NIGHT

CONTENT/UNIT:    

NIGHT: Memory and Social Justice

Anchor Text:

Night – Elie Wiesel

Additional Texts:

“Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech” – Elie Wiesel

“Montgomery Boycott” – Coretta Scott King

“I Have A Dream” – Martin Luther King

From Farewell to Manzanar – Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

Unit Learning goal: Students will determine the author’s purpose by citing specific evidence from the text and creating a project (video, PowerPoint, spoken word presentation with visual aids) that connects Night to other works that contain ideas of 1) social justice; 2) the use of memory as a force of change; 3) the Holocaust.

Scale/Rubric relating to learning goal:

4 – The student can determine the author’s purpose by citing specific evidence from the text and connect NIGHT to many works, fiction and nonfiction, that contain ideas of social justice, memory as a force of change, and the Holocaust.

3 – The student can determine author’s purpose and cite evidence from the text and connect NIGHT to another work – either fiction or nonfiction – by connecting one of the following ideas: social justice, memory as a force of change, and/or the Holocaust.

2 – With some direction/help from the teacher the student can determine author’s purpose and cite evidence from the text and connect NIGHT to another work – either fiction or nonfiction – by connecting one of the following ideas: social justice, memory as a force of change, and/or the Holocaust.

1 – Even with help from the teacher the student cannot determine author’s purpose and cite evidence from the text and connect NIGHT to another work – either fiction or nonfiction

Objectives (smaller chunks of overall goal) and suggested time periods

Students will be able to

1. Discuss the author’s purpose by connecting it with a major theme in Night
2. Discuss how Night uses elements of fiction to tell a story
3. Outline the plot
4. Discuss 2-3 motifs found in Night
5. Discuss the importance of various characters in the story and how their roles reinforced a major idea (theme)
6. Connect Night to the larger picture of the Holocaust
7. Connect Night to the larger picture of social injustice in the world
8. Discuss one major symbol in Night and analyze its meaning in connection with a main idea (theme) of the book
9. Briefly discuss the following questions:

·     What does it mean to be human?

·     Why do bad things happen to good people?

·     How does one man’s experience represent the experience of millions?

·     How does one overcome difficult situations?

·     How do perceptions of a situation make it more or less stressful?

·     How can feelings of sadness or anger affect one’s life?

·     How can stress affect individuals?

·     What events can suddenly change the course of a person’s life?

·     What does hopeless mean to you?

·     How can hopelessness affect people’s lives?

·     Do I realize there is an ongoing battle against the exploitation of the weak by the strong?

·     What is freedom?

·     What is the relationship between freedom and responsibility?

·     Is liberty and justice for all attainable?

·     How can an author’s personal experiences influence his/her work?

ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS:

Why do people choose to write memoirs?  What is the difference between a memoir and a novel?  How does a memoir utilize the techniques of fiction?  What is the purpose of Elie Wiesel’s memoir?   Why did he write it? 

NIGHT STUDY GUIDE

THEMES:

1.     FAMILY: At the beginning of the book, prisoners in the concentration camps hold on to their family members. The most important thing is to stay with your family members as long as possible. However, as the book progresses, a major conflict in the book arise: self-preservation vs. love and loyalty to family.

2.     FAITH: Throughout the book, Elie presents the Jewish faith during a time of extreme darkness. The things Elie witnesses as a child cannot, in his mind, be reconciled alongside the idea of God. Throughout the book, he “loses his faith”. Is man stronger than God?

3.     DECEPTION: Especially self-deception – is a powerful force in Night. Self-deception has two primary results: boosting morale and hope, but also deluding the Jews and leaving them vulnerable.

IDENTITY: In the beginning of Night, Eliezer identity is that of an innocent child, a student of Talmud, and a devout Jew. But the concentration camps experience strips him (and his fellow Jewish prisoners) of his identity. Eliezer’s identity upon entering the concentration camp is that of a child, a student of Talmud. What is his identity when he leaves?

Night Study Questions (pages 3-22)

Detail everything you know about them (physical description, personality, etc.):

Moishe the Beadle:

Elie:

Elie’s Father:

SETTING:

Detail the time and place the story begins:

When does the story begin?

What year is it at the end of Chapter One?

Where does Elie live?

IN-TEXT QUESTIONS:

Infer the answer from the text (Minimum 1-2 sentences):

Describe where Moishe the Beadle is taken and what happens to him.

Describe the treatment Moishe the Beadle is given when he returns.

Describe the condition of the synagogue when the Hungarian police brings the Jewish Community there.

LITERARY ELEMENTS:

ALLUSIONS:

The Destruction of the Temple (pg. 1):

The Kabbalah (pg. 4):

The Week of Passover (pg. 10):

SIMILIES AND METAPHORS: GIVE FOUR EXAMPLES

IRONY:

The celebrating of Passover in their current situation (pg. 10):

SHORT ANSWER QUESTION

Minimum 4-5 Sentences

Why don’t the Jews listen to the warnings of the danger to come? What explains their ignorant optimism?

Night Study Questions (pages 23-28)

CHARACTERS:

Detail everything you know about them (physical description, personality, etc.):

Madam Schachter:

Elie:

SETTING:

Detail the time and place the story is presently at:

Where were the prisoners brought?

How were they transported?

IN-TEXT QUESTIONS:

Infer the answer from the text (Minimum 1-2 sentences):

Describe the treatment of Madam Shachter. Why is she treated this way?

LITERARY ELEMENTS:

SIMILIES AND METAPHORS: THREE EXAMPLES INCLUDING THE FIRE MADAM SCHACHTER SEES AND WHAT IT MIGHT REPRESENT.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTION

Minimum 4-5 Sentences

Why is Madame Shachter screaming? What is she screaming about? What could she be predicting?

Night Study Questions (pages 29-47)

CHARACTERS:

Detail everything you know about them (physical description, personality, etc.):

Dr. Josef Mengele:

Elie:

Stein of Antwerp:

Akiba Drummer:

SETTING:

Detail the time and place the story is presently at:

Detail the routine the prisoners were forced to endure after they first entered Auschwitz.

How long did the deportees stay at Auschwitz?

What’s the name of the second camp they attended?

IN-TEXT QUESTIONS:

Infer the answer from the text (Minimum 1-2 sentences):

Why did Elie lie to Stein about his knowledge of the man’s family?

LITERARY ELEMENTS:

IRONY: explain why the statements are ironic and what type of irony it is.

Why was the prisoner in charge of the block replaced?

“Work Makes You Free!” (Pg. 40):

SIMILIES AND METAPHORS: GIVE THREE EXAMPLES

SHORT ANSWER QUESTION

Minimum 4-5 Sentences

What change occurs in Elie’s faith?

NIGHT (pages 47-66)

CHARACTERS:

Detail everything you know about them (physical description, personality, etc.):

Head of the Tent (Pg. 48):

Juliek:

Franek:

Idek:

SETTING:

Detail the time and place the story begins:

In which camp does Chapter Four begin?

IN-TEXT QUESTIONS:

Infer the answer from the text (Minimum 1-2 sentences):

Which unit was not to be chosen at the newest camp?

What job did Elie end up receiving?

Why is Elie whipped in the warehouse?

List the victims who were hung, if not by name then by stature.

LITERARY ELEMENTS:

ALLUSIONS:

“Evoking the calm waters of Jordan and the majestic sanctity of Jerusalem.”:

SIMILIES AND METAPHORS: GIVE THREE EXAMPLES

SYMBOL:

            The Soup (Pg. 63/Pg. 65):

SHORT ANSWER QUESTION

Minimum 4-5 Sentences

At the end of the chapter, explain the quote: “Where is He? Here He is—He is handing here on this gallows…”

Night (pages 66-84)

CHARACTERS:

Detail everything you know about them (physical description, personality, etc.):

Akiba Drummer:

SETTING:

Detail the time and place the story begins:

What time of year is it?

What holidays are the prisoners celebrating?

IN-TEXT QUESTIONS:

Infer the answer from the text (Minimum 1-2 sentences):

What is “selection”?

Why does Elie hate the bell?

What might the bell be a symbol for?

What two things does Elie’s Father give to him before going to the “Decisive Selection”?

LITERARY ELEMENTS:

ALLUSIONS:

Rosh Hashanah (Pg. 66):

Sodom (Pg. 68):

Yom Kippur (Pg. 69):

“I’ve got more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He’s the only one who’s kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people.” (Pg. 81):

SHORT ANSWER QUESTION

Minimum 4-5 Sentences

Discuss the quote and what is means for Elie’s faith: “Blessed art Thou, Eternal, Master of the Universe…to be butchered on Thine altar.” (Pg. 67)

EXTRA CREDIT: Should the Jewish people fast for their holiday? Why or why not?

NIGHT (pages 85-97)

 CHARACTERS:

Detail everything you know about them (physical description, personality, etc.):

Rabbi Eliahou:

Juliek:

SETTING:

Detail the time and place the story begins:

Where was reached at the end of the chapter?

How long did the refugees run?

IN-TEXT QUESTIONS:

Infer the answer from the text (Minimum 1-2 sentences):

How does Rabbi Eliahou and his son create a foreshadow for Elie’s future?

LITERARY ELEMENTS:

SIMILIES AND METAPHORS: GIVE FOUR EXAMPLES

SYMBOLISM:

Juliek playing Beethoven before he died:

SHORT ANSWER QUESTION

Minimum 4-5 Sentences

What does Juliek symbolize in the book “Night”?

Night (pages 98-115)

1)    How does Elie feel after the death of his father?

2)    Why do the Germans decide to liquidate Buchenwald and evacuate the prisoners?

3)    What stops the final evacuation of the prisons from camp?

4)    What is the first act of the prisoners after the Americans begin to arrive?

5)    What stares back at Elie at the end of the novel?

Short Answer:

Minimum 4-5 sentences

Relate this chapter to the theme of fathers and sons.