Night

Family ties, especially the bond between father and son, is a major theme of Wiesel’s memoir. How does the narrative emphasize the importance of this relationship? How are love and loyalty related to the will to survive and the instinct for self-preservation? Does the relationship of Eliezer and his father change over time at Buna, Gleiwitz, and Buchenwald? If so, how?

The narrative of Night relies on powerful symbols, such as night, fire, and silence, to convey the author’s meaning. What do these three symbols signify, and how does Wiesel develop those meanings throughout the course of the book?

How do the Jews of Sighet respond to the events happening in the world around them, before and after the arrival of the Germans in their town? How does Eliezer, with the benefit of hindsight, portray and evaluate those responses? Why is Moché the Beadle’s warning ignored?

Dehumanization is another major theme in Night. How do the Nazis dehumanize the Jews—physically and psychologically—from the German occupation of Sighet until the liberation of Buchenwald at the end of the war? Put another way, how does human nature respond to the conditions of brutal oppression? Why do the Jews participate in their own dehumanization?

How do the prisoners maintain human values and human identity in the difficult conditions of the concentration camp? How do Eliezer and his father come to think of their own identities during their imprisonment? Why do they no longer think of Eliezer’s mother or sisters?

Wiesel’s memoir includes many scenes or images of haunting pathos and astonishing violence—the hanging of the young pipel, Rabbi Eliahou searching for his son, prisoners in the cattle wagons beating each other to death for a morsel of bread, and Juliek’s farewell concert, among them. Why does Wiesel include these particular episodes, and what is their significance?

For Eliezer and other prisoners, life in the concentration camp often seesaws back and forth between emotional indifference and intense anxiety, passion or concern. Why is this the case? Describe the emotional and spiritual burden of imprisonment under the Nazis.

The final image of the book is Eliezer looking at his face in a mirror. What is the significance of this image? Which aspects of him have died during his ordeal, and which have survived? Why does liberation bring no thoughts of revenge for Eliezer and the other prisoners?