Why do WE read Night?SymbolismNight - Night is used throughout the book to symbolize death, darkness of the soul, and the loss of ones faith.
Fire and Flames - Fire and flames are used to symbolize death. Fire is an ever-present threat of death to the people in the concentration camps. They are able to view and smell the crematoria every where in the camp. This reminded the prisoners of their closeness to death. Corpses - The symbolism of corpses is a spiritual death as well as a persons literal death. ThemesDehumanization- Throughout Night, dehumanization consistently took place as the tyrant Nazis oppressed the Jewish citizens. The Nazis targeted the Jews' humanity, and slowly dissolved their feeling of being human. This loss of humanity led to a weakened will in the Holocaust victims, and essentially led to death in many. The Nazis had an abundance of practices to dehumanize the Jews including beatings, starvation, theft of possessions, separation of families, crude murders, forced labor, and much more. There is no greater loss than that of humanity, so one can never truly relate to the horrors of dehumanization the Jews faced. In the list below, I will compile various examples that correlate to this theme of dehumanization.
Hope/Optimism -The most extraordinary thing about the victims of the Holocaust was their ability to retain hope in such dark times. Hope and optimism for a good resolution arguably kept a will to survive in the Jews, and they displayed such hope through their worship, trust in their family, and wishes to prevail. In reality, hope most likely died in most of the Holocaust victims, and perhaps a loss in hope led to many of the deaths. In the list below, I will provide specific quotes relating to this theme that detail how hope progressed throughout the novel. Family Bonds - During the Holocaust, families were torn apart and little were able to remain with even one relative. For those that did manage to have a relative by their side, they either had a detrimental impact on one's self-preservation or a beneficial influence on one's hope and willpower. Elie was able to stay with his father throughout Night, and it is debatable whether his father was more of a burden or aid to him. All in all, Elie and his father had a special connection in that while others killed their family for their own benefit, they remained committed to each other. In the list below, I will provide specific quotes that detail how family bonds were engaged throughout the novel. Loss of Faith - Due to the atrocities the Jewish experienced during the Holocaust, many lost their faith in humanity and God. Many were filled with disgust, as the God they were so loyal to had abandoned them when they were subject to such cruelty. Most could not accept the silence and rebelled against their religious upbringing. It's debatable whether Elie completely lost his faith in God, but it surely is apparent that he changed vastly from his past enormously religious self. We see glimpses of Elie questioning and refuting God, but we also see the contradictory behavior he exhibits by returning to praise. In the list below, I will provide multiple quotes related to the theme of loss of faith and how many Jews, including Elie, questioned God. Survival/Self-Preservation - One of the most important keys to survival during the Holocaust was self-preservation. In order to ensure one would make it by, one would have to put the majority of their focus on their own being. Sometimes, however, the Holocaust victims took this mindset too far. There were many times in which the Jews would kill each other, including their own family, for food. It's very sad to reflect on how such drastic measure could be possible, although we have no authority to judge any actions the victim's took. Part of being alive brings an urge to survive, so we can not even predict how we would react in such distressful times. In Night, there were many tragic instances in which Elie even thought of how he would be better off maintaining only himself and not his father. In the list below, I will provide specific quotes that relate to how the theme of survival and self-preservation was used within the novel. As you read these quotes, you will realize how the extremities of self-preservation coincide with dehumanization. Fragmented Identity -The Holocaust victims faced dehumanizing atrocities that altered their perspective of their selves. After witnessing such horrors and being subject to absolute brutality, their identities were stripped from them and left broken like a shattered mirror. Not only were the victims deprived of their human qualities, but they also lost their names! The captive Jews were assigned numbers that were tattooed to their skin. This brand stuck with them throughout the Holocaust, and served as a reminder of their fragmented self. In the list below, I will provide quotes that give insight as to how the Holocaust victims loss their identity and image of their selves. |
Chapter 1How do you survive the first chapter of Night?
The first chapter is honestly the hardest part of the book to get through, but once you are able to make it through the first part the book becomes much easier to understand. Here is a link that will help, but if you still need help ask me!
Summary of NightPlot or is there a Plot...
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