Night: wkst 6 +7

Directions: Answer each question with a complete sentence. It is best to incorporate the question as part of the answer.

1. In section 6, one theme is strength. Give one example of Eliezer utilizing the power of collective strength.

2. Eliezer’s father shows the power of individual strength with “the smile” when he awakens from a short sleep. “He stared all round him in a circle as though he had suddenly decided to draw up an inventory of his universe, to find out exactly where he was, in what place, and why. Then he smiled.” It may seem that Eliezer’s father can not distinguish the harsh reality of the real world, to that of his dream world. Both seem to be illusive and transient. Comment on this.

3. Again, strength is central to this section with this tale: Eliezer prays to God (even though he states he doesn’t believe in a God anymore): “My God, Lord of the Universe, give me strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahou’s son has done.” Wow! What did Rabbi Eliahou’s son do that was so bad?

4. The episode about Juliek playing the violin was a beautifully metaphorical one. Throughout the novel, Eliezer comments on how silent the barracks generally are at night, but this silence is one of terror, nightmares, and desperate exhaustion. Madame Schaechter’s screams break the silence. About Juliek’s playing: “He was playing his life. The whole of his life was gliding on the strings of his lost hopes, his charred past, his extinguished future. He played as he would never play again.” Do you think that Juliek really was playing? Or was this a metaphor of the strength of the Jewish people, a statement that their culture, their memories would never be erased?

5. In section 7, Germans throw bread into the boxcars to see the men kill each other. The author relates a story years later that is somewhat similar about children fighting over coins tossed into the water. How would these two stories be used to convince someone NOT to give money to panhandlers today?

6. On the third night of this journey, Eliezer is awakened by someone trying to kill him for no apparent reason. Why do you suppose the author tells this particular tale?

7. At the end of section 7, all the prisoners start imitating the death cry of one of the prisoners. How can this be compared to the initial screaming of Madame Schaechter’s screams from earlier in the story?

8. The testing of the father-son relationship keeps coming up in Night. Some say this is the reverse of the Bible story in Genesis about God testing Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his son. Faithfully, Abraham complies. Just as Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac, God intervenes and saves Isaac, rewarding Abraham for his faithfulness. In Night, this story is reversed, but God doesn’t step in and intervene on behalf of the Jews. God remains silent. Give one example of a son sacrificing his father in this story.

9. One time Eliezer slaps his father viciously and screams into his face. Why does he do this? Is Eliezer being a bad son?

10. Based on all the stories about sons and fathers that the author has given, what assumption can you make about how Eliezer will treat his father near the end of his father’s life?