ENG3CI
Mr. Clifford
Throughout our reading of Elie Wiesel’s Night, you will be required to reflect on and respond to the text you are reading. Our goal is to improve our ability to communicate our understanding, thoughts, and opinions in writing.
Procedure:
1.
Select 3 of the journal topics below and write a personal response for each of the three topics. Each response should be approximately 200 to 250 words long.
2.
Select your best response of the three, edit and revise it, and rewrite it into a good copy; this response will be
marked out of 20 using the rubric on the back.
3.
The drafts of your other two responses will each be given a mark out of 5 for completeness and overall effort.
4.
Please turn in your three journals—one of which has been polished into a good copy—with the rubric attached by
April 24 th .
Possible Journal Topics:
1.
When you began reading the book, what were your first impressions? Did you have any expectations? Were those expectations met? What emotions did you experience?
2.
Compare yourself to the main character. Identify both the similarities AND differences (personality, physical features, spiritual beliefs, strengths, etc). How does this make you feel about the main character?
3.
Have you ever had a dream, nightmare or fear similar to an event, theme or mood in the book? Describe that dream and describe how it is similar to the events in the book. Explain how reading these events made you feel.
4.
Explain a significant change in a character that you see in the book. Describe with examples, what the character is like in an early part of the book and then describe, also with examples, what that same characters is like later on.
Give reasons for the changes.
5.
Why is this narrative considered a classic and a fine piece of writing? Why is it an important book? Give three reasons for the book’s reputations, finding evidence from within the book. Explain whether or not the book, in your opinion, deserves its reputation.
6.
What did you learn from this book that you didn’t know before? Identify at least three significant things that you learned, describing them in detail. Why were these things valuable to learn about?
7.
Anti-Semitism refers to the hatred of Jews. How do you think hatred is destructive (toward others) and selfdestructive?
8.
Elie mentions that he shouldn`t have been the one to survive because he was weak and timid. Why or how do you
think he survived? What kinds of traits does he have that actually kept him alive--or was it just pure logic because he was young and strong?
9.
If you had to leave everything you have established in your life (house, job, family, friends, cars, etc), would you?
Consider Elie’s situation--his family had a couple of opportunities to leave (to Palestine and with the former maid).
10.
Over time, everyone in Night becomes desensitized to death and watching the dying. How have we, in a sense,
become desensitized to our surroundings today? Consider all elements like: movies, TV shows, school, internet, media, etc.