The Awakening and Into the Wild Dialectical Journal instructions
Use MLA Heading
For the title write: Title of Book Dialectical Journal Chapter _____.
1. Each journal entry should be individual to each student. There is no working with a
partner on this assignment. Students who turn in identical, or nearly identical papers, will
get a zero for this assignment.
2. Write a specific summary (minimum of five sentences) of each chapter.
3. List and describe new characters in each chapter and note specific important character
development of main characters.
4. Identify an important/unique/standout/significant quotation from the chapters and provide
a specific commentary on the quotation explaining its significance or rhetorical function.
5. Predict/Conclude plot progression and provide textual evidence or specific paraphrase
evidence
6. Note 3 examples of Literary Elements and elaborate on the effect and how it supports
your understanding of the text (figurative language, imagery, symbol, allusion, flashback,
foreshadowing, etc.)
7. Create a question based on your discussion/ argument with the text .
8. Remember to use in-text citations after direct quotes.
9. There is an example on the next page covering the “Author’s Note” and Chapter 1. A
blank template for your use follows the example.
Label your paper as such
SUMMARY
NEW CHARACTERS and DESCRIPTION
QUOTATIONS and COMMENTARIES
PREDICT/CONCLUDE and EVIDENCE
3 examples of Literary Elements
QUESTION and COMMENTARY
Your questions will be used for class discussions when class begins.
Name
Ms. Hall
English I PAP TA
23 September 2010
Night Dialectical Journal Chapter 9
Summary:
In this chapter, Elie Wiesel is freed from the concentration camp, Buchenwald. There was a resistance
movement from within the camp. On April 10, the American soldiers liberated the camp. After he is
released, Wiesel almost dies from food poisoning. When he looks into a mirror, he sees his reflection
as a “corpse.” This reflection continues to haunt him.
New Characters:
1. Elie Wiesel
2. Hitler
3. Gustav
4. American Soldiers
5. Members of the resistance movement
Quotation: “The look in his eyes as he gazed at
me has never left me” (115).
Description:
1. He is liberated from Buchenwald.
2. He is attempting to exterminate all the Jews.
3. He is in charge of the prisoners in the camp.
4. They liberate the camp from the Nazis.
5. They fight the Nazis from within the camp.
Commentary: This line in the novel is significant
because it shows that the “corpse” staring back
at Wiesel has left a lasting impression on him. In
fact, it has haunted him since then.
Prediction/Conclusion: I conclude that Wiesel will
remember this experience for the rest of his life,
reliving it at moments, trying not to forget those
that died.
Evidence: I know this conclusion is accurate
because Wiesel authored the novel Night and
won the Nobel Peace Prize for his dedication to
the memory of the Holocaust.
2 Examples of Figurative Language:
1. “…the first American tank stood at the gates
of Buchenwald” (115). Personification
2. “Suddenly, the sirens began to scream” (114).
Personification
3. ADD ONE MORE HERE
How it affects my understanding:
1. The tank obviously represents the American
soldiers who have come to free the Jews, but
by personifying “tank,” this reveals a strong
force.
2. The sirens alert the prisoners to danger, but
they also show fear, panic, and hysteria.
3. ADD MORE
Questions:
Does Elie Wiesel return to his house in Sighet and is it still there?
When does he reunite with his older sisters?
Add Commentary/discussion after questions.