Night Excerpt

In Night, by Elie Wiesel, when Moishe the Beadle returns to Sighet from Poland, how does his viewpoint differ from that of most of the Jews of Sighet?

• Moishe believes that the German invasion will not happen for several years, while the other Jews in town think the invasion is imminent.

• Moishe believes that greater religious devotion will save Sighet, but the other Jews in town abandon Judaism.

• Moishe believes that the townspeople should resist the German invasion, but the other Jews in town think armed resistance goes against their religion.

• Moishe believes that God has abandoned the Jews, while the other Jews in town keep their faith.

In Elie Wiesel's Night, before the Jews of Sighet are deported to concentration camps, they are forced to move into a ghetto that the Germans have built.

Why do some of the Jews think the move will be an improvement?

• In the ghetto, they will not have to endure the hostile stares of non-Jewish neighbors

• The water supply in the ghetto will be cleaner than that in their old neighborhood

• They have been told that the move to the ghetto will only be temporary and that they will soon return to their homes

• Their previous homes were in such poor condition that they can't imagine anything worse.

In Elie Wiesel’s Night, the prisoners hold a service for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, in the concentration camp Buna.

Which statement describes Eliezer’s reaction to the service?

• Eliezer feels fearful of God because the service reminds him how sacred Rosh Hashanah is and how week his faith is now.

• Eliezer feels thankful toward God because the service reminds him that even in the darkest of times, God has a reason for His actions

• Eliezer feels furious at God because the service reminds him how strong his faith once was and how weak it is now.

• Eliezer feels hopeful about God because the service reminds him that prayer is powerful and that God is merciful.

In Night, when Wiesel arrives at Birkenau, the reception center for Auschwitz, what inspires terror among the Jews?

• They see Dr. Mengele deciding who will live and who will die.

• They see, for the first time, the flames of the crematoria.

• They encounter people of other religions who are also being persecuted.

• They see that the camp is surrounded by electrified wire.

In Night, how does Wiesel capture the sense that he is robbed of his identity at Auschwitz?

• He relates how he is forced to attend Christian religious services.

• He explains that the clothes he must wear make him feel like a stranger in a strange place.

• He states that he is made to renounce his father and his family.

• He describes how his left arm is tattooed with "A-7713," which replaces his name.

In Night, why are Wiesel and his father evacuated from the Auschwitz concentration camp?

• A massive escape makes the Nazis question the security of Auschwitz.

• They are assigned to work as laborers in a factory at another camp, Buna.

• Hitler has ordered that all remaining Jews be relocated within German borders.

• The German army needs the camp guards to go to the battle front for a last-chance defense.

Read the following excerpt from Night by Elie Wiesel: In this excerpt, Eliezer hears his fellow inmates at Auschwitz reciting the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead.

Everybody around us was weeping. Someone began to recite Kaddish, the prayer for the dead. I don't know whether, during the history of the Jewish people, men have ever before recited Kaddish for themselves.

"Yisgadal, veyiskadash, shmey raba...May His name be celebrated and sanctified..." whispered my father.

For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?

Why does Eliezer have such a strong reaction to hearing the Kaddish at this moment?

• Because he was once so devoutly religious, the prayer makes him feel an acute sense of being abandoned by God.

• Because the prayer never meant anything to him before, he cannot draw any comfort from hearing it now.

• Because he is so afraid of dying, the prayer terrifies him and makes him think that his own death is imminent

• Because the prayer is said aloud, Eliezer cannot pay attention to the words of the SS officer, who is threatening him.

Read the following excerpt from Night by Elie Wiesel: In this excerpt, Wiesel describes how his fellow inmates at Auschwitz behaved in the barracks.

Some of the men spoke of God: His mysterious ways, the sins of the Jewish people, and the redemption to come. As for me, I had ceased to pray. I concurred with Job! I was not denying His existence, but I doubted His absolute justice.

What does this excerpt imply about Wiesel?

• He longs to believe in God as he once did.

• His religion is more important to him now than ever before.

• His faith in God has been deeply shaken by his experiences.

• He considers his fellow inmates to be naive and foolish.

Read the following excerpt from Night by Elie Wiesel:

As we were passing through some of the villages, many Germans watched us, showing no surprise. No doubt they had seen quite a few of these processions...

What does this excerpt imply about how Wiesel viewed the civilians who lived near concentration camps?

• He held them directly responsible for the existence of the concentration camps.

• He felt they often benefited from the labor done by those imprisoned in the camps.

• He suspected they disapproved of the way the Germans treated the inmates at the camp.

• He believed they were aware that people were being imprisoned and treated brutally in the camps.

How does Eliezer change from the start of Night to his arrival in the first concentration camp?

• He did not think much about religion at first, but the horrible sights in the camp inspire him to pray to God for deliverance.

• At the start, he was very devoted to God, but he begins to be angry that God is allowing such horrible things to happen in the camp.

• He develops a new appreciation for the wisdom of his community because the elders knew this might happen, and they prepared the people to survive

• At the start of the book, he always listened to his father’s advice. After arriving in the camp, he begins to ignore his father’s advice and think about how to fight back against the Nazis.