...Maschler AP Literature-Band 6 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...
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...The book Night by Elie Wiesel is a story about the Jews during the time when the Germans were trying to rid the world of all the imperfect people. The biggest group of people they were trying to get rid of was the Jews. There were many different reactions from the survivors/victims of the Holocaust. I know if it was me that was caught up in a disaster the scope of the Holocaust that I would have many different feelings and reactions. I know a few people who have suffered a personal tragedy, me included. In some ways there are similarities to Night whereas some of it is not. Some people say that the Holocaust should be seen as different in kind from the tragedies common to human life. A good question to ask oneself is, how great of a tragedy would it take to lead you to question the goodness of God? As the story of Night develops Eliezer’s understanding of God changes. Eliezer’s relationship with his father changes as the story progresses. Some might say this change is related to his understanding of God. His reaction to his father’s death is different than how most people would react. The scene at the mirror at the end of the story suggests that something happened to Eliezer during the story. Wiesel makes the remark “man questions God” which has a suggestion on Judaism’s attitude toward God. I believe that it is ironic in light of the story. The story of Night suggests that there is a problem with being a survivor. Some people believe that Wiesel was justified in his change of...
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...”At Night” by Andre Dubus. Essay The only thing in life, you can be completely sure about, is that you have to die some day. It is certain knowledge, and it applies to all living creatures on Earth. Still it’s hard to understand and accept, especially when it is your close friends and family it concerns. “At Night” is a short story there describes time-consciousness connected to death. How you are trying to accept and realize the fact that we all have to die, because it is the most natural thing in the world. And when you are conscious about you and your love ones morality, you will try to pre-pare yourself by planning what you will do in the situation, where death will take over, and you stand powerless behind. The story has minimalist traits, which means, that there are a lot of empty places you have to fill in as a reader. The reader is an active part in the interpretation, and can be understood as the mean-ingful connecting link between the text and reader. It demands therefore an in-depth analysis if you want to understand the deeper significance. The story is written in past tense and it has a third person narrator, which gives a distance effect. The main characters doesn’t have names, they are just called “she” and “he”, and that also creates a sort of distance between the reader and the characters, where the distance can express the fact that the wife is trying to plan the futures unpredictability. The wife ”always knew she would be a widow” (quotation)...
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...trying to find it. Sayonara, au revoir, adios, bye. Elie Wiesel’s Night deals with his loss of faith in his God. Wiesel’s problem can be root all the way back to 1942, the beginning of Elie’s awakening, his first insight into the real world, his first insight into the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a horrid event, of ruthless killing, of senseless slaughter, destroying families, and a whirlwind of destruction. Under strain, ones happiness and ones faith is slowly whittled under the knife of opposition and pressure. Elie has lost so much through out his life, losing his family, his friends, but most importantly his faith. The first example of Elie loosing his faith is when he arrived at Auschwitz, Elie and his father are directed to go to the left; a prisoner then informs them that they are on their way to the crematory, Elie’s father recites the Kaddish or prayer for the dead, revolt rises up inside of Elie and he questions God, “Why should I bless His name? The Eternal, lord of the Universe, the All-Powerful and Terrible, was silent. What had I to thank Him for? (Wiesel 31)”. Elie is hopeless, his situation rendering him of his beliefs unable to believe that a holy being could cause such grief. He was stricken with terror that even after his prayers, his deep devotion to the great “lord” that God has thrust him into this “hell”. Another example of prisoners in the concentration camp loosing their faith in Night is when the Pipel, a young child, was hung in front of the whole camp...
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...Author: Elie Wiesel Night “One day I was able to get up, after gathering all my strength. I wanted to see myself in the mirror hanging on then opposite wall. I had not seen myself since the ghetto. From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me. The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me. (Wiesel 109)” This is Eliezer’s final statement at the end of the intriguing and heartbreaking book Night by Eli Wiesel. A boy named Eliezer, who represents Elie, narrates Night, but details set apart the character Eliezer from the real life Elie. Despite warnings about German intentions towards Jews, Eliezer, a Jewish teenage boy, his family and the other Jews in the small Transylvanian town of Sighet (now in modern-day Romania) fail to flee the country when they have a chance. As a result, the entire Jewish population is sent to concentration camps. There, in a camp called Auschwitz, Eliezer is separated from his mother and younger sister, but remains with his father. As Eliezer struggles to survive against starvation and abuse, he also grapples with the destruction of his faith in God’s justice and battles with the darker sides of himself. Forced into a desperate situation, Eliezer feels a conflict between supporting his ever-weakening father and giving himself the best chance of survival. Over the course of the book, Eliezer and his father are sent from Auschwitz to a new concentration camp called Buna and then, as the Allies (the British and...
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...situations help individuals get through or learn how to deal with the hardships. Having heard the saying “Give rather than receive.” Being selfless or putting people before yourself can get you far in the long run. Another hardship that many people faced was surviving the holocaust and the horrible things done to many Jews by Hitler. Throughout Night being brave, strong, caring, and selfless were all things Elie used to get him and his father through the life of concentration camps. In the beginning when Elie and his father arrived at the concentration camp they met a man that asked them both “how old are you?” They replied with “15 and 40”. While going through the check in lines they were also asked “where do you work?” The two men replied with the lies that the prisoner told them while going through the check in lines. The man said “no 18 and 30.” It’s pretty obvious that the man had gone through the process and was helping the men before they got through the camps. Luckily the men were not caught lying about their age because they could have been severely punished, and possibly killed because of the lies they told. While reading the story night, Elie used bravery plenty of times during the hard life of the camps. When his dad was in his room and Elie walked into witness his father being beaten up by the roommates because his father was too ill to get up and use the restroom. The cause of him not being able to leave the room he urinated on himself and had the room smelling horrible...
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...Nandos babe sbsbsbsbbsvv sbsbsbsbbsvvThis paper aims to make an analysis of the short story entitled, “The Vendetta”, written by Guy de Maupassant. “Vendetta”, which means “revenge” in the English language, is the core of this short story, and the concept from which the main character depends upon in order to survive. The story revolved around the revenge of the Widow Saverini because of the death of her son Antoine Saverini. Antoine was killed by a man named, Nicolas Ravolati, who was the object of revenge of Antoine’s mother. The death of her son, and her plot for revenge made her restless and sleepless at nights, thus, motivating her to avenge the death of Antoine. The development of the story involves the important role played by Semillante, the dog of Antoine, which the Widow used in order to get on with her revenge. The plan of the widow is to starve the dog for two days, and using a scarecrow made of straw, she trained the dog to attack it by using a smoking sausage she tied to the neck of the straw man. She trained the dog for several months, and when she believed that both of them were ready to execute her plans, she went to the town with the dog to look for Nicolas Ravolati. Her plan was a success, as she already avenged the death of Antoine, thus, giving her peace after returning home. This short story was a simple story, with a simple plot and theme, which depicts what really happens in real life. Three important points can be recognized...
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...Gabriel Jam English January 15, 2015 The memoir Night by Elie Wiesel is about teenage boy overcoming his obstacles he faced during the holocaust. Elie’s hope and motivation to survive the holocaust was his father because Elie’s father was the only family member left and they supported each other to keep on going. They watched each other physically and mentally. Elie and his father encourage one another mentally to survive the holocaust. No matter what obstacle was thrown at them, they always stayed together. The Russians were expected to go where Elie and his father were located. The head of the block made the prisoner clean the area where they were staying because they didn’t want the Russians to think that they were living like pigs. When they were finished cleaning, they were evacuated to another location. The prisoners were ordered to run nonstop and whoever stopped running got shot to death. While Elie ran, his foot was aching but it wouldn’t stop him to keep moving forward. His “father’s presence was the only thing that stopped him” to keep going how his father was “running at my side, out of breath, end of his strength at his wits end.” Elie’s mindset is that he has “no right to die” and no matter what, Elie is his fathers “only support” to keep going on and not to be shot to the death. Survival with his father is his motivation. When Elie thought “no right to die” and “only support”, it showed dhow much love and inspiration to keep on going and not to give up...
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...| Night: By Eli Wiesel Essay Word Count:665 By: Carlos Guerrero Prof. Ted Johnston English 1301 TR 11:30 08 November 2014 We can know the end of the story just by knowing that Ellie Wiesel wrote the book. We know it because this book is about survival. Physically we know Ellie Wiesel survived the holocaust, but does any psychological or spiritual part of him died during the holocaust? Elie Wiesel wrote about all the horrible torture, brutality, degradation, lost, and inhumanities he suffered by the Nazis just because he’s Jewish. Considering Elie was just a teenager, all he had to go through could turn his faith, religion, humanity, or beliefs. Before the Nazis took Elie and his family we could notice that Elie was a strong, religious boy who wanted to learn the Cabbala. Moshe the Beadle taught him it, and answered all Elie’s questions. By the point of Elie learning the Cabbala his faith was very strong. Elie compared praying with breathing, it is something so important for him that he does it without thinking. He’s faith in god is unconditional, and he believes since God is good and its everywhere, then his world and everything in it must be good too. I believe Elie knowing the Cabbala took an important role in his spiritual survival. Elie Wiesel was devoted to his faith to God, humanity of others, and a sense of justice in the world; which eventually we know are beliefs challenged by the holocaust events. One of the first events occurred to Elie was...
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...he book Night by Elie Wiesel is a story about the Jews during the time when the Germans were trying to rid the world of all the imperfect people. The biggest group of people they were trying to get rid of was the Jews. There were many different reactions from the survivors/victims of the Holocaust. I know if it was me that was caught up in a disaster the scope of the Holocaust that I would have many different feelings and reactions. I know a few people who have suffered a personal tragedy, me included. In some ways there are similarities to Night whereas some of it is not. Some people say that the Holocaust should be seen as different in kind from the tragedies common to human life. A good question to ask oneself is, how great of a tragedy would it take to lead you to question the goodness of God? As the story of Night develops Eliezer’s understanding of God changes. Eliezer’s relationship with his father changes as the story progresses. Some might say this change is related to his understanding of God. His reaction to his father’s death is different than how most people would react. The scene at the mirror at the end of the story suggests that something happened to Eliezer during the story. Wiesel makes the remark “man questions God” which has a suggestion on Judaism’s attitude toward God. I believe that it is ironic in light of the story. The story of Night suggests that there is a problem with being a survivor. Some people believe that Wiesel was justified in his change of...
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...power. A perfect example of the latter would be the Holocaust where humans tortured and killed other humans because they were different. In Eliezier Wiesel’s memoir, Night he describes the extreme cruelty and suffering he endures in Auschwitz and other concentration camps as a child inmate during the Holocaust. Wiesel can neither explain nor understand the reasons for human cruelty that he witnesses and endures during the Holocaust, but learns that cruelty breeds more of the same and in the end survival and self-preservation is all that matters. Night sample thesis statements: You may borrow one, make it your own or write one from scratch: 1. Question: Analyze Elie and other characters’ struggle with faith. You can approach this chronologically or by effects. What is Elie’s final judgment on the benefit/cost of faith? Consider Elie’s interpretations of God’s intentions and use of visual imagery (such as death and night imagery). Thesis: At the beginning of the novel Elie has a desire to grow his religious faith and connection to God; however, as the story progresses and he witnesses tremendous suffering and loss his faith is shaken and lost. 2. Question: Analyze the essence and effects of dehumanization and human cruelty in Night on the perpetrators and/or the victims. Does Night help explain why people are capable of terrible crimes against...
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...Professor Mason | The Night Before Graduation | Descriptive essay | | Adrian | 1/29/2012 | | Midnight had struck as my friend Niki and I were walking on Apple Street. By this time the rain had been on its way, leaving the air with a warm and humid touch. A feeling of excitement entered my ears as I heard the faint of sound of music and laughter. I found myself walking at a faster pace along this dark, winding road. Not exactly sure what to expect for the night, I could only hope that it would lead to being something to remember forever. Upon arriving to the farm, I was in astonishment, almost like confusion. It seemed like everyone I had attended high school with was there. It was a sight I will never forget; it resembled a scene from a movie or a TV show. There were hundreds of kids just enjoying themselves at a crazy and wild party. As I proceeded to walk toward the voluptuous crowd of dancing and music, Niki said, “Time to get trashed”. With complete confusion, I turned to my left only to see her mixing some concoction. The smell of alcohol had always turned my stomach inside out, but for some reason on this night when she asked me if I would like some I said yes. With my first sip, I was immediately turned off. The taste was horrendously out of this world and on top of that it burned. Instantly, I gave the drink back to her along with a slew of complaints. “Ewwww Niki. That’s horrible. How on earth can you ever drink something like that?” She...
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...Book Review #2 Night By Elie Wiesel The atrocities that were committed against Jews during WWII will hopefully be remembered forever. This seems a bit counterintuitive for me because when something so terrible happens I would just as soon forget about it. History as we know has a tendency to repeat itself and the only way to prevent that from happening is to keep our history in mind as we consider what our future might hold. With that in mind, I can say that I enjoyed reading Night and imagine that I will read it again one day. In class we did not go into great detail about the Nazi’s “Final Solution” and what it really meant to the people who it was pertaining to. Our book only briefly touches on this subject as well, almost as if it is avoided in our textbook. The opening setting of Night is in the small town of Siglet in northern Transylvania which was annexed by Hungary in 1940 with Eliezer a 15 year old Jewish boy who narrators the story. Eliezer lives with his Mother, Father, and three sisters. His father was a prominent Jewish member of the community often being called upon by others for council. They all knew about Hitler and had heard about his intentions for the Jews, yet they did not believe that the world would allow such hatred and blatant disregard to humanity. Essential they had hinged their livelihood on hope and the goodness of mankind. By autumn of 1941 Hitler was the master of the continent of Europe and he used that power to carry out his...
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...Night The human condition is defined by positive and negative aspects of existence as a human being, where events such as your childhood, adolescence, adulthood, relationships, aging and the situations you go through, shape who you are. Wilful blindness, separation, loss of identity and faith, morality changes, loss of hope and fear can all contribute to the most basic values and beliefs that we carry through life. Being taken out of our comfort zone and put into situations that test how strong we really are can change us in irreversible ways. Fear is the most powerful factor that affects the human condition, making us do the most unimaginable things in order to stay alive. In the novel Night by Elie Wiesel, several main ideas emerge, all linking to the human condition. In the beginning, the Jewish people of Sighet expressed wilful blindness through their disbelief that the Germans, could want to kill them. Even as the soldiers came and ordered all the Jews to be put in 'ghettos', where they were to live, they still had smiles on their faces and chose not to accept what their fate had in store. Realization of the reality of their situation came about when masses of them were rounded up and transported by cattle cars to various concentration camps. They were treated like herds of cattle and sheep, being rounded up by the thousands, destined for the slaughterhouse. At this point, they lost their dignity. When the masses of Jewish people reached the concentration...
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...Night is a memoir written by Elie Wiesel about the suffering of the Jews during the Holocaust. Night is also an autobiography account of a recollection of the Holocaust through the eyes of survivor, Elie Wiesel. He takes his readers with him from his home and beyond. After reading this book, readers will have a deeper understanding of the holocaust. “FEAR WAS GREATER THAN HUNGER” (59) Wiesel takes the reader through the events of the day. Half the group, his father among them, were at work. The group Eliezer was in stayed behind and was resting when the bombing started. All inmates were confined to their blocks. Almost in slow motion, Wiesel describes how one prisoner crawled on his belly through the deserted street to a cauldron of soup that stood unguarded in the roadway. The other prisoners look on with fear and envy, all of them consumed with hunger, at the man risking his life in quest of a little soup. When the famished man finally manages to pull himself to his feet and reaches into the cauldron, he is shot and falls dead beside it. Wiesel notes that, despite the danger to themselves from the bombing, the inmates were not afraid but glad to see the camp being bombed. “Fear was greater than hunger” this man showed mutiny and rebellion towards the SS officers just so he could survive , he put himself in danger in order to live this reason is why everyone-including the SS officers watches in disbelief as one man who dared committed suicide for a ration or two more of soup...
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