1. Elie Wiesel's hometown was Sighet, Romania.
2. Cabala is considered to be many of the teachings of the Torah. It is the study of the inner secrets of the Torah.
3. Eliezer wants to learn the truths of this world. These truths are the truth about God and his existence or non-existence on this earth.
4. Moshe the Beadle is significant to the novel because he is the very frist one to be sent away and witness the evils of the cremetory and concentration camps. Luckily his escape made it possible for him to be able to warn the other people, unfortunately they did not believe him. Moshe the Beadle tells Elie that "There are a thousand and one gates leading into the orchard of of mystical truth. Every human being has his own gate. We must never make the mistake of wanting to enter the orchard by any other gate than our own..." Moshe is persistent about his adomination to Elie because he believed if Elie were able to believe him than others might also. Plus the fact that Moshe did not talk to many, and had opened up to Elie and took him under his wing to teach him the Cabala had made Moshe more worried about Elie. So he felt the need to caution Elie for himself and his life.
5. Moshe the Beadle is poor and allegedly insane. Therefore, the people of Sighet were less likely to believe him. If Moshe were a higher staure, such as Elie's father then maybe they would, but he wasn't, so they didn't. Also, probably because the Jews were afraid to believe him.
6. Madame Schachter is the woman on the train that kept screaming about the crematories and the fires. Warning people. She is very much like Moshe because their cries were left unheard and ignored. Poeple had assumed them to be crazy.
7. The passage on page 32 talks about how Wiesel’ s faith was snatched from him. How God no longer existed in his world and how alone he was without a God. How fear was so instilled into his mind that after that point in the camp he knew that he had entered a world without a God, without faith without humane morals
8. In this passage Elie is referring to his first Night watching the childeren be burned. Elie's belief in God is slowly slipping and later he slowly gives up on believing that God is around.
9. In the exposition of the Night Elie gradually changes his perception of God. When his world collapses he soon finds himself as a non believer.
"Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desires to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself. Never"(32).
10. The symbolism of night is ongoing in the novel. When day becomes night the conidtions become more worse. People suffer more during the night than the do during the day.
11. Night is a slim book because Wiesel probably couldn't handle adding more. He had already suffered so much and by writing this book he was reliving all of those moments. Maybe he wasn't ready to relive all of them.
12. Night is more of a tragedy. It has all the elements of tragedy. The pain, the suffering and the death. Also the denial.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Night - Journal Entries
saPages: 1-10
Entry: 1
12 December 2007
Quote: "There are a thousand and one gates leading into the orchard of mystical truth...We must never make the mistake of wanting to enter the orchard by any other gate but our own."
Moshe the Beadle tells this to Elie as Elie complains about not having a mentor to teach him about the cabbala. This quote is very interesting. It seems that Moshe the Beadle is saying that there is one path for everyone. That we should not cross the ones that are not meant for us, for we may not be capable of handling whatever comes are way.
After Moshe escapes he tells his stories to the others, but they do not believe him. I find it highly disgusting of what was happening throughout that time and what Moshe had witnessed. Babies were used as target practice. This just shows that humans are as defenseless as chimps yet vicious as gorillas. What is it that is so appealing about the weak? Why must people have this need to feel stronger than others? Without the weak the strong are absolutely lost. The vilence that was described in these few pages was haunting, I can only imagine what it was like for Moshe the Beadle and others who have witnessed it.
I feel terrible for all of the people who were so easily manipulated. The German officers knew exactly how to handle the situation. They acted as protecter's, or observers. Then they gave them a place. The "ghetto", which they innocently thought was a place where they could be closer with no outsiders. They made them feel comfortable and waited until Passover was done so they could start their killing. They were evil bloodsuckers. The people didn't even see it coming, and the reason was because who would have thought such horrible ideas could be contrived by the human mind! It's disgusting. Furthermore! It seems as if they are losing their faith in God. It is a horrible thing when someone can strip you of your faith.
Pages: 11-21
Entry 2
13 December 2007
I find it strange that human beings can cause other human beings to suffer. I'm not quite sure what is inside of us that enjoys it. Enjoys inflicting pain. Enjoys inflicting agony. Enjoys inflicting heart ache. Perhaps it's the power. We enjoy oppressing. We enjoy feeling superior to the weak.
Wiesel tells how people were forced to leave their possessions behind them because they [possessions] were of value. By leaving them behind would exeplify how these people were not of value. How they were worthless and meant nothing to the world. That is what the Germans wanted to instill in these innocent peoples minds.
"My father wept. It was the first time I had seen my father weep" (16).
Obviously, this was a man that did not show his pain. They had caused so much pain into him that he could no longer hold it in and he wept infront of his son, wife and daughter. They had broken his father. To do that to a human benig, to make them cry, not even, to make them weep, is something only a volatile creature could do.
14 December 2007
Entry 3
Pages 22-32
People were going mad. For example Madame Shacter who obviously went crazy and didn't know how to handle being separated from her loved ones. People were fearing for their lives. It's insane how other human beings can be such a threat. The other passangers just wanted her to shut up. Perhaps they didn't want to hear her because they were afraid she spoke the truth. Being ignorant was better than knowing I suppose.
15 December 2007
Entry 4
Pages 32-42
The Jews are being made to run these drills. They have no communication to the outside world except for what the Germans allow them to see. It's so interesting how they morphed their words to make the Jews feel comfortable in the concentration camps. It's so horrible how they manipulate the people's minds. Eventually, slowly each person begins to get angry with the other. Such as Wiesel with his father.
16 December 2007
Entry 5
Pages 43-53
They were given number stamps. And were only known as that number. That is terrible. To do that, they are showing that they were no longer living, breathing human beings, but they weren't even good enough to be given a name. They were all just worthless drones, floating in a sea of numbers. How horrible.
17 December 2007
Entry 6
Pages 54-64
Towards the end of this section of the book, it seems there are a few people that are losing their faith in God, and others, such as Wiesel, who blame or question God. These people have damaged the Jewish people so much that they have taken away their [Jews] faith. They have caused so much mental havoc in their minds that they are now questioning their own faith -- what they have known for years, and worshipped for years. Horrible.
18 December 2007
Entry 7
Pages 65-75
Elie Wiesel and the rest of the Jews have suffered so much dehumanization. It's disgusting. The Germans have rotted their brains and they can't even function well enough to know wether or not to believe in God.
19 December 2007
Entry 8
Pages 76-86
Elie had witnessed so much agony. His own, his father's and the countless number of stranger's. I admire his willingness to want to stay alive. Although, I do not understand why he still wanted to. Instead of taking the easy way out and dieing as quick as possible, he chose to stay alive and suffer day after day, a slow and painful death. The death of his faith, his soul. Elie was being torn apart peice by peice. Was he afraid of death so much that he wanted to live in pain? Was it because of the loss of faith in God he suffered, that he has no idea now what was waiting for him on the other side that he would rather live through hell.
20 December 2007
Entry 9
Pages 87-97
Elie talks about and 'audience'. He is referring to the people who watched them and threw bread at them. These 'spectators' would just watch. This was the most disgusting thing of all. People had found their misery, their torture, as entertainment.
21 December 2007
Entry 10
Pages 98-109
Living in the concentration camp had sucked the life out of Elie. Emptiness had consumed his emotions. He could no longer feel. Witnessing his father die slowly everyday had some how killed Eli on the inside. In the expostion of the novel I could tell that Elie had respect and love for his father, but being in the concentration camps had destroyed all of that. It really truly sucks to have those feelings taken away from a person. It's like being amputated from a part of yourself. A part of yourself you used to be so familiar with and then being thrown into unknown abiss filled with unusual emotions. Emotions you never thought you could never experience. Emotions you never thought existed. The camps ate away at the compassion that once filled Elie's heart. Neing so empty must make him feel so alone. So empty. So lost.
Entry: 1
12 December 2007
Quote: "There are a thousand and one gates leading into the orchard of mystical truth...We must never make the mistake of wanting to enter the orchard by any other gate but our own."
Moshe the Beadle tells this to Elie as Elie complains about not having a mentor to teach him about the cabbala. This quote is very interesting. It seems that Moshe the Beadle is saying that there is one path for everyone. That we should not cross the ones that are not meant for us, for we may not be capable of handling whatever comes are way.
After Moshe escapes he tells his stories to the others, but they do not believe him. I find it highly disgusting of what was happening throughout that time and what Moshe had witnessed. Babies were used as target practice. This just shows that humans are as defenseless as chimps yet vicious as gorillas. What is it that is so appealing about the weak? Why must people have this need to feel stronger than others? Without the weak the strong are absolutely lost. The vilence that was described in these few pages was haunting, I can only imagine what it was like for Moshe the Beadle and others who have witnessed it.
I feel terrible for all of the people who were so easily manipulated. The German officers knew exactly how to handle the situation. They acted as protecter's, or observers. Then they gave them a place. The "ghetto", which they innocently thought was a place where they could be closer with no outsiders. They made them feel comfortable and waited until Passover was done so they could start their killing. They were evil bloodsuckers. The people didn't even see it coming, and the reason was because who would have thought such horrible ideas could be contrived by the human mind! It's disgusting. Furthermore! It seems as if they are losing their faith in God. It is a horrible thing when someone can strip you of your faith.
Pages: 11-21
Entry 2
13 December 2007
I find it strange that human beings can cause other human beings to suffer. I'm not quite sure what is inside of us that enjoys it. Enjoys inflicting pain. Enjoys inflicting agony. Enjoys inflicting heart ache. Perhaps it's the power. We enjoy oppressing. We enjoy feeling superior to the weak.
Wiesel tells how people were forced to leave their possessions behind them because they [possessions] were of value. By leaving them behind would exeplify how these people were not of value. How they were worthless and meant nothing to the world. That is what the Germans wanted to instill in these innocent peoples minds.
"My father wept. It was the first time I had seen my father weep" (16).
Obviously, this was a man that did not show his pain. They had caused so much pain into him that he could no longer hold it in and he wept infront of his son, wife and daughter. They had broken his father. To do that to a human benig, to make them cry, not even, to make them weep, is something only a volatile creature could do.
14 December 2007
Entry 3
Pages 22-32
People were going mad. For example Madame Shacter who obviously went crazy and didn't know how to handle being separated from her loved ones. People were fearing for their lives. It's insane how other human beings can be such a threat. The other passangers just wanted her to shut up. Perhaps they didn't want to hear her because they were afraid she spoke the truth. Being ignorant was better than knowing I suppose.
15 December 2007
Entry 4
Pages 32-42
The Jews are being made to run these drills. They have no communication to the outside world except for what the Germans allow them to see. It's so interesting how they morphed their words to make the Jews feel comfortable in the concentration camps. It's so horrible how they manipulate the people's minds. Eventually, slowly each person begins to get angry with the other. Such as Wiesel with his father.
16 December 2007
Entry 5
Pages 43-53
They were given number stamps. And were only known as that number. That is terrible. To do that, they are showing that they were no longer living, breathing human beings, but they weren't even good enough to be given a name. They were all just worthless drones, floating in a sea of numbers. How horrible.
17 December 2007
Entry 6
Pages 54-64
Towards the end of this section of the book, it seems there are a few people that are losing their faith in God, and others, such as Wiesel, who blame or question God. These people have damaged the Jewish people so much that they have taken away their [Jews] faith. They have caused so much mental havoc in their minds that they are now questioning their own faith -- what they have known for years, and worshipped for years. Horrible.
18 December 2007
Entry 7
Pages 65-75
Elie Wiesel and the rest of the Jews have suffered so much dehumanization. It's disgusting. The Germans have rotted their brains and they can't even function well enough to know wether or not to believe in God.
19 December 2007
Entry 8
Pages 76-86
Elie had witnessed so much agony. His own, his father's and the countless number of stranger's. I admire his willingness to want to stay alive. Although, I do not understand why he still wanted to. Instead of taking the easy way out and dieing as quick as possible, he chose to stay alive and suffer day after day, a slow and painful death. The death of his faith, his soul. Elie was being torn apart peice by peice. Was he afraid of death so much that he wanted to live in pain? Was it because of the loss of faith in God he suffered, that he has no idea now what was waiting for him on the other side that he would rather live through hell.
20 December 2007
Entry 9
Pages 87-97
Elie talks about and 'audience'. He is referring to the people who watched them and threw bread at them. These 'spectators' would just watch. This was the most disgusting thing of all. People had found their misery, their torture, as entertainment.
21 December 2007
Entry 10
Pages 98-109
Living in the concentration camp had sucked the life out of Elie. Emptiness had consumed his emotions. He could no longer feel. Witnessing his father die slowly everyday had some how killed Eli on the inside. In the expostion of the novel I could tell that Elie had respect and love for his father, but being in the concentration camps had destroyed all of that. It really truly sucks to have those feelings taken away from a person. It's like being amputated from a part of yourself. A part of yourself you used to be so familiar with and then being thrown into unknown abiss filled with unusual emotions. Emotions you never thought you could never experience. Emotions you never thought existed. The camps ate away at the compassion that once filled Elie's heart. Neing so empty must make him feel so alone. So empty. So lost.
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