Vocabulary
Define indifference
Indifference is a lack of caring, sympathy, and empathy for others.
Tone is the author's attitude and mood is the way the reader feels.
What are the five ways that character is revealed?
Speech, thoughts, effects on others, actions, looks
A violin in a dark barrack where the dead were piled on top of the living? Who was this madman who played the violin here, at the edge of his own grave? Or was it a hallucination?
It had to be Juliek. He was playing a fragment of a Beethoven concerto. Never before had I heard such a beautiful sound. In such silence. How had he succeeded in disengaging himself? To slip out from under my body without my feeling it?
The darkness enveloped us. All I could hear was the violin, and it was as if Juliek's soul had become his bow. He was playing his life. His whole being was gliding over the strings. His unfulfilled hopes. His charred past, his extinguished future. He played that which he would never play again.
I shall never forget Juliek. How could I forget this concert given before an audience of the dead and dying? Even today, when I hear that particular piece by Beethoven, my eyes close and out of the darkness emerges the pale and melancholy face of my Polish comrade bidding farewell to an audience of dying men.
I don't know how long he played. I was overcome by sleep.
When I awoke at daybreak, I saw Juliek facing me, hunched over, dead. Next to him lay his violin, trampled, an eerily poignant little corpse.
What does the violin symbolize?
The death of the Jews in Europe.
Togetherness
"One day when I was able to get up, I decided to look at myself in the mirror on the opposite wall. I had not seen myself since the ghetto. From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left me.
What is the tone in this passage? What mood does it create for the reader?
The tone is reflective/solemn.
Mood: Answers may vary. Melancholy, bittersweet
"Bite your lips, little brother...Don't cry. Keep your anger, your hate, for another day, for later. The day will come but not now...Wait. Clench your teeth and wait..."
What does this dialogue reveal about the French girl?
The French girl is encouraging, caring, and compassionate.
The next day brought really disquieting news: German troops had penetrated Hungarian territory with the government’s approval. Finally, people began to worry in earnest. One of my friends, Moishe Chaim Berkowitz, returned from the capital for Passover and told us, “The Jews of Budapest live in an atmosphere of fear and terror. Anti-Semitic acts take place every day, in the streets, on the trains. The Fascists attack Jewish stores, synagogues. The situation is becoming very serious….” The news spread through Sighet like wildfire. Soon that was all people talked about. . . . In less than three days, German Army vehicles made their appearance on our streets.
What is the main idea of this passage?
Jews of Sighet are beginning to worry about Germans coming to town.
What is the meaning of the word "poignant" here?
Something that evokes a strong emotional response.
"Jews, look! Look at the fire! Look at the flames!"
And as the train stopped, this time we saw flames rising from
a tall chimney into a black sky.
Mrs. Schächter had fallen silent on her own. Mute again, indifferent,
absent, she had returned to her corner.
We stared at the flames in the darkness. A wretched stench
floated in the air. Abruptly, our doors opened. Strange-looking
creatures, dressed in striped jackets and black pants, jumped into
the wagon. Holding flashlights and sticks, they began to strike at
us left and right, shouting:
"Everybody out! Leave everything inside. Hurry up!"
We jumped out. I glanced at Mrs. Schächter. Her little boy
was still holding her hand.
In front of us, those flames. In the air, the smell of burning
flesh. It must have been around midnight. We had arrived. In
Birkenau.
What is the tone of this passage?
Shocked and horrified
...I recognized him [Stein] right away. I had known Reizel, his wife, before she had left for Belgium.
He told us that he had been deported in 1942. He said, “I heard people say that a transport had arrived from your region and I came to look for you. I thought you might have some news of Reizel and my two small boys who stayed in Antwerp…”
I knew nothing about them…Since 1940, my mother had not received a single letter from them. But I lied:
"Yes, my mother did hear from them. Reizel is fine. So are the children…”
He was weeping with joy. He would have liked to stay longer, to learn more details, to soak up the good news, but an SS was heading in our direction and he had to go, telling us that he would come back the next day….
Stein, our relative from Antwerp, continued to visit us and, from time to time, he would bring a half portion of bread:
"Here, this is for you, Eliezer.’" (43-44).
What does this passage reveal about Stein?
Despite the horrors of the camp, Stein retains a sense of dignity and humanity.
Some ten thousand men had come to participate in a solemn service, including the Blockälteste, the Kapos, all bureaucrats in the service of Death.
[chanting]"Blessed be the Almighty…"
The voice of the officiating inmate had just become audible. At first, I thought it was the wind.
"Blessed be God's name… "Thousands of lips repeated the benediction, bent over like trees in a storm.
Blessed be God's name?
Why, but why would I bless Him? Every fiber in me rebelled. Because He caused thousands of children to burn in His mass graves? Because He kept six crematoria working day and night, including Sabbath and the Holy Days? Because in His great might, He had created Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna, and so many other factories of death? How could I say to Him: Blessed be Thou, Almighty, Master of the Universe, who chose us among all nations to be tortured day and night, to watch as our fathers, our mothers, our brothers end up in the furnaces? Praised be Thy Holy Name, for having chosen us to be slaughtered on Thine altar?
I listened as the inmate's voice rose; it was powerful yet broken, amid the weeping, the sobbing, the sighing of the entire "congregation":
"All the earth and universe are God's!" He kept pausing, as though he lacked the strength to uncover the meaning beneath the text. The melody was stifled in his throat. (67)
What is the central idea of this passage?
Wiesel recounts the Rosh Hashanah service at camp and uses irony to express his anger with God.
The bell had just rung.
"Form ranks!"
Now, it no longer mattered that the work was hard. All that mattered was to be far from the block, far from the crucible of death, from the center of hell.
I saw my father running in my direction. Suddenly, I was afraid.
"What is happening?"
He was out of breath, hardly able to open his mouth.’
“Me too, me too … They told me too to stay in the camp."
They had recorded his number without his noticing.
"What are we going to do?" I said anxiously.
But it was he who tried to reassure me: "It's not certain yet. There's still a chance. Today, they will do another selection… a decisive one … "
I said nothing.
He felt time was running out. He was speaking rapidly, he wanted to tell me so many things. His speech became confused, his voice was choked. He knew that I had to leave in a few moments. He was going to remain alone, so alone…
"Here, take this knife," he said. "I won't need it anymore. You may find it useful. Also take this spoon. Don't sell it. Quickly! Go ahead, take what I'm giving you!"
My inheritance…
"Don't talk like that, Father." I was on the verge of breaking into sobs. "I don't want you to say such things. Keep the spoon and knife. You will need them as much as I. We'll see each other tonight, after work."
He looked at me with his tired eyes, veiled by despair. He insisted: "I am asking you … Take it, do as I ask you, my son. Time is running out. Do as your father asks you … "
Our Kapo shouted the order to march.
What is significant about the word "inheritance" in the passage?
It shows that although Elie does not want to believe it, he knows father may die this day.
"Comrades, you are now in the concentration camp Auschwitz. Ahead of you lies a long road paved with suffering. Don't lose hope. You have already eluded the worst danger: the selection. Therefore, muster your strength and keep your faith. We shall all see the day of liberation. Have faith in life, a thousand times faith. By driving out despair, you will move away from death. Hell does not last forever…And now, here is a prayer, or rather a piece of advice: let there be camaraderie among you. We are all brothers and share the same fate. The same smoke hovers over all our heads. Help each other. That is the only way to survive. And now, enough said, you are tired. Listen: you are in Block 17; I am responsible for keeping order here. Anyone with a complaint may come to see me. That is all. Go to sleep. Two people to a bunk. Good night.
What is the tone of this passage?
Encouraging and compassionate
A violin in a dark barrack where the dead were piled on top of the living? Who was this madman who played the violin here, at the edge of his own grave? Or was it a hallucination?
It had to be Juliek. He was playing a fragment of a Beethoven concerto. Never before had I heard such a beautiful sound. In such silence. How had he succeeded in disengaging himself? To slip out from under my body without my feeling it?
The darkness enveloped us. All I could hear was the violin, and it was as if Juliek's soul had become his bow. He was playing his life. His whole being was gliding over the strings. His unfulfilled hopes. His charred past, his extinguished future. He played that which he would never play again.
I shall never forget Juliek. How could I forget this concert given before an audience of the dead and dying? Even today, when I hear that particular piece by Beethoven, my eyes close and out of the darkness emerges the pale and melancholy face of my Polish comrade bidding farewell to an audience of dying men.
I don't know how long he played. I was overcome by sleep.
When I awoke at daybreak, I saw Juliek facing me, hunched over, dead. Next to him lay his violin, trampled, an eerily poignant little corpse.
Why would Juliek choose to play a Beethoven concerto?
because he had been denied the opportunity to play any "German" music since he was sent to the concentration camp.
Some ten thousand men had come to participate in a solemn service, including the Blockälteste, the Kapos, all bureaucrats in the service of Death.
[chanting]"Blessed be the Almighty…"
The voice of the officiating inmate had just become audible. At first, I thought it was the wind.
"Blessed be God's name… "Thousands of lips repeated the benediction, bent over like trees in a storm.
Blessed be God's name?
Why, but why would I bless Him? Every fiber in me rebelled. Because He caused thousands of children to burn in His mass graves? Because He kept six crematoria working day and night, including Sabbath and the Holy Days? Because in His great might, He had created Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna, and so many other factories of death? How could I say to Him: Blessed be Thou, Almighty, Master of the Universe, who chose us among all nations to be tortured day and night, to watch as our fathers, our mothers, our brothers end up in the furnaces? Praised be Thy Holy Name, for having chosen us to be slaughtered on Thine altar?
I listened as the inmate's voice rose; it was powerful yet broken, amid the weeping, the sobbing, the sighing of the entire "congregation":
"All the earth and universe are God's!" He kept pausing, as though he lacked the strength to uncover the meaning beneath the text. The melody was stifled in his throat. (67)
Why does Wiesel put quotation marks around the word "congregation"?
The quotation marks denote the irony of using the word congregation to describe the inmates of the camp.
"There are eighty of you in the car," the German officer added. "If anyone goes missing, you will all be shot, like dogs."
The two disappeared. The doors clanked shut. We had fallen into the trap, up to our necks. The doors were nailed, the way back
irrevocably cut off. The world had become a hermetically sealed cattle car.
Based on the context of the sentence, what does the word "hermetically" mean?
Completely sealed so that no air can get in.
What is ironic about the statement above the gate into Auschwitz "Arbeit macht frei"? (Work makes you free)
The irony is that for the Jews, work did NOT make them free. Work was only a punishment for the Jews.
Therefore, muster your strength and keep your faith. We shall all see the day of liberation. Have faith in life, a thousand times faith. By driving out despair, you will move away from death. Hell does not last forever…And now, here is a prayer, or rather a piece of advice: let there be camaraderie among you. We are all brothers and share the same fate. The same smoke hovers over all our heads. Help each other. That is the only way to survive.
What does this passage reveal about this character and why does the author include it in the text?
This passage reveals that this man is caring and has some humanity left. The purpose of the passage is to demonstrate that if people remain united, together they can overcome adversity and torment.
What is a motif? Give and explain at least one motif in Night?
A motif is a word, phrase, or idea that repeats itself throughout a text.
Possible motifs in Night: snow, spoon, soup, silence
Silence: Silence is a word/idea that occurs often in the text. It's meant to demonstrate how the Jews felt the world was treating the tragedy they were facing. Silence out of fear only allows continued and repeated injustice to take place in society.