...Support or refute the following generalization: "A major theme of the novel is a boy's loss of innocence in a world he thought good and a loss of faith in a God he thought just." Be sure to answer both parts of the prompt. The central theme of Elie Wiesel’s writing “Night” is a boy's loss of innocence in a world he thought good and a loss of faith in a God he thought just. Throughout the book, Wiesel encounters numerous situations that put him through a mix of emotions that lead him to change his belief that God is just. Originally Elie had full trust in God, shown by his devout prayers to God and his devoted study of the Talmud and Kabbalah. But over time his horrific experiences during the Holocaust started to influence his beliefs. He says in his first night at Auschwitz, “Never shall I forget...
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... May 1, 2011 Major Works Data Sheet- Night Title: Night Author: Elie Wiesel Date of Publication: 1958 Genre: autobiography, memoir Historical information about period of publication: World War II, and the Holocaust, ended in April 1945 when the liberating Allied armies came through the conquered territories in Nazi Europe. Night describes 16 year old Elie’s loss of faith in God, humanity, family and morality in general. Elie, therefore, vowed to not speak of his experience in Auschwitz, Buna or Buchenwald (or any event between 1943 and 1945, from the beginning of the occupation of Hungary to Germany’s liberation in 1945) for ten years, until he had time to internalize this dramatic loss, and regain his faith and possession of his memory and life. In 1954, after realizing that even less than ten years after the end of the Holocaust, the world was already forgetting and Jews were abandoning their roots, the time had come to testify and justify to the world that Hitler had not succeeded. Biographical Information about the author: Eliezer “Elie” Wiesel was born on September 30, 1928 in Sighet Romania, where his memoir Night begins. In his childhood (up to the Nazi occupation of Romania) his father encouraged his study of the Torah, other Judaic texts and other literary works. As described in the beginning of Night, Elie was also curious about the realm of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. From 1944 to 1945, Elie and his family were subjected to the Nazi terror...
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...After Elie Wiesel and his father are resettled to Buna, he experiences two hangings. The first of which is as a result of thievery during the recent air raid, and the Germans are not appeased. During an atypical roll call, the Germans bring to the attention of the prisoners that the defiant’s consequential death should serve as a reminder. Elie writes, “The Kapo wanted to blindfold the youth, but he refused. After what seemed like a long moment, . . . when the latter shouted, in a strong and calm voice: ‘Long live liberty! My curse on Germany! My curse! My—’” (Wiesel 62). The young man that is hung on the gallows, indubitably, meets his end with denial and hatred—both of which are obvious through audible action. However, why does Elie seemingly rejoice as he is later consuming his ration? Clearly, it is due to a lack of relevance and, in Elie’s perception, is also what the man deserves. Indubitably, Wiesel’s incorporation of the lack of silence only substantiates the...
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...Elie’s role as a mockingbird becomes immediately clear the moment he leaves his home. Due to not who, but what he was, Elie found himself losing his entire life. As demonstrated in To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes, “Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” Elie shows the readers a whole new level of courage. When Elie first arrives he and his father are separated from his mother and three sisters. Disappearing towards the Birkenau death camp, his mother and sisters become more victims of the Holocaust. Afterwards, Elie and his father struggle to survive the harsh conditions of the Auschwitz concentration camp. In order to survive, they must remain healthy enough to work. Appearing their hard work was all for naught, Elie loses his father before being freed (Night). Overall, Elie’s experience during the Holocaust allowed him to showcase what the Jews went through during that time; his persecution comes in the form of the months of trauma he sustained. None of the Jews or his family behaved in a way to earn this treatment, yet they had to endure it. In the long run, Elie is a tragic example of how unfairly some religions are...
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...Night by: Elie Wiesel I rarely read a historical novel that captures my attention and immediately intrigues me, however, Night by Elie Wiesel is a novel that did. Elie Wiesel’s novel is about a young Jewish boy named Eliezer who is living in his hometown, Sighet. Eliezer spends a lot of his time studying the first five books of the Old Testament, and the main idea of Jewish mysticism, the Cabbala. Moshe the Beadle is a friend and teacher of Jewish mysticism to Eliezer. Eliezer is very fond of Moshe the Beadle, but his time with him is shortened when Eliezer finds out that Moshe is being deported. Shortly after Moshe was deported, he successfully escaped to try and inform the people that the German secret police had taken over his train and...
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...___________________________ LIVING HISTORY Hillary Rodham Clinton Simon & Schuster New York • London • Toronto • Sydney • Singapore To my parents, my husband, my daughter and all the good souls around the world whose inspiration, prayers, support and love blessed my heart and sustained me in the years of living history. AUTHOR’S NOTE In 1959, I wrote my autobiography for an assignment in sixth grade. In twenty-nine pages, most half-filled with earnest scrawl, I described my parents, brothers, pets, house, hobbies, school, sports and plans for the future. Forty-two years later, I began writing another memoir, this one about the eight years I spent in the White House living history with Bill Clinton. I quickly realized that I couldn’t explain my life as First Lady without going back to the beginning―how I became the woman I was that first day I walked into the White House on January 20, 1993, to take on a new role and experiences that would test and transform me in unexpected ways. By the time I crossed the threshold of the White House, I had been shaped by my family upbringing, education, religious faith and all that I had learned before―as the daughter of a staunch conservative father and a more liberal mother, a student activist, an advocate for children, a lawyer, Bill’s wife and Chelsea’s mom. For each chapter, there were more ideas I wanted to discuss than space allowed; more people to include than could be named; more places visited than could be described...
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