Night Study Guide Notes The original title Elie Wiesel gave the novel was And the World Has Remained Silent. He wrote this book after 10 years of silence. By the end of the Holocaust, over 6 million Jews had been killed.

Night Study Guide Notes There are five motifs to look for while reading Night: –Night – pay attention to what happens at night and what that might symbolize. Remember what we learned when we talked about archetypes and what night might symbolize. –Bearing Witness – Pay attention to which characters are witnesses and to what they bear witness.

Night Study Guide Notes Motifs (continued): –Father-son Relationships – Pay attention to how Elie and his father’s relationship develops; in addition, notice other father-son relationships in the book. –Loss of faith – Notice how Elie’s faith in God changes as the book progresses. Write on your study guides where these changes occur.

Night Study Guide Notes Motifs (continued): –Voice vs. Silence – Who has a voice and who chooses to remain silent? Why might Elie Wiesel title his novel what he did originally, and why did he no longer remain silent? From the 10 Core Concept notes, we will learn that Poland had the largest population of Jews in Europe.

Night Study Guide Notes In Poland, 90% of the approximately 3,000,000 Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. As you read, look for times that Wiesel mentions the people in surrounding towns. There are several groups who contributed to the Holocaust, persecutors and by- standers included. Why are by-standers just as important as the persecutors?

Words to Think About “The Holocaust is a central event in many peoples lives, but it also has become a metaphor for our century. There cannot be an end to speaking and writing about it.” Aharon Appelfeld

“If by some miracle, I survive, I will devote my life to testifying on behalf of all those whose shadows will be bound to mine forever”. Elie Wiesel

I cannot teach this book. Instead, I drop copies on their desks, like bombs on sleeping towns, and let them read. So do I, again. The stench rises from the page and chokes my throat. The ghosts of burning babies haunt my eyes. And that bouncing baton, that pointer of Death, stabs me in the heart as it sends his mother to the blackening sky. Nothing is destroyed the laws of science say, only changed. The millions transformed into precious smoke rode the wind to fill our lungs and hearts with their cries. No, I cannot teach this book. I simply want the words to burn their comfortable souls and leave them scarred for life. "On Wiesel's Night“ by: Thomas E. Thorton