Themes in Night

• no matter how tough life gets, just keep going.
• the human race is capable of horrors beyond our belief.
• live your life to the fullest because you never know what might happen next.
• humans are capable of inhuman acts.
• many possessions can be removed from us, but relationships are lasting.
• don't judge people.
• treat people with respect, even if you don't like them.
• we can learn from historical events such as the holocaust.
• value the simple things in life.
• we never really know how strong we are until we are put in a situation where we have to be strong.
• the human body can only take so much stress.
• don't hate; it's okay to dislike. hate only leads to things that people are gonna regret.
• never complain about your life. someone always has it worse than you.
• through rough times, you rely on relationships to get you through.
• life is short; cherish it.
• anything is possible.
• keep your faith and hope strong, even when it seems impossible.
• those that look only to the past and the present are certain to miss the future.
• never give up on life because life will never give up on you.

End of Night

I learned that being put through tragic events such as the holocaust, can make you loose total and complete faith in God.
"It's over. God is no longer with us." (p 76.)

If Elie were to give us advice, he would tell us to not let antisemitism exist. He would tell us that we should never, ever use the word hate, because it leads to nothing but destruction. Even after everything Elie went through, he still doesn't use the word hate. I believe he would also tell us that revenge is not the answer. The best thing we can do in life is to take the things that we've been through and use it to make us stronger because anger and violent acts will get you no where.

What Would You Do?

1. I think that if they can't convince him to stay alive, the underground should kill him themselves for the better of the rest of the group. It's not fair to the rest of the group to get punished for his rash actions.

2. If the mother is okay with giving up her baby, then I think it's okay to make the baby a stillborn. It's not worth the mother going through labor just to have her and her baby both killed. She should stay alive because she might end up being a survivor.

3. No, the father should not attempt the escape. It's not fair to the son to be abandoned by him father if it's not his fault he can't get away with him. The man needs to be a father to his son and that means not leaving him. A father would do something like this for his son because he loves him. If he leaves the son, in my opinion, that makes him a horrible father.

Night: Chapter 3

Concentration Camp:

• there was a cross roads in the center of the camp. "We did not know, as yet, which was the better side, right or left, which road lead to prison and which to the crematoria." (p32)
• men and women were split up into two different parts of the camps.
• men who were healthy and able to work were sent to the cabins and the men who were unable to work were sent to the crematoria.
• the crematoria was right near the barracks.
• there was smoke all around the camp from the crematoria.
• the barracks weren't very nice. one of the ones they were in didn't have a floor, it was just made of mud.

Class Concentration Camp:

• smelt like death.
• crossroads in the center of the camp- selection process.
• Dr. Mengle lead the selection process.
• SS officers every few yards.
• babies being burned in a ditch.
• second barracks were two stories and cement.
• sign that read "work makes you  free"
• smoke.
• crematoria's.

Night = darkness that blanketed his life.

Dehumanization

• forced to remove clothing.
• beat prisoners.
• brand a number on their arms.
• transfered in cattle cars.
• stuffed prisoners in the barracks.
• shaving their heads.
• taking their valuables.
• given clothes that didn't fit them.

Stein of Antwerp

• Elie lies to Stein to give him the will to live on because his family knows he is alive.
• Stein disappeared after he was given the real news.