Journal topics & such
 In
your journal, label a blank piece of notebook
paper as “CHARACTER LIST.” Keep a list of all
characters in the novel. Add to this list at the
end of each section. Include brief descriptions
and any quotations that help describe him/her.
 Wiesel
uses imagery and word choice to
describe the setting throughout his memoir. In
your journal label a page “SETTING” and as
you read, find and write quotations that
describe the locale, scenery, and his
surroundings. You should find at least one per
section.
 Wiesel
uses a number of literary terms to describe
the terrorism of the Jews by the Nazis as well as to
show how the Jews were stripped of their humanity
and identity.
 Label a page “LITERARY DEVICES.” Find and write
at LEAST five examples of each of the following
figures of speech: metaphor, simile, irony, anaphora,
allusion, and foreshadowing. Write the quotations
correctly, including citations. You should also include
the figure of speech and a brief explanation.
• (You might want to save a few pages for this.)
 In
your journal, label a new page
“QUOTATIONS.” As you read, first highlight
and then write the quotations correctly,
including citations. You should also include a
brief explanation as to why you chose that
quotation.
 Include AT LEAST one per section.
 Before
we even open a book, our minds begin to
engage and to make assumptions. As you look at
Night, think about and make journal entries on the
following: What images and emotions does the title
evoke? Does the picture on the book make an
impression on you; how so? Have you heard
anything about Night, or its author Elie Wiesel?
How does the fact that this book has been given to
you as an assignment affect you before you begin
reading?
 Discuss
your feelings about the treatment of
Mrs. Schächter on the train. Do you agree with
the people did? Why or why not?
 Elie
Wiesel hears someone ask “Where is
God?” as he witnesses another hanging. Why is
that spoken? What happened? What are your
feelings on this scene? Do you think Elie's
feelings about God are changing? Would
yours?
 Elie
finds that if he and his father had stayed in
the camp, they would have been liberated.
Discuss how you might have felt if you were him
upon hearing this knowledge.
 On
page 84, one of the Blockalteste told the
prisoners to clean the barracks “For the
liberating army. Let them know that here lived
men and not pigs.” Discuss the irony of this
quotation.
 Throughout
the last few days of his father's life,
Wiesel is tormented by the guilt he feels over
his inability to help his father more than he
does, and for secretly wanting to feed himself
before feeding his father. During this time,
Wiesel is told: "Every man has to fight for
himself and not think of anyone else…
Everyone lives and dies for himself alone”
(110). Do you agree with this statement? Why
or why not?
 Label
a new page in your journal as “THEME.”
 Now that you have finished reading, go back
through the memoir and choose ONE sentence
that you think best represents the theme that
Wiesel was trying to get across.
 First
they came for the communists, and I did not
speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I
did not speak out—because I was not a trade
unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not
speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one
left to speak out.
An Author’s Images…
Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long
night seven times sealed.
Never shall I forget that smoke.
Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed
into smoke under a silent sky.
Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.
Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the
desire to live.
Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned
my dreams to ashes.
Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God
Himself.
Never.
 Why
is Elie Wiesel’s memoirNight still relevant
today?