Elie Wiesel's Night

Summary: Night recounts Elie Wiesel's memories of living and working in concentration camps during World War II. The story opens with Moishe the Beadle warning the Jews of Sighet  what he witnessed the Gestapo do to Jews and babies in the Galician forest. Unfortunately, nobody heeded his warning. On the contrary, they thought he was a mad man and ignored his pleas to leave their homes while they still could. When Wiesel and his family arrive at the first camp, they are divided by gender. This is the last time that he sees his mother and sisters. From time to time, Wiesel and his father are transferred to different camps such as Auschwitz and Buchenwald. The routine is always the same. They have to pass through the showers before they can be incorporated into work Kommandos. Every now and then they have a medical check-up. Those that do not pass the check-up are killed. The rations of food are small and consist mostly of bread and soup. If they do not do as they are told, they are hung in public to serve as examples of what happens to those that break the rules. While Wiesel is in these concentration camps, he begins to lose his faith. He cannot understand how his God would let something so terrible happen to all of these people. In addition, he watches men fight each other for a morsel of food and sons turn on their fathers. Although Wiesel is told to stop giving his rations to his father because he could be using those rations on himself, he does not listen. His father and him have been through too much together and now that they are so close to being free he cannot leave his father by himself.  At the end of the story, his father dies from a beating. In April 1945, Wiesel is liberated from Buchenwald by the United States Army.

Rationale: As Wiesel states in the preface of the book, he is telling his story because he wants to inform people of what happened to him so that nothing like it can ever happen again. I agree with him and believe that his story needs to be shared. There are still many individuals that think that the Holocaust is merely a myth even though there are plenty of facts to prove that it did occur. Additionally, this book is a quick read. Since it is approximately 100 pages long, students will be able to finish it in a couple of sittings depending on grade level and how often they pause to discuss it in class. Furthermore, Night could be used  across History and English curriculums.

Age/Ability Level: 10th-12th grade
Although there are some graphic scenes in the story, the language is not difficult to understand with the exception of some foreign words. Therefore, I believe that students as young as freshmen could read this story in a English classroom.

Teaching Ideas: 

1. When Elie and his family have to leave the ghetto they are only allowed to take a few items with them. Students could make a list of the things that they would take if they had to suddenly leave their homes and explain their rationale for choosing particular items. 
2. This book can be paired with other books about the Holocaust such as Number the Stars and The Diary of Anne Frank. Students can write an essay comparing/contrasting the protagonists and events that take place in each story.
3. Before reading this book, students could conduct short group research projects in which they learn about the Holocaust. This teaching idea would give students prior knowledge regarding the background of the story.
4. Students can create a timeline of Elie's life from the beginning of the story to the end. This will help students review their understanding of the story.
5. Throughout the story, Elie changed. Students can discuss how he changed and what led him to become a different person in a whole-class discussion.
6. Since the language is so vivid, students can create their own visual representations of scenes from the story. This activity will help students literally visualize what they are thinking.

Obstacles: I think that students, teachers, and administrators will have the same issues about reading and teaching this book. The main obstacles are the graphic depictions of death and everyday life in the concentration camps. Inmates were treated terribly by the Gestapo. They were barely given anything to eat and could be killed on the spot. I would probably send a letter home before teaching this book and make sure that my administration approved. For parents that do not want their child to read this book, I would have them look research the Holocaust or read a different book that dealt with the Holocaust. Although the events described in this book are horrible, they tell the truth of what happened to Jews. Wiesel's raw emotions cannot be replicated, so I would strongly encourage anyone that has not read it to do so. They will be forever changed.