Night by Elie Wiesel
By: Sara Weaver
Summary
About the Author
After he was freed, Wiesel went on to study at the Sorbonne in France from 1948 to 1951. He took up journalism and he wrote for French and Israeli Publications. His friend pushed him to write about his experiences in the camps, so eventually Wiesel gave in and wrote "Night".
Elie Wiesel is a world activist. He's spoken out against injustices perpetrated in an array of countries, including South Africa, Bosnia, Cambodia, and Rwanda. He was honored with the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom and the French Legion of Honor's Grand Croix. In the mid 1970's, Wiesel was appointed as Boston University's Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities. He taught Judaic studies at the City University of New York and served as a visiting scholar at Yale. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, and he founded the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity with his wife, Marion Wiesel.
"Night" by Elie Wiesel was originally published in Yiddish as "And the World Would Remain Silent" in 1956. It was shortened and published as "Night" for English readers and as "La Nuit" for the French readers in 1960. Night became an acclaimed bestseller, was translated into many languages, and was considered a seminal work on the terrors of the Holocaust.
Significant Quotes
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." (Wiesel, 32)
"Once more, the last night. The last night at home, the last night in the ghetto, the last night in the cattle car, and, now, the last night in Buna. How much longer would our lives be lived from "last night" to the next?"
(Wiesel, 83)
"The idea of dying, of ceasing to be, began to fascinate me. To no longer exist. To no longer feel the excruciating pain of my foot. To no longer feel anything, neither fatigue nor cold, nothing. To break rank, to let myself slide to the side of the road..."
(Wiesel, 86)
Major Themes
- loss of faith
- father-son relationships
- inhumanity towards other humans
Fire
Night
Personal Reaction and Recommendation
I would recommend this book to anyone 13+ because its a great story, but there are some gruesome, devastating parts to the story that aren't appropriate for younger ages and there are some fairly difficult words all throughout the book.