Night By: Elie Wiesel
By: Davis Boyd
Author Biography
-Born on September 30, 1928 in Sighet, Transylvania
-he pursued Jewish religious studies until he was forced to relocate a Nazi death camp
-since he was released from the camps he has been speaking out against persecutions and other injustices in the world
-A big portion in his life was spent in a Nazi camp
-Educated at Sorbonne
-won the noble peace prize in 1986
-founded the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity
History of World War II
-From 1939-1945
-had two powers the Axis and Allies
-the Axis had Germany, Japan, and Italy
-had 50-85 million fatalities
-Japan was conquering the East and Germany and Italy started to conquer a lot of Europe
-in 1941 the Axis advance was stopped and the Allies started gaining back territories
-the war ended in Europe when the Allies captured Berlin from two sides. This forced the surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945
Summary
Quotes
Why, but why would I bless Him? Every fiber in me rebelled.
Because He caused thousands of children to burn in His mass graves?
Because He kept six crematoria working day and night, including
Sabbath and the Holy Days? Because in His great might, He had created
Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna, and so many other factories of death? How
could I say to Him: Blessed be Thou, Almighty, Master of the Universe,
who chose us among all nations to be tortured day and night, to watch
as our fathers, our mothers, our brothers end up in the furnaces?
Praised be Thy Holy Name, for having chosen us to be slaughtered on
Thine altar?" (Wiesel 67)
The reason I think that this quote is significant is because it is when Elie questions his faith and he starts to lose it. This is significant because before he was sent to a camp he was studying religion so it was very important to Elie before this moment in his life.
And from within me, I heard a voice answer:
"Where He is? This is where--hanging here from this gal-
lows..."
That night, the soup tasted of corpses. (Wiesel 65)
This quote also relates to Elie losing his religion. This is the preface to how the quote above leads to questioning his religion. That is why the quote is important because his faith is dying like the kid being hanged.
Author's Purpose
Theme
Symbols
Snow leading to darkness
Death
Public Hanging
Letter to the Author
First off you have lived a very interesting life even if part of it was spent in suffering in a concentration camp. Also, when I first read your memoir I was surprised by your perseverance throughout the story. I also am very sorry that you lost your family through your experiences. I do have a few questions though like, where did you go to was you were rescued from the camp? How exactly did you become a "Nazi Hunter"? These are a few of my questions and any response would greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Davis Boyd