Who is Moshe the Beadle?
The care taker of the synagogue.
What does Wiesel tell the reader of Moshe?
He is poor and lived in penury; he was the only poor person people liked because he stayed out of the way; awkward and strange.
How does Wiesel describe himself as a boy of 12?
Observant, studied Talmud.
How does Wiesel describe his father?
A cultured man, unsentimental; more involved with others more than his family.
Why did Elie's father prohibit him from studying the Cabala?
Too young and dangerous.
How did Wiesel realize his wish to study the Cabala?
Moishe the Beadle ask's why Elie prays, He asks why Elie does any of the things he does.
What happened to Moshe?
All foreign Jews were expelled from Sight, deported on a train.
Several months later,Elie saw Moshe the Beadle again.What story did Moshe tell?
People where being killed by the Gestapo.
How was Moshe able to escape?
He was wounded (shot in the leg) and left for dead.
How was Moshe changed as a result of his experience?
No more joy or religious expression; didn't sing any more.
How did other people in the village react to Moshe's story?
Other people in the village refused to believe or listen to Moshe.
Why did the villagers react the way they did to Moshe's story?
They were to outraged and in denial. They couldn't believe such horrible things could happen.
What was the attitude of the Jews of Sighet?
Optimistic.
What literary device does Wiesel employ to emphasize the foolish optimism and denial of facts of the Jews living in Sighet?
Irony.
After the Germans arrived in Sighet, what was the prevailing attitude among the residents?
It was reassuring and calm. The Germans seemed nice.
After Passover, Wiesel says " the curtain rose."What does this refer to?
The facade that the Germans had disappeared.
What happened after passover?
They started to take over and arrested Jewish leaders.
What was bitterly ironic about the comments that Wiesel's father made regarding the wearing of the yellow star?
He said that it wasn't lethal. However it singled out the Jews to be killed.
What was the Germans' next step?
They started putting Jews in Ghettos, Jews were concentrated then confined in the ghettos.
How did the Jews react to this?
They tried to go back to normal. The loved being only among their own.
The Germans had the other plans for the Jews of Sighet, however. What were those plans?
To transport from the Ghettos to the small Ghetto then the cattle cars.
Where did they go?
Train station, cattle cars.
Despite all that happened, even after the Germans entered the capital of the Budapest, Wiesel tell us that people still remained optimistic about their future. How can you explain this optimism.
They need something to keep them going, and didn't want to believe their lives were in danger.
In this chapter Wiesel uses images from nature. How does he use the sun?
under a blazing sun" "a summer sun" "the heat was oppressive
What does the imagery of night suggest?
No more optimism , hope burned out dying.
Given the face that the title of this book in Night, what do you suppose a major theme in this work will be?
Like a nightmare, in shock, darkest part of history, one never ending night.
A memoir is a story of one's life told by the person similar to an autobiography. Describe the tone of this memoir, and speculate on why Wiesel chooses to use this tone.
This was the darkest part of his life.