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Night by Elie Wiesel Analysis

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Introduction of Night

The Night written by Elie Wiesel was published in 1960, creating ripples in the literary world. It presents a realistic picture of the Auschwitz concentration camps set up by the Nazis. However, later, its English translation made Elie Wiesel a household name in highlighting the Nazi atrocities committed during the Holocaust against the Jewish people disregard their age and gender. Sprawling over more than 100 pages, this book presents the autobiography of Wiesel about his abhorrent expression of apathy, death of God, and numbness of humanity. The novel concludes that “here there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends” and “Everyone lives and dies for himself alone .”

Summary of Night

Night records the happenings when Elie Wiesel was a Jewish teenager Eliezer Wiesel. He starts the story from Sighet, the Hungarian town, where his daily routine comprises reading the Torah and learning the Kaballah (Jewish Mysticism)from Moishe the Beadle who also taught him how to become closer to God and was extremely religious. However, when his popular teacher, returns after saving his life from the camp, unfolding the grotesque nature of butchering Jews by the Nazis. Moishe goes from door to door asking people not to give him money or show any pity instead just listen to him. Yet, nobody pays attention to the horrifying tales narrated by Moishe, taking him a mad person, who also declares the rule of madness.

Wiesel states that despite the arrival of these tales of butchery and bloodshed, the Jews in Sighet demonstrate optimism that the Nazis would not be able to reach this far corner but in 1944 their optimism starts fading away when the Hungarian police appear and forced the Jews to vacate their houses and live in ghettos. Soon they are packed in cattle cars to take them to Birkenau and Auschwitz with the promise to let them work in the brick factories. Most of the families get separated during this long journey. Elie is also separated from his sisters and mother but he stays with his father Chlomo at Birkenau. The first step to send a Jew to concentration chambers comprises ‘selections’ of the working and healthy Jews. However, the duo proves lucky and stays together. Later, they see a truckload of children being thrown in the furnaces.

In the beginning everyone in the camp, the fathers and sons tried to stay close to each other. took good care of their fathers in spite of the harsh conditions because they are the only family they had. But as the story progressed it became impossible for one to survive. The sons started abusing and abandoning their fathers.

The Nazis then send them to work after striping and giving them a heavy beating. When they reach Buna to work in Electrical fittings factory, Elie gets separated from his father who cries and moans, seeing his death taking hold of him, though, he expresses little remorse under these inhuman conditions which are too harrowing to be described in words. Soon his supervisor comes to know about Elie’s golden teeth which he extracts with a plier disregard of pain and trouble to him.

The conditions in the camp soon turn worse, making the prisoners suffer from the extremely cold wind, malnutrition, and dingy living conditions. They see their fellows going to gallows and gas chambers on daily basis and fight for sleeping space and pieces of crumbs, injuring and mutilating each other. Personal survival becomes a priority of every walking soul in that Elie sees all this with rapt attention and keen observation, believing that God is dead, or else He would have responded to their pleas.

During this time, Chlomo was taken off from the list of abler men and had to face the furnace. Somehow he passes the second physical examination and was let to live. After a while, the situation becomes a bit better when Elie visits the infirmary for his injured father Where the news breaks in that the Russians are liberating and the Germans decided to flee to Gliewitz along with the inmates on a death march. They were made to run forty-two miles in the snow . While resting after marching over forty miles, Rabbi Eliahou asks everyone about his son, who had abandoned his father because of he was limping and had to survive for his own life. By this time Elie has almost completely lost his faith in God. Albeit he finds himself praying, asking God to give him strength never to do what the Rabbi’s son has done. Out of 100 that was set out only twelve survive.

They reach Buchenwald’s concentration where Chlomo dies of dysentery missing his freedom by three months. The story concludes when he was liberated by Americans he looks into the mirror for the first time and what he sees is the reflection of a dead corpse staring back at him.

Major Themes in Night

• Holocaust: Cruelty in the Holocaust is at the top in Night by Elie as he recounts the horror -filled experience of his life after having gone through the torture of the Holocaust at Birkenau, Buna, and Auschwitz with his father who dies in the final episode when the freedom is just a step away. Having taken from Sighet, Elie parts with his family, seeing his mother and younger sister, Tzipora, going to another camp in which they perish. Although Madam Schachter predicts it through her occasional hysteric cries of fire, yet the Jews hide their head in the sand like ostriches and do not react. Instead, they resign to their fates and perish in the flames of hatred as well as fire. Elie’s story highlights the numbness that plays havoc with human feelings, making him feel at loss to understand the working of God and God’s teachings.
• Humanity: Night shows the theme of humanity through the narrative of Elie in that although he is trapped in the concentration camps with his father, he has lost the nerves to feel sympathy with his father and empathy with other inmates. He sees the German SS men mercilessly killing the Jews, flinging their children into the pits of fire, and butchering the old. Still, he feels nothing, thinking that such a situation demands that you do not think about others. When he sees Rabbi’s son leaving his father and he berating his father in his heart, he feels it strongly that every person lives for themselves.
• Faith: Night also breaks the narratives of beliefs while strengthening them. When Elie comes to know that everybody is praying to God, yet the cruelty, torture, and dance of death is going on, he loses his faith in God and openly says that man is here to stay as a strength rather than submitting to God’s will.
• Family: Although familial relationships are the bedrock of an individual’s personality, Elie states that when such trials happen, people often leave families and save their own skin. The same is his case that he loses faith in relations when he sees his father mercilessly beaten, yet he sees that had his father acted differently, he would have avoided Idek, the merciless Gestapo soldier. Despite his prayers the time comes and passes, leaving him emotionless, inhuman, and unkind.
• Silence : The theme of silence appears from the very first page of Night when Elie sees that Moishe and Schachter do everything to make the Jews rise up and defend themselves, but they stay silent to their pleas, wailings, and cries. When the Hungarian police round them up, they silently obey them and even silently suffer in Auschwitz. This deafening silence makes Elie question the very existence of God, transforming him into an emotionless person.
• Faith in God: Having a faith in the sense of religion is one thing, but having strong faith in God is another thing that has been broken during Auschwitz as Elie sees a child being killed in front of him despite having all of them prayed to God for his life. He questions the existence of God and leaves all of them, including his father to be battered by Idek.
• Loyalty to Relations: Night shows loyalty not only to relations but also to the family through the story of Elie. When his father is receiving a backlash from Idek, Elie merely taunts his father in his heart why he has not managed to save himself. He also consoles his relative who has come to ask him about his family, saying that he has seen his kids despite his ignorance about them. Yet, he saves himself by the end after losing his father and family.
• Insight into Human Nature: The book also gives insight into human nature as to how much human being is able to fall down into barbarism and animalism without feeling pain for others. Even the real son avoids his father after seeing him thrashed which in normal circumstances could have been unthinkable. The people were watching their children thrown into the flames without any move.
• Value of Freedom: Night shows the value of freedom from the character of Elie who sees that when he is free from that oppression at Buna and Birkenau, he finds that freedom is a great virtue as well as a blessing of God. He values it after finding his brother and sister alive.

Major Characters in Night

• Eliezer Wiesel: Elie is the narrator and protagonist of the novel. He has fictionalized his own feelings and his account to show that the Holocaust has been a cruel reality of the 20 th century and that the Nazis crossed all boundaries of inhumanity in treating the Jews worse than animals and did everything in their power to exterminate them. He learns three important lessons during this entire ordeal; life is a tale of the survival of the fittest, God has his own plans for the religious-minded people, and that everybody lives for himself.
• Chlomo Wiesel: Chlomo Wiesel’s significance in ‘Night’ lies in his relationship with the narrator in that he is his honorable and loving father who goes through this ordeal to show his son that he can still show him love. When he is slapped, he smiles at Elie, saying that it was nothing. Chlomo’s patience, stamina, and courage to tolerate the worst set an example before the young son that he feels ashamed of himself. He succumbs to his final ordeal at Glietwitz when dysentery takes its toll on him.
• Moishe the Beadle: The character of Moishe the Beadle is very important. He appears as the mentor for Elie when he commits himself to teach Kabbalah mystic techniques. Next, he warns all the Jews about their likely extermination but a man of no import, people turn a deaf ear to his premonitions and pay with their lives later.
• Madame Schaechter: The importance of Madame Schachter’s character is prominent as well. She warns the Jews and continues to warn them about the fire that is going to engulf them. They do not pay heed to her and ignore her as they ignore Moishe. She continues crying fire in a hysterical fashion until she ends her life at Auschwitz.
• Dr. Mengele: The significance of Dr. Mengele’s lies represents the brutality of the SS, a model of barbarism and cruelty. When he peeps through his monocle, it seems that he has devoured coldness to cause human suffering. He demonstrates his skill in the selection of the Jews to send them to crematoria or the working blocks.
• Young Pipel: Belonging to the Jewish community , this young man was from Oberkapo. He sabotages the power plant at Buna and is arrested after the crime. His significance lies in that he becomes a symbol of rebellion and subsequent reticence in the face of torture. His sentence impacts the whole camp.
• Meir Katz: Elie’s friend, Katz meets him at Buna and works with him in pruning the local garden. He utilizes the vegetable garden and becomes quite healthy yet he becomes the fodder of barbarism by the end.
• Martha: Martha is a non-Jew character, and yet she offers her master to live in safety in her village but the family declines that offer and pays the price for that rejection.
• Stein of Antwerp: As a distant relative, he tests Elie in the camp by asking him to identify him and consoles them as Elie consoles him about his family. He is soon lost in the camp.
• Juliek: Juliek teaches other Jews how to live under such inhuman conditions. He plays music to keep their spirits high, in spite of knowing that they are at the death door.

Writing Style of Night

Despite being involved in that barbarism, inhumanity, and wholesale death, Elie keeps himself fit to write his story in such a seductive style and innocent language. However, he seems detached from the narration involved and yet keeps the stiff-upper-lip attitude toward the details he describes. The tone stays indifferent that helps him create sentences short and direct but keeps the language very easy and sharp. Lacking additions and flowery descriptions, this language, if written in a matter-of-fact tone, proves highly effective in the long run. The indifferently tragic and somber mood of the novel ends in making readers stand up and do soul searching.

Analysis of Literary Devices in Night  

• Action: The main action of the novel comprises Elie Wiesel’s arrest, arrival at Birkenau, Buna, and Auschwitz, and then release when the Russian forces liberate Auschwitz. The rising action occurs when he sees his father thrashed but does not react. The falling action occurs when the Russian forces attack and the SS men flee for their lives, leaving the Jews behind in the camps.
• Anaphora : Night shows the use of anaphora . For example, i. Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky. Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes. Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself. The sentence shows the repetitious use of “I forget” which becomes an anaphoric phrase .
• Antagonist : Night shows the Nazis and the German soldiers as the main antagonists on account of their worst genocide of the Jews during the previous century.
• Allusion : There are various examples of allusions given in the novel. i. Saturday, the day of rest, was the day chosen for our expulsion. (p.32) ii. At dawn, we were in the street, ready to leave. This time, there were no Hungarian police. It had been agreed that the Jewish Council would handle everything by itself. (32) iii. The train stopped in Kaschau, a small town on the Czechoslovakian border. We realized then that we were not staying in Hungary. Our eyes opened. Too late. (34) iv. He complained that they would not let him play Beethoven; Jews were not allowed to play German music. Hans, the young man from Berlin, was full of wit . The foreman was a Pole: Franek, a former student in Warsaw. (p. 55) The first one is a Biblical allusion , while the rest are geographical and personal illusions such as the name of countries and personalities.
• Conflict : The are two types of conflicts in the novel . The first one is the external conflict that is going on between two races; the German and the Jews and the second is the mental conflict that is going on in the mind of Elie about assisting his father during this chaos.
• Characters: Night presents both static as well as dynamic characters. The young boy, Elie Wiesel, is a dynamic character as he faces a huge transformation during his growth from an innocent soul to a numb youth. However, the rest of the characters do not see any change in their behavior, as they are static characters such as Idek, his father, Juliek, and his mother.
• Climax : The climax takes place when the concentration camps finally get vacated after the Russian forces occupy it and the German forces escape.
• Foreshadowing : The novel shows the following examples of foreshadowing : i. Man comes closer to God through the questions he asks Him, he liked to say. Therein lies true dialogue . Man asks and God replies. But we don’t understand His replies. We cannot understand them. Because they dwell in the depths of our souls and remain there until we die. The real answers, Eliezer, you will find only within yourself. (19) ii. Little by little life returned to “normal.” The barbed wire that encircled us like a wall did not fill us with real fear. In fact, we felt this was not a bad thing; we were entirely among ourselves. A small Jewish republic … A Jewish Council was appointed, as well as a Jewish police force, a welfare agency, a labor committee, a health agency—a whole governmental apparatus. (24) iii. I watched other hangings. I never saw a single victim weep. These withered bodies had long forgotten the bitter taste of tears. (27) These quotes from Night foreshadow the coming events.
• Imagery : Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, i. Physically, he was as awkward as a clown. His waiflike shyness made people smile. As for me, I liked his wide, dreamy eyes, gazing off into the distance. (18) ii. Hundreds of eyes were watching his every move. Hundreds of men were crawling with him, scraping their bodies with his on the stones. All hearts trembled, but mostly with envy. He was the one who had dared. (62) iii. Winter had arrived. The days became short and the nights almost unbearable. From the first hours of dawn, a glacial wind lashed us like a whip. We were handed winter clothing: striped shirts that were a bit heavier. (75) These examples show the use of different images, showing people and weather in different ways.
• Metaphor : Night also shows good use of various metaphors . For example, i. I was nothing but ashes now , but I felt myself to be stronger than this Almighty to whom my life had been bound for so long. In the midst of these men assembled for prayer, I felt like an observer, a stranger. (16) ii. The news spread through Sighet like wildfire. Soon that was all people talked about. But not for long. Optimism soon revived: The Germans will not come this far. (22) iii. Suddenly, the silence became more oppressive. An SS officer had come in and, with him, the smell of the Angel of Death. (46) These are examples of metaphors, showing different things compared directly such as the person with ashes, the news with fire, and silence with a cruel person.
• Mood : The novel shows a general mood in the beginning but becomes very serious and tragic when it reaches its end.
• Motif : Most important motifs of the novel are Elie’s struggle with his faith, silence, inhumanity, relations between father and son, and fire.
• Narrator : The novel is narrated by a first-person narrator, Elie, who is also the author.
• Personification : The novel shows the use of personifications. For example, i. The shadows around me roused themselves as if from a deep sleep and left silently in every direction. (26) ii. It was as though madness has infected us all. (36) iii. The wind of revolt died down. (40) iv. A barrel of foul-smelling liquid stood by the door. (44) These examples show as if shadows, madness, wind, and the barrel have a life of their own.
• Protagonist : Elie Wiesel is the protagonist of the novel. The novel starts with his narrative of their life at Sighet and then transportation to Birkenau, Auschwitz, and Buna.
• Rhetorical Questions : The novel shows good use of rhetorical questions at several places. For example, i. I stood petrified. What had happened to me? My father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked. I had watched and kept silent. Only yesterday, I would have dug my nails into this criminal’s flesh. Had I changed that much? So fast? (46) ii. “You old loafer!” he started yelling. “Is this what you call working?”  (58) iii. “What? My ration of bread so that you can have my crown?” Franek smiled. “What would you like? That I break your teeth by smashing your face?” (60) These examples show the use of rhetorical questions posed by different characters not to elicit answers but to stress upon the underlined idea.
• Setting : The setting of the novel spreads from Sighet in former Serbia to Birkenau and Auschwitz and finally to Buchenwald in Poland.
• Symbols: The novel shows the symbols of night, fire, flames, and corpses.
• Simile : The novel shows brilliant use of various similes. For example, i. I believe it important to emphasize how strongly I feel that books, just like people, have a destiny. Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both. (10) ii. The news spread through Sighet like wildfire. Soon that was all people talked about. But not for long. (22) iii. The barbed wire that encircled us like a wall did not fill us with real fear. (24) iv. By eight o’clock in the morning, weariness had settled into our veins, our limbs, our brains, like molten lead. (27) v. They passed me by, like beaten dogs, with never a glance in my direction. They must have envied me. (29) vi. One day when Idek was venting his fury, I happened to cross his path. He threw himself on me like a wild beast, beating me in the chest, on my head, throwing me to the ground and picking me up again. (57) vii. Death enveloped me, it suffocated me. It stuck to me like glue. I felt I could touch it. (83) These are similes as the use of the word “like” shows the comparison between different things.
• Irony : The novel shows various examples of irony . For example, The man in charge of our wagon called out to a German officer strolling down the platform, asking him to have the sick woman moved to a hospital car. “Patience,” the German replied, “patience. She’ll be taken there soon.” (37) ii. “Where is merciful God, where is He?” someone behind me was asking. At the signal, the three chairs were tipped over. Total silence in the camp. On the horizon, the sun was setting. (66) Both of these examples show that the implied meanings of these lines are different from their actual meanings.

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Analyzing Author’s Style with “Night” by Elie Wiesel

• By Amanda in Reading Comprehension , Writing

“Night” is a staple in most high school English classes because of Mr. Wiesel’s amazing ability to so eloquently describe the horrific circumstances he endured and witnessed as a Holocaust survivor. The content itself is critical, but his writing is what sets it apart from other historical accounts. This is why I always include a lesson or two about writing and author’s style when reading this book with my students.

Style: Questions

I like to focus on the purpose behind Wiesel’s use of questions at the start of chapter five.

“What are You, my God? I thought angrily. How do You compare to this stricken mass gathered to affirm to You their faith, their anger, their defiance?” (Wiesel, 66).

Whole paragraphs are full of this sort of questioning which emphasizes his internal conflict with his faith and God. When the students are writing their own ending to chapter five (which I have them do as a final assessment for this assignment) I encourage them to include internal conflict through use of questions as well. Elie and his father are trying to decide if they should stay in the hospital or evacuate with the rest of the camp. The students are instructed to use questions to show this internal conflict of whether they will leave or stay.

Style: Ellipses

Ellipses can be scarce in some of the texts we read, but Wiesel frequently uses them in his text to show uncertainty or hesitancy when the characters are speaking.

“‘It all went well. Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to anyone. Not to anyone…’

He was still trying to smile. A poor emaciated Jew questioned him anxiously, his voice trembling:

“But … sir. They did write me down!'” (Wiesel, 69).

Style: Parallel Structure

For this section, I list out half-a-dozen examples of parallel structure and ask the students to try to determine the definition of parallel structure based on what they notice from the examples. Usually at least one student catches on even though it’s often difficult for them to put it into words.

“No more bell, no more roll call, no more work” (Wiesel, 78).

“Hundreds of eyes were watching his every move. Hundreds of men were crawling with him, scraping their bodies with his on the stones” (Wiesel, 59).

Style: Sentence Structure and Tone

Elie Wiesel often writes in a detached tone when describing some of the horrors he witnessed or even endured. Part of this detached style is his use of very short sentences that are quick and to the point. I like for the students to think about and discuss the purpose of using this style with the topic he is covering.

“At last, we began the return journey. How I longed for an order to run! The military march. The gate. The camp. I ran toward Block 36” (Wiesel, 76).

“The operation lasted one hour. They did not put me to sleep. I did not take my eyes off the doctor”(Wiesel, 79).

Writing Using Wiesel’s Style

I have my students read right up to the point where Elie and his father are deciding if they will stay in the hospital or be evacuated. At that spot in the text, I make sure the students stop and do not see what happens next. Usually I have them read it in class with a print out of the text just to be sure they don’t go ahead. Then, I have them write out the rest of the chapter using each of the style examples we did in class: questions, ellipses, parallel structure, and short sentences with a detached tone.

I also remind them with this sort of book and project they are writing about real people who experienced unimaginable suffering and circumstances. I insist they show respect in writing out their chapter endings. I also remind them to keep it real with what could have actually happened. For example, one student had Elie and father die, even though we know Elie survives and writes the book.

• author style , dialogue , Elie Wiesel , ellipses , Night , parallel structure , questions , reading , teaching , tone , writing

This is my ninth year teaching. I'm certified in secondary English and special education. I love creating engaging lessons that help to reach all students regardless of ability. I don't post my real picture because I like to keep my privacy.

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The Book “Night” by Elie Wiesel Essay (Book Review)

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“Night” is a heart-wrenching story of a young man’s journey, the author as a prisoner in Auschwitz and Buchenwald during the holocaust. Elie Wiesel provides a first-hand account of the horrors he witnessed and experienced during his time in the concentration camps. He describes the events that took place so readers can visualize them and read the intended emotion. Throughout the novel, Elie Wiesel witnesses his family’s death, his fellow prisoners’ degradation, and his own physical and psychological decline. Although “Night” is a work of fiction, it is based on Wiesel’s real-life experiences and serves as a powerful testimony to the horrors of the holocaust. The novel is incredibly moving and provides a valuable perspective on one of the darkest periods in human history.

Wiesel perfectly narrates how people lose their humanity and innocence due to torture experienced during the holocaust. For instance, the gradual dehumanization of the prisoners was mean and unfair to any human being. Wiesel writes about how the slaves are treated like animals and slowly stripped of their humanity. The inmates were forced to act in a given manner to survive. For example, Wiesel is forced to watch as his father is beaten and killed, and he is also forced to kill a man himself, taking away his innocence. This experience reflects how characters can no longer feel love or compassion for others. The words “Twenty corpses were thrown from our wagon. Then the train resumed its journey, leaving in its wake, in a snowy field in Poland, hundreds of naked orphans without a tomb” (Wiesel 99) depict the torture and lack of concern the Nazis had for the people.

Not even children were spared the horrible times but were instead used as bait. “A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my e y e s … children thrown into the flames” (Wiesel 32). Following this quote, Wiesel demonstrates the mercilessness among Nazi soldiers, who could not even spare a harmless creature like a baby. In another instance, Wiesel mentioned the thought of losing his mind when he saw babies thrown into super-heated ditches. He told himself that the kids must be dead as a way to try and stay sane in light of the brutal acts committed before them. The Nazis loudly laughed at their actions as if to enjoy and mock the pain of others, which made the whole experience even harder.

Hope is one of the most remarkable points of strength that gets people tough through the most challenging periods. Wiesel captured the hope in Jews that made them survive another day despite their horrifying experiences. People constantly encouraged each other throughout the holocaust, which gave them the will to continue with life. In several instances, Wiesel reports, “To the last moment, people clung to hope” (Wiesel 15), and “We mustn’t give up hope, even now as the sword hangs over our heads” (Wiesel 31), illustrating how the people stood with each other in hard times.

The irony was a striking literary term employed by Wiesel in his report about the holocaust. For instance, Wiesel describes how he and his fellow Jews were excited to be taken by the Nazis, thinking they would be given a better life. However, the reality was that they were taken to concentration camps, where they were treated horribly. An example of irony in the book is when Wiesel describes how the Nazis forced the Jews to wear yellow stars (Wiesel 11). The Jews were told that the stars would protect them and make them feel special. However, in reality, the stars made the Jews easy targets for abuse and violence.

There was also foreshadowing in Wiesel’s analysis of the events. For instance, Jews were forced to give up their belongings and were told to pack lightly for the trip. This foreshadows that they would be taken to concentration camps where they would be forced to live in cramped and uncomfortable conditions. Moreover, symbolism is also highly employed in the text. For example, the night sky is used to symbolize the darkness and cruelty of the holocaust. Another symbol in the book is the character of Moishe the Beadle, who represents the importance of remembering the holocaust and bearing witness to what happened (Wiesel 28). The Jews also referred to the Star of David because it stood for resilience and hope among them. Despite the darkness and cruelty of the Holocaust, the Jewish people continued to believe in their faith and hope that they would one day be free.

In conclusion, the book “Night” is a harrowing account of the author’s experiences as a prisoner in Auschwitz and Buchenwald during the holocaust. The novel is incredibly moving and provides a valuable perspective on one of the darkest periods in human history. The book is a powerful testimony to the horrors of the holocaust and how people can lose their humanity and innocence. It is essential to bear witness to things that occurred in the past, so that future generations can learn from them and understand some current events from a historical point of view.

Wiesel, Elie. Night: Elie Wiesel . Spark Publishing, 2014, pp 1-120., Web.

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IvyPanda. (2023, August 25). The Book "Night" by Elie Wiesel. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-book-night-by-elie-wiesel-book-review-examples/

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Bibliography

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By Elie Wiesel

'Night' by Elie is an important memoir of the Holocaust, depicting the horrors and truth of Germany's treatment of European Jews.

About the Book

Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

The novel is an important historical memoir published in 1960 . It was not until the trial and execution of Adolf Eichman in 1961, a year after the novel was finally published, that it came fully into the public spotlight.

Key Facts about Night

• Title:   Night
• When/where written : 1955-1958, South America and France
• Published: 1960
• Genre:  Memoir/Semi-fictional autobiography
• Point-of-View: First-person
• Setting: Europe during WWII
• Climax:  the death of Eliezer’s father, Shlomo
• Antagonist:  The SS soldiers and broader anti-Jewish laws and sentiment.

Elie Wiesel and  Night

Unlike some novels that are written at a distance,  Night  is tied up with the author’s life in an intimate, unignorable way. Wiesel has spoken about  Night  as his account of what happened in the concentration camps , one that is set back only slightly from reality through the creation of Eliezer and a few changes of events and circumstances. The novel is brutally honest, and clear. Wiesel spends its brief 100 pages depicting the lead up to the ghettos, trains, and camps, the loss of his family members, including his mother and sister, and then later his father as well, his suffering (and the suffering he observed) and finally his liberation.  Night  is incredibly personal , so much so that its language only gives the reader so much access to a time in Wiesel’s life that anyone would want to forget, but which he knew was too important to keep in his past. The novel was written several years after WWII, from the perspective of a thirty-year-old man, looking back on himself as a young adult. The climax of the novel connects intimately to one of the most important but often overlooked themes in  Night,  that of father/son relationships. Or, more specifically, sons and their treatment of their fathers. When Eliezer’s father, Shlomo, dies, and Eliezer experiences freedom from the burden of his father’s care, Wiesel represents the true breadth of the changes he’d undergone in the camps and the desperate state to which he and others were existing in.

Books Related to Night

The lasting impact of  night .

Today,  Night is commonly considered to be one of the best personal accounts of the Holocaust ever written . It is read in middle schools, high schools, and universities around the world, providing students with an insight into the horrors of the Second World War as they were experienced by someone close to their own age. It is one of the first ways that young people learn about the Holocaust.  Night  is also credited with helping to preserve the story of the Holocaust, something that Wiesel was incredibly passionate about. When speaking about the story of his life and the lives of millions of others who died, lost their families, homes, and identities during the war, he said that it would be “ not only dangerous but offensive ” to forget them.

Night Review ⭐

‘Night’ is a novel that transcends the average book review.

Night Themes and Analysis

‘Night’ is a short and incredibly impactful novel that uses direct language and avoids metaphors and other figures of speech to tell its story.

Night Quotes 💬

‘Night’ is filled with powerful and memorable quotes. There are a few of the most important. They depict Eliezer’s experience when newly imprisoned and after suffering for months at the hands of the SS.

Night Historical Context 📖

‘Night’ is Elie Wiesel’s best-known novel, one that encapsulates, in a semi-fictional way, his experiences in the Holocaust.

Night Character List 📖

The characters in ‘Night’ are described deeply and thoughtfully from the perspective of the novel’s narrator, Eliezer Wiesel.

Night Summary 📖

‘Night’ was published in 1960 and details the author’s experiences in the Holocaust along with his father, Shlomo. It follows the period from 1944 to 1945 when the camps were liberated.

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Night by Elie Wiesel: Essay Topics & Samples

Do you need to write an essay on Elie Wiesel’s Night ? Are you feeling too overwhelmed and don’t know how to start? No worries!

In this article, we’ve gathered everything you need to create an outstanding Night essay: topics, the most insightful questions, valuable prompts, and useful examples.

Night by Elie Wiesel Essay Topics

• The transformation of Eliezer’s personality throughout the book. Describe the main character’s personality at the beginning of the book. What were the boy’s interests? How did he perceive the world living in Sighet? Examine how the concentration camp changed Eliezer’s attitude towards life.
• The significance of family ties in Night by Elie Wiesel. Analyze the relationship between Eliezer and his father . In your opinion, are family ties a powerful or a destructive force for the main character? State your position and support it with good examples.
• Night : just a title or a powerful symbol? Does night itself symbolize anything in the book? If yes, what? What role does the symbol of the night play for the comprehension of the entire story? To make your essay more dynamic, consider inserting relevant quotes from the book.
• The religious context in Night, a novel by Elie Wiesel. Investigate Eliezer’s attitude towards God . Compare and contrast his perception of divine powers in the beginning and at the end of the book. What factors influenced the transformation of the main character’s worldview?
• Did Eliezer become a stronger or a weaker person? Analyze Eliezer’s transformation . Did the obstacles he went through make him feel weaker or stronger? Present your point of view and support it with valid arguments and appropriate evidence from the text.
• Is there a life after the concentration camp? “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me” (Eliezer, Night ). How do you think Eliezer’s life will look like after the camp? Is there any chance he will be able to get back to everyday life?
• Eliezer’s relief after his father’s death: a betrayal or a normal reaction? Why do you think Eliezer felt like he got rid of the burden after his father passed away? Should the main character be ashamed about it? Analyze how the trials Eliezer went through transformed his attitude towards his dad.
• Hell on Earth. Describe the Nazi’s inhuman actions toward the deported Jews. What were the Nazi’s intentions? After Eliezer witnessed the tourers in the concentration camp, did he lose faith in God? Or did he only started questioning God’s justice and kindness?
• The unexpected interpretation of the symbol of fire. The fire is the central symbol Elie Wiesel includes in his book. Analyze its meaning and significance. Compare and contrast the role of the fire in Night and the Bible. Why do you think the author interprets fire in quite an unusual way?
• The significance of Night by Elie Wiesel for the audience of the 21 st century. Think about the lessons the modern readers could learn from this book. Will you suggest reading it to your children? In your opinion, can Night become outdated and irrelevant one day?

Night by Elie Wiesel: Essay Samples

In case you lack the inspiration to compose your Night essay, we collected the most insightful samples. Read their summaries, choose the one you most liked, and create your outstanding piece of writing!

• Father-Son Relationships in Eliezer Wiesel’s Book “Night” Are you about to write an essay on the evolution of the relationship between Eliezer and his father? Take a look at this example! You will find an analysis of the family ties and a bunch of crucial quotes.
• Jews’ Suffering in “Night” by Elie Wiesel Literature Analysis The given essay sample explores the trials the Jews were forced to go through during the Holocaust. Also, you will find some insights into Eliezer’s struggle to maintain his faith in God. Check it out!
• Events in the Concentration Camps: “Night” by Elie Wiesel This essay gives a general overview of the events that occurred to Eliezer and his fellow Jews in several concentration camps. Also, the author focuses on the effect of hardships on the relationship between Eliezer and his father.
• Eliezer and His Father in Elie Wiesel’s Night How did Eliezer change his attitude towards his father as the plot progresses? Curious about the reasons for the main character’s personality transformation? Read this essay and grasp the answers to all of your questions!
• Elie’s Life in “Night” by Elie Wiesel The following essay will take you into a long journey of Eliezer’s life, starting from Sighet and ending in the hospital in front of the mirror. Are you ready to feel compassion towards the main character? Check this essay out!
• Elie Wiesel’s “Night” – Eliezer’s Faith in God Eliezer’s relationship with God takes a separate storyline in the book. Do you want to investigate it? Take a look at this essay!
• Family Relationship in ”Night” by Elie Wiesel At the beginning of the book, Eliezer’s family is an exemplary one in Sighet. But how do the family ties shift throughout the story? Do they weaken or strengthen? Read this sample and figure it out!
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Writing an essay can be a challenge, even from the very beginning. Coming up with an eye-catching and exciting idea might be a bit of a process. Therefore, we have prepared a list of topics on The Necklace to choose from. Also, you can find essay samples and take a...

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Ari Emanuel Condemns Netanyahu, Drawing Boos at Jewish Group’s Gala

“For the good of Israel, he should go,” Emanuel, chief executive of the media group Endeavor, said of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s conservative prime minister.

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By Marc Tracy

While accepting an award from a major Jewish group on Wednesday night, the media executive Ari Emanuel condemned Israel’s conservative prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for his leadership since the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, a conspicuous statement from one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures.

Those remarks by Emanuel drew both applause and boos , as well as some departures from the gala . On Thursday, the group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said that the timing of the comments — while Emanuel was receiving the highest honor it bestows — was not appropriate.

“Netanyahu doesn’t want a peaceful solution,” Emanuel said at the gala, according to a transcript of his remarks provided by the entertainment conglomerate Endeavor, where he is the chief executive. “And it’s become clear that getting to a political solution and Netanyahu remaining in power are irreconcilable paths.”

Emanuel also said of Netanyahu: “As for his responsibilities to keep the people of the state of Israel and Jews across the globe safe, he has obviously failed spectacularly. But he has succeeded wildly in using division to stay in power.”

Later in his remarks, Emanuel added, “For the good of Israel, he should go.”

Emanuel’s commentary about Netanyahu came in the concluding section of his speech. A video shows some attendees getting up and leaving.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center was honoring Emanuel, the superagent satirized by Jeremy Piven in the HBO show “Entourage,” with its Humanitarian Award at a gala in Beverly Hills. The organization administers the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles and describes its mission as “fighting antisemitism, defending the State of Israel and teaching the lessons of the Holocaust.”

“While our membership, like the Jewish community at large, contains a healthy range of opinions, the Center’s gala is not a platform for personal political opinions,” Erik Simon, a spokesman for the center, said in a statement.

Prominent leaders in both the United States and Israel have questioned the political endgame after bombings and incursions into Gaza that have killed more than 35,000 people and displaced many more. The country has been responding to the October attack in which Hamas killed 1,200 people and abducted 240.

Emanuel began his speech by noting that his family had adopted its surname in honor of an uncle, Emanuel Auerbach, who was killed during a protest in Jerusalem in 1933. As a child, Emanuel said, he repeatedly visited Israel with his family.

“This is a painful and crucial moment for all of us who are Jews and who love Israel,” he said. “It is not a moment to stay silent.”

He defended Israel’s war as “justified” and condemned a popular pro-Palestinian slogan, “From the river to the sea,” as genocidal.

But Emanuel also stood up for his right to speak out as an American Jew.

“It is up to the Israeli people to choose their own leaders,” he said. “Israel is a democracy. But as Jews, we have a stake in this. We also have a responsibility to speak out. We are called to ‘repair the world’ — ‘tikkun olam.’ And, as Elie Wiesel said, ‘Sometimes we must interfere.’”

Nicole Sperling contributed reporting.

Marc Tracy is a Times reporter covering arts and culture. He is based in New York. More about Marc Tracy

Our Coverage of the Israel-Hamas War

News and Analysis

The Israeli military’s announcement that it had seized “tactical control” of a sensitive border strip  between Gaza and Egypt comes after weeks of rising tensions between Egypt and Israel .

Israel’s national security adviser said that he expected Israel’s military operations in Gaza to continue through at least the end of the year , appearing to reject the idea of a quick end to the war.

The bombs used in the Israeli strike that killed dozens of Palestinians in a camp for displaced people in Rafah were made in the United States , according to weapons experts and a Times visual analysis.

A Fateful Encounter: In an Israeli prison infirmary, a Jewish dentist came to the aid of a desperately ill Hamas inmate. Years later, the prisoner became a mastermind of the Oct. 7 attack .

Getting Relatives Out: For Americans racing to evacuate their family members from Gaza, the closure of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt — the only way out for civilians — has thrown an already complicated system into disarray .

Awaiting Her Husband’s Release: Aviva Siegel was held captive by Hamas in Gaza with her husband until late November. She was one of 105 hostages released  as part of a cease-fire deal.