PLot Line
Basic Situation- In the introduction, we are introduced to Eliezer Wiesel who is around 12 years old at the start of the book.He lives with his father, Shlomo, who is the head on a Jewish council. He also lives with his mother, and his three sisters- Hilda, Bea', and Tzipora. They live in Sighet, a town in Transylvania, during World War 2. First, the Germans occupy the town and limit activities for the Jews. After a while, they are transported to a ghetto, with cramped living conditions and even more rules.
Rising Action- Eliezer and his family are loaded onto a train, and sent away to a concentration camp. When they arrive, Eliezer and his father are separated from his mother and sisters, who are presumed dead after they leave. The German officers have them strip, bathe, and shave their hair in order to be cleansed. Another prisoner has Eliezer and Shlomo lie about their ages, so they will not be sent to the crematorium. After three weeks, they are transported to yet another camp, where they are selected to do various tasks for the Nazis. Months pass as they struggle with disease, injury, starvation and inner problems.
Climax- The climax of the story is when Eliezer and the other prisoners witness the hanging of people associated with rebels, including a small boy. The boy was hung last, but it took an hour for him to die, as he was too small to properly be hung. This moment symbolizes the loss of innocence and the turning point in the story.
Falling Action- The time after this event shows Eliezer's father becoming more and more weak. He loves his father, but a small part inside him says it would be better for his survival if his father dies. After a long run through the night, Shlomo is diagnosed with dysentery, and Eliezer begins to lose hope. One day, Eliezer wakes up and his father isn't there anymore, and he wonders if the carried him off while he was still alive.
Resolution- After his fathers death, Eliezer becomes a shell of his former self. Finally, on April 11, 1945, Americans liberate the Buchenwald camp. Eliezer survives, as the last of his family, in order to pass on this story.
Rising Action- Eliezer and his family are loaded onto a train, and sent away to a concentration camp. When they arrive, Eliezer and his father are separated from his mother and sisters, who are presumed dead after they leave. The German officers have them strip, bathe, and shave their hair in order to be cleansed. Another prisoner has Eliezer and Shlomo lie about their ages, so they will not be sent to the crematorium. After three weeks, they are transported to yet another camp, where they are selected to do various tasks for the Nazis. Months pass as they struggle with disease, injury, starvation and inner problems.
Climax- The climax of the story is when Eliezer and the other prisoners witness the hanging of people associated with rebels, including a small boy. The boy was hung last, but it took an hour for him to die, as he was too small to properly be hung. This moment symbolizes the loss of innocence and the turning point in the story.
Falling Action- The time after this event shows Eliezer's father becoming more and more weak. He loves his father, but a small part inside him says it would be better for his survival if his father dies. After a long run through the night, Shlomo is diagnosed with dysentery, and Eliezer begins to lose hope. One day, Eliezer wakes up and his father isn't there anymore, and he wonders if the carried him off while he was still alive.
Resolution- After his fathers death, Eliezer becomes a shell of his former self. Finally, on April 11, 1945, Americans liberate the Buchenwald camp. Eliezer survives, as the last of his family, in order to pass on this story.
Characterization
Eliezer Wiesel - Our protagonist, a teenage Jewish boy from the town of Sighet, is a deeply religious and loving person. He is defined as a dynamic and round character, as we get a wonderful understanding of how he thinks.
Adolf Hitler/SS Officers - The main antagonists of the book, both are static and flat characters. They are generally evil, cruel and ruthless to all that are at their mercy.
Shlomo- Eliezers Father, the head of a Jewish council. He is a fairly flat character, who mainly loves his son and has great faith. The only major change we see in this character was his decline in health nearing the end of the story.
Adolf Hitler/SS Officers - The main antagonists of the book, both are static and flat characters. They are generally evil, cruel and ruthless to all that are at their mercy.
Shlomo- Eliezers Father, the head of a Jewish council. He is a fairly flat character, who mainly loves his son and has great faith. The only major change we see in this character was his decline in health nearing the end of the story.
Subordinate Characters
Moshe The Beadle- Eliezer's mentor in his studies of the Torah and Cabbala, who is the first of the Jews taken away. He returns to warn the others of the horrors, but none listen. Moshe may serve as a stand-in for the author himself, who wrote this book to attack the silence around the Holocaust.
Madame Schächter- A jewish woman from Eliezer's town of Sighet. They are in the same train car as they are deported, and the woman goes mad. She raves about the fires she sees in the distance, and once the train arrives at Auschwitz, they realize she was prophesying about the crematorium.
Madame Schächter- A jewish woman from Eliezer's town of Sighet. They are in the same train car as they are deported, and the woman goes mad. She raves about the fires she sees in the distance, and once the train arrives at Auschwitz, they realize she was prophesying about the crematorium.
Chapter by chapter - the picture method
Chapter One
Prediction- Eliezer and his family will be taken away from their home. They will be taken to a concentration camp for forced labor.
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Prediction- Eliezer and his family will be taken away from their home. They will be taken to a concentration camp for forced labor.
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Clarification- "'I wanted to come back to Sighet to tell you the story of my death. So that you could prepare yourselves while there was still time. To live? I don't attach any importance to my life any more. I'm alone. No, I wanted to come back, and to warn you. And see how it is, no one will listen to me....'" Chapter 1, pg. 5
This quote is from Moshe The Beadle, after he escapes from the horrors of the mass executions of the Jews, only to find that no one listens because they think he has gone mad. Moshe did not die, but feels as though he has no reason left to live after the things he had witnessed.
"'The yellow star? Oh well, what of it? You don't die of it...'" Chapter 1, pg. 9
The quote here is referring to the Star of David that Jews were forced to wear to identify themselves.
Questions- Why does Ellie want a teacher so badly? Why are the German soldiers so nice at first?
Connections- I know what it's like to have teachers you look up to, as well as what it feels like to leave behind close family and friends.
Summary- We learn lots about our narrator Eliezer, and his family. He is instructed in religious studies, until his teacher is taken away. Soon after, his family and him are place in a ghetto, with no idea what is on the horizon.
This quote is from Moshe The Beadle, after he escapes from the horrors of the mass executions of the Jews, only to find that no one listens because they think he has gone mad. Moshe did not die, but feels as though he has no reason left to live after the things he had witnessed.
"'The yellow star? Oh well, what of it? You don't die of it...'" Chapter 1, pg. 9
The quote here is referring to the Star of David that Jews were forced to wear to identify themselves.
Questions- Why does Ellie want a teacher so badly? Why are the German soldiers so nice at first?
Connections- I know what it's like to have teachers you look up to, as well as what it feels like to leave behind close family and friends.
Summary- We learn lots about our narrator Eliezer, and his family. He is instructed in religious studies, until his teacher is taken away. Soon after, his family and him are place in a ghetto, with no idea what is on the horizon.
Chapter Two
Prediction- They will be taken to a concentration camp. The family will most likely be separated.
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Prediction- They will be taken to a concentration camp. The family will most likely be separated.
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Clarification- "The doors were nailed up; the way back was finally cut off. The world was a cattle wagon hermetically sealed." Chapter 2, pg. 22
This statement is the realization that they will live in these small cramped quarters until whenever they are released, therefore making this their 'world.'
The women on the train keeps yelling about a fire, when no one else can see a fire. It is most likely that she sees the fire in her mind, and the fire does not exist in their current situation.
Questions- Has the woman on the train gone crazy? Will the family be sent to the crematorium?
Connections-I get annoyed when people yell, just like they did in the train car. I've been on a train before and know how it all just blurs together.
Summary- The people of the town of Sighet are loaded into train cars and sent away without being told where. The people eventually are told they are going to a work camp called Auschwitz, and are at first relieved. But as they come closer, a pungent smell fills they air- which they later find out is the scent of burning flesh.
This statement is the realization that they will live in these small cramped quarters until whenever they are released, therefore making this their 'world.'
The women on the train keeps yelling about a fire, when no one else can see a fire. It is most likely that she sees the fire in her mind, and the fire does not exist in their current situation.
Questions- Has the woman on the train gone crazy? Will the family be sent to the crematorium?
Connections-I get annoyed when people yell, just like they did in the train car. I've been on a train before and know how it all just blurs together.
Summary- The people of the town of Sighet are loaded into train cars and sent away without being told where. The people eventually are told they are going to a work camp called Auschwitz, and are at first relieved. But as they come closer, a pungent smell fills they air- which they later find out is the scent of burning flesh.
Chapter Three
Predictions- Eliezer will never see his mother or sisters again. He and his father will be forced into hard labour.
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Predictions- Eliezer will never see his mother or sisters again. He and his father will be forced into hard labour.
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Clarification- "Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion. Eight short, simple words. Yet that was the moment when I parted from my mother." Chapter 3, pg. 27
You can infer from this that Eliezers mother and sisters have gone down another pathway, and will not be chosen for hard labour.
"'Do you see that chimney over there? See it? Do you see those flames? (Yes, we did see the flames.) Over there-that's where you're going to be taken. That's your grave, over there.'" Chapter 3, pg. 28
By the speakers description, we can say that he is referring to the crematorium.
Questions- Why would they not listen to the women on the train? Why did the Jews not try to escape when the train stopped?
Connections- I know how scary it is to be separated from a parent, so that must be what Eliezer felt times one hundred.
Summary- In this chapter, Eliezer is separated from his mother and sisters, left with only his father. They are told to lie about their ages so that they will remain together, and they do so. After all this they are sent into the work camp called Auschwitz.
You can infer from this that Eliezers mother and sisters have gone down another pathway, and will not be chosen for hard labour.
"'Do you see that chimney over there? See it? Do you see those flames? (Yes, we did see the flames.) Over there-that's where you're going to be taken. That's your grave, over there.'" Chapter 3, pg. 28
By the speakers description, we can say that he is referring to the crematorium.
Questions- Why would they not listen to the women on the train? Why did the Jews not try to escape when the train stopped?
Connections- I know how scary it is to be separated from a parent, so that must be what Eliezer felt times one hundred.
Summary- In this chapter, Eliezer is separated from his mother and sisters, left with only his father. They are told to lie about their ages so that they will remain together, and they do so. After all this they are sent into the work camp called Auschwitz.
Chapter Four
Predictions- I think both Eliezer and his father will be forced to work. I also feel that they will remove his tooth.
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Predictions- I think both Eliezer and his father will be forced to work. I also feel that they will remove his tooth.
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Clarification- “Where is God now?”And I heard a voice within me answer him:“Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows. . . .” Chapter 4, pg. 60
This is while the young boy is being hung, and Eliezer seriously questions his faith. The boy represents innocence lost by everyone present.
Also, the author flashes forward in time to when he met the women in the metro.
Questions- Why did Eliezer lose all his faith? Why was it bad to lose his tooth?
Connections- I don't really like the dentist either, so I would try to avoid it. I have faked an illness before, just like Eliezer did.
Summary- Eliezer and father are chosen to work on the same team, and are informed this camp is not as harsh as the others. Eliezer meets a girl while working, who he meets later in life in the metro.
This is while the young boy is being hung, and Eliezer seriously questions his faith. The boy represents innocence lost by everyone present.
Also, the author flashes forward in time to when he met the women in the metro.
Questions- Why did Eliezer lose all his faith? Why was it bad to lose his tooth?
Connections- I don't really like the dentist either, so I would try to avoid it. I have faked an illness before, just like Eliezer did.
Summary- Eliezer and father are chosen to work on the same team, and are informed this camp is not as harsh as the others. Eliezer meets a girl while working, who he meets later in life in the metro.
Chapter Five
Predictions- Eliezer and his father will both escape. Eliezer's will not regain his faith.
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Predictions- Eliezer and his father will both escape. Eliezer's will not regain his faith.
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Clarification- "'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.'" Chapter 5, pg. 77
This quote is showing Eliezer and how he has completely lost faith in God, saying Hitler keeps more promises.
Also Eliezer did not fast on the day that Jews are supposed to fast according to their religion.
Questions- Will Eliezer ever come back to God? Why would Shlomo not say anything his son after being reunited?
Connections- I know what it's like to lose faith in God after certain events. I can relate to the happiness after meeting up with someone you've been separated from.
Summary- At Buna, the Jews sing to celebrate their faith, but Eliezer does not join in. Eliezer's faith weakens even more as he wonders if God could possibly be stronger than man.
This quote is showing Eliezer and how he has completely lost faith in God, saying Hitler keeps more promises.
Also Eliezer did not fast on the day that Jews are supposed to fast according to their religion.
Questions- Will Eliezer ever come back to God? Why would Shlomo not say anything his son after being reunited?
Connections- I know what it's like to lose faith in God after certain events. I can relate to the happiness after meeting up with someone you've been separated from.
Summary- At Buna, the Jews sing to celebrate their faith, but Eliezer does not join in. Eliezer's faith weakens even more as he wonders if God could possibly be stronger than man.
Chapter Six
Predictions- Many people will die on the winter March. Eliezer and his father will survive.
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Clarification- If anyone stopped running during the death run, they would be shot by the officers.
"How could I forget that concert, given to an audience of dying and dead men!" Chapter 6, pg. 90
The violin player played his violin, as Eliezer fell asleep in that pile of bodies. When he awoke, the player was dead and his violin was smashed near him.
Questions- How did they violin player die? Will Eliezer ever abandon his father?
Connections- I know what it is like to feel hollow inside, like it hurts to actually walk and move.
Summary- All the prisoners were forced to run 45 miles to the next camp through the excruciating cold. The thing the keeps Eliezer running is that his father is nearby and he can not leave him alone.After the arrival at the next camp, they are loade on yet another train.
"How could I forget that concert, given to an audience of dying and dead men!" Chapter 6, pg. 90
The violin player played his violin, as Eliezer fell asleep in that pile of bodies. When he awoke, the player was dead and his violin was smashed near him.
Questions- How did they violin player die? Will Eliezer ever abandon his father?
Connections- I know what it is like to feel hollow inside, like it hurts to actually walk and move.
Summary- All the prisoners were forced to run 45 miles to the next camp through the excruciating cold. The thing the keeps Eliezer running is that his father is nearby and he can not leave him alone.After the arrival at the next camp, they are loade on yet another train.
Chapter Seven
Predictions- More Jews will die on the train. The train will break down because of the cold.
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Predictions- More Jews will die on the train. The train will break down because of the cold.
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Clarification- The people have been eating snow just to feel full of something.
"When they withdrew, next to me were two corpses, side by side, the father and the son. I was fifteen years old." Chapter 7, pg. 96
These corpses are that of the son who killed his father for bread, who then in turn was killed by the others. Eliezer was just fifteen when he saw this, very young to witness such horrors.
Questions- How much longer will Eliezer's father hold on? Why will Eliezer not let his father die?
Connections- My dad has fasted for 24 hours, and he drank a lot of water to stay full.
Summary- They are on a train to Buchenwald and many Jews die on the way their. Eliezer is almost strangled by an unknown person, and his father almost dies out in the snow.
"When they withdrew, next to me were two corpses, side by side, the father and the son. I was fifteen years old." Chapter 7, pg. 96
These corpses are that of the son who killed his father for bread, who then in turn was killed by the others. Eliezer was just fifteen when he saw this, very young to witness such horrors.
Questions- How much longer will Eliezer's father hold on? Why will Eliezer not let his father die?
Connections- My dad has fasted for 24 hours, and he drank a lot of water to stay full.
Summary- They are on a train to Buchenwald and many Jews die on the way their. Eliezer is almost strangled by an unknown person, and his father almost dies out in the snow.
Chapter Eight
Predictions- Eliezer's father will die of some illness. I feel that the prisoners will try and rebel against the guards.
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Predictions- Eliezer's father will die of some illness. I feel that the prisoners will try and rebel against the guards.
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Clarification- "But I had no more tears. And, in the depths of my being, in the recesses of my weakened conscience, could I have searched it, I might perhaps have found something like-free at last!" Chapter 8, pg. 106
This quote explains how Eliezer feels after he wakes up to see his father gone, he is relieved deep down because he no longer has to care for his father.
Questions- Was his father alive when he was taken away? Why would the other prisoners beat him?
Summary- After bringing his father drinks of coffee and bits of food, Eliezer's father is so ill many give up on him. Eventually, Eliezer wakes up to see his father gone and can't help but feel a tiny bit relieved.
This quote explains how Eliezer feels after he wakes up to see his father gone, he is relieved deep down because he no longer has to care for his father.
Questions- Was his father alive when he was taken away? Why would the other prisoners beat him?
Summary- After bringing his father drinks of coffee and bits of food, Eliezer's father is so ill many give up on him. Eventually, Eliezer wakes up to see his father gone and can't help but feel a tiny bit relieved.
Chapter Nine
Predictions- The camp will be liberated. Eliezer will mourn the loss of his family.
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Predictions- The camp will be liberated. Eliezer will mourn the loss of his family.
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Clarification- "After my father's death, nothing could touch me any more." Chapter 9, pg. 107
This shows us that Eliezer has lost all capability to feel, that nothing bothers him anymore.
"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." Chapter 9, pg. 109
This is the first time Eliezer had seen himself in quite a long time. When he says a corpse stared back at him, it must have felt like that.
Questions- Why was the resistance not formed earlier? Why are the prisoners only a little happy?
Summary- Things end for us with Eliezer thinking that he can not hold out much longer, but before long the Americans liberate the camp. After a brief trouble with food poisoning, Eliezer finally gets to see himself in a mirror once more- and realizes he will never be the same as he once was.
This shows us that Eliezer has lost all capability to feel, that nothing bothers him anymore.
"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." Chapter 9, pg. 109
This is the first time Eliezer had seen himself in quite a long time. When he says a corpse stared back at him, it must have felt like that.
Questions- Why was the resistance not formed earlier? Why are the prisoners only a little happy?
Summary- Things end for us with Eliezer thinking that he can not hold out much longer, but before long the Americans liberate the camp. After a brief trouble with food poisoning, Eliezer finally gets to see himself in a mirror once more- and realizes he will never be the same as he once was.
Theme-
I think the most important theme is to never lose faith. We see Eliezer lose faith as the story, and as he loses faith his outlook on life gets more and more bleak. It teaches us that so long as we believe in something, we will get through more than just giving up.
I think the most important theme is to never lose faith. We see Eliezer lose faith as the story, and as he loses faith his outlook on life gets more and more bleak. It teaches us that so long as we believe in something, we will get through more than just giving up.
Motifs-
Motifs in "Night", in my opinion, are death and fear of death. We see death illustrated multiple times, including in the very beginning starting with the mass executions witnessed by Moshe- all the way to the death of Eliezer's own father. Many times, this fear of dying keeps the prisoners going.
Motifs in "Night", in my opinion, are death and fear of death. We see death illustrated multiple times, including in the very beginning starting with the mass executions witnessed by Moshe- all the way to the death of Eliezer's own father. Many times, this fear of dying keeps the prisoners going.
Symbols-
As symbols go, this story had three main symbols I would like to point out. First, nighttime is a symbol by itself. Night usually symbolizes being lost or being scared, which is illustrated through the train rides through the night. Second, fire is an important symbol for death. Fire is usually in reference to the crematoriums, which is where millions of Jews died. Lastly, winter is a symbol in this book. Nearing the end of the book, winter sets in and it becomes a bleak and desperate time.
As symbols go, this story had three main symbols I would like to point out. First, nighttime is a symbol by itself. Night usually symbolizes being lost or being scared, which is illustrated through the train rides through the night. Second, fire is an important symbol for death. Fire is usually in reference to the crematoriums, which is where millions of Jews died. Lastly, winter is a symbol in this book. Nearing the end of the book, winter sets in and it becomes a bleak and desperate time.
Tone-
Tones that I heard in this story were hopeless and desperate. I felt Eliezer become hopeless in his father and his God, and also how desperate he became for small things, such as scraps of food and coffee.
Tones that I heard in this story were hopeless and desperate. I felt Eliezer become hopeless in his father and his God, and also how desperate he became for small things, such as scraps of food and coffee.
Mood-
The mood in this story is sadness and resentment, I feel. Mostly the sadness the sadness the drains the narrator and saps away his love for God and anyone around him. As well as the resentment toward God and the Germans for letting something like this happen to his people.
The mood in this story is sadness and resentment, I feel. Mostly the sadness the sadness the drains the narrator and saps away his love for God and anyone around him. As well as the resentment toward God and the Germans for letting something like this happen to his people.