Name ______________________
Night Final Essay
Step 1: Select from one of the following prompts:
 Literary Analysis: How does Elie Wiesel use literary devices (symbolism, motif, imagery,
characterization, etc.) to demonstrate a theme in Night? In writing this essay, you will need to:
 Identify three uses of literary devices that relate to the same theme
 Provide specific quotes to support your claims
 Clearly explain how these devices reflect your selected theme
 Cause/effect or literary analysis: How do Elie Wiesel’s experiences in the Holocaust, as described in
Night, impact him? In writing this essay you will need to:
 Identify three areas of change (1 per paragraph)
 In each paragraph, provide a piece of evidence to show his earlier trait then provide a second piece
of evidence to prove the change.
 Elaborate on each piece of evidence to explain how it shows the trait and the change
 Compare/contrast or literary analysis: Compare Elie Wiesel’s relationship with his father through Night
to other father/son relationships presented. In order to do this, you will need to:
 Identify three points of comparison, one for each body paragraph
 Provide at least one piece of evidence related to Elie Wiesel’s relationship with his father and
another piece of evidence related to another father/son relationship.
 Explain the similarities and differences in these relationships
 Persuasive or literary analysis: Does Elie Wiesel’s journeys through his memoir Night follow the
archetype of the literary hero? You can consider his life following the memoir in your essay if you
choose. In order to do this, you will need to:
 Select three qualities of the literary hero archetype and prove that Elie Wiesel does or doesn’t match
these criteria through evidence and analysis.
 Persuasive essays must include an antithesis/rebuttal paragraph.
 Your choice: Present me with another prompt option. You must get approval with me before
proceeding on your own idea.
Some tips
Thesis example for theme based essay:
In Night Elie Wiesel uses________________(a literary technique such as characterization, symbolism,
imagery, etc) to show _____________(theme).
Thesis example for hero archetype essay:
Elie Wiesel, through his memoir Night, conforms to the archetype of the literary hero by ___,___, and ___.
Thesis example for cause/effect essay:
Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night shows how his experiences in the Holocaust caused him to __, __, and __.
If addressing the issue of theme, be sure to address an argument, not just an issue.
 Not a theme statement: Night shows extreme discrimination. (This states a topic of the novel, but it
doesn’t state what point the novel makes about the topic of discrimination.
 Example of a theme statement: Through examples of cruelty by the Nazis, civilians, and prisoners,
Night shows that discrimination is difficult to overcome since it is essentially irrational.
If working on a persuasive argument, don’t forget to develop an antithesis/rebuttal.