Welcome

Over February break you are expected to read "Night" by Elie Wiesel. There may be some parts of the novel that you will find disgusting or disturbing, but this is one man's account of being taken to a concentration camp and the horror that he encountered.

You are required to make at least 1 post. A post consists of you answering a question or responding to the answer of a classmate (ex: I agree with Ylanis's comment that ...., but I disagree with her statement that.....). Your posts must reflect thoughtful contemplation and knowledge of the text; in other words, your response must show that you read, understand, and have thought about the text. Therefore, I expect each of your posts to be at least one substantial paragraph. This also means that abbreviations like ppl will not be accepted. Proper capitalization and spelling should also be in use.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. This is a new process for all of us, so I'm sure there will be kinks we will have to work out. Please let me know if you are having trouble posting.

Ms. Foley and Ms. Sitron

Vocab

If there are any words in the story that you are encountering for the first time and would like some clarafication, please add them in a comment and I, or one of your classmates, will respond to them.

Denial

Time and again, the people of Sighet doubt the advance of the German army. Why? When the Germans do arrive, and even once they have moved all the Jews into ghettos, the Jewish townspeople still seem to ignore or suppress their fear. “Most people thought that we would remain in the ghetto until the end of the war, until the arrival of the Red Army. Afterward everything would be as before” (p. 12). What might be the reasons for the townspeople’s widespread denial of the evidence facing them?

Cassandra

Cassandra was a figure in Greek mythology who received the gift of prophecy with the simultaneous curse that no one would ever believe her. Compare Cassandra to Mrs. Schächter. Are there other Cassandras in Night? Who are they?

Father-Son Relationship

In the concluding pages of Night, Eliezer’s father is dying a slow, painful death in Buchenwald. But Eliezer is there to comfort him, or at least to try. Does Eliezer see his father as a burden by this point, or does he feel only pity and sorrow for him? Compare and contrast the father-son relationship you see at the end of this memoir with the one you saw at the beginning.

Memoir and History

Look again at the opening pages of Night. When it begins, twelve-year-old Eliezer lives in the Transylvanian village of Sighet with his parents and sisters. How does being introduced to such people alter your understanding of the fact that, a halfcentury ago, six million Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust? How is this sickening truth achieved through Night’s dual purposes of memoir and history?

God

As Night begins, Eliezer is so moved by faith that he weeps when he prays. He is also searching for a deeper understanding of the mystical teachings of the Kabbalah. How does Eliezer's relationship with his faith and with God change as the book progresses?