Night evidence
Fathers and sons
“My hand shifted to my father’s arm. I had one thought – not to lose him.” (Wiesel 27)
“He knew my weak point. My father.” (Wiesel 53)
“Lord of the Universe, give me strength never to do hat Rabbi Eliahov’s son has done.”
(Wiesel 87)
“NO! He isn’t dead! Not yet. I set to work to slap him as hard as I could.” (Wiesel 87)
“I might have perhaps have found something like – free at last!” (Wiesel 106)
“I decided to give my father lessons myself, to teach him to change sien, and to keep the
rhyme”
“We won’t let each other fall asleep. We’ll look after each other.” (wiesel 85)
“A terrible thought loomed in my mind: he had wanted to get rid of his father.” (wiesel 87)
“He was running at my side, out of breath, at the end of his strength, at his wits end. I had
no right to let myself die, what would he do without me. I was his only support.”
“Perhaps the Russians will arrive first.” “perhaps we know perfectly well that they would
not.” (wiesel 77)
“I ran on. Feeling neither pain nor cold.” (wiesel 78)
“We could both stay in the hospital…or else we could follow the others.” (wiesel 78)
He skips faster for his dad (wiesel 66)
“I lacked the courage to ask him the question?” pg 76
“I ran off to look for my father” pg 65
“What shall we do, father?” pg 78
“we had already suffered so much, borne together; this was not the time to be separated.”
Pg 78
“I did not go to the hospital again. I returned to the block. My wound was open and
bleeding: the snow had grown red where I had trodden.” Pg 78
my father did not answer” pg 78
“I did not want to be separated from my father…this was not the time to be separated.” Pg
78
“ I ran off to look for my father. And at the same time I was afraid of having to wish him a
happy new year when I no longer believed in it.” (wiesel 65)
“I did not fast, mainly to please my father, who had forbidden me to do so.” Pg 66
“I saw my father running toward me. I became frightened all of sudden.” Pg 71
“I was thinking of my father. He must have suffered more than I did.” (wiesel 56)
“joyfully I caught sight of my father.” (wiesel 58)
“I once saw [a boy] beating his father because the latter had not made his bed properly.” Pg
60
Impact on Weisel
“The whole camp… had to march past the hanged man and stare at the dimmed eyes, the
lolling tongue of death. I remember that I found the soup excellent that evening.” (Wiesel
59).
Ho the constant death around him affected his feelings.
“They ere bburning something… - little children. Babies!... (is it surprising that I could not
sleep after that? Sleep had fled from my eyes).” ( Wiesel 30).
“I had watched the whole scene without moving. I kept quiet.” (Wiesel 52).
“Why, but why should I bless his name.” (Wiesel 64).
“Don’t be afraid son. Sleep you can sleep, I’ll look after you myself.” “No you first father go
to sleep.” (Unknown).
“In fact I was thinking of how to get farther away so that I… not against the kapo, but
against my father. That is what concentration camp life had made of me.” (Wiesel 52).
“Where is god now?.... He is hanging here on this gallows…” (Wiesel 62).
“My mind was invaded suddenly by this realization – There was no more reason to live, no
more reason to struggle.” (Wiesel 93).
“I did not weep… I had no more tears.” (Wiesel 107).
“Father as unsentimental, cared more abut others than his family. (Wiesel 2).
“I was telve. I believed profoundly During the day I studied the Talad and at the end of the
night I ran to the Synagogue.” (Unknown)
“Why do you weep when you pray?”(Wiesel 2).
“I was angry with him for not knowing how to avoid Idek’s outbreak.” (Unknown).
“I wept because – because of something inside me that felt the need for tears.” (Wiesel 2).
“My father as a cultured, rather unsentimental man.” (Wiesel 2).
“We used to stay in the synagogue after all the faithful had left.” (Wiesel 3).
“We would read together, ten times over, the same page of the Zohar. Not to lean it by
heart, but to extract the divine essence from it.” (Wiesel 3).
“Poor father! Of what then did you die?” (Wiesel 9).
“The yellow star? Oh well, what of it? You don’t die of it…” (Wiesel 9).
“You must not lose faith, even when the sword hangs over your head. That’s the teaching of
our sages…” (Wiesel 29).
“I couldn’t weep, free at last!” (Wiesel 106).
“And I did not know that in that place, at that moment, I was parting from my mother and
Tzipora forever.” (Wiesel 27).
“He wanted to drive the notion out of my head. But it was in vain.” (Elie 2).
“For a long time this argument went on. I felt that I was not arguing with him, but with
death itself…” (Wiesel 100).
“There was never any display of emotion, even at home. [Elie’s father] was more concerned
with others than his own family.” (Wiesel 2).
Themes and literary devices (imagery, metaphor,)
Will to Survive:
“You’ll get 5 times more if you dare tell anyone what you saw!” (Wiesel 57).
“Poor hero, committing suicide for a ration of soup!” (Unknown).
“Here you have to work. If not, you will go straight to the furnace.” (Unknown).
“The instincts of self – preservation of self-defense, of pride, had all deserted us… seeking
their redemption, seeking oblivion – without hope of finding it.” (Wiesel 29).
“We’ve got to do something. We can’t let ourselves go like beasts to the slaughter. We’ve got
to revolt.” (Wiesel 29).
“The same smoke floats over all our heads. Help one another. It is the only way to survive.”
(Wiesel 38).
“Behind me, an old man fell to the ground. Near him was an SS man, putting his revolver
back in its holster.” (Wiesel 27).
“Remember it forever. ___ it into your minds. You are at Auschwitz is not a convalescent
home. It’s a concentration camp.” (Wiesel 36).
Faith
“The eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All – Powerful and Terrible, as silent. What had I to
thank Him for?” (Wiesel 31).
“Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.” (Wiesel 32).
“here you have to go straight to work if not you will go furnance.” Pg 36
“ ’warning danger of death.’ Mockery was there a single place here where you were not in
danger of death.” Pg 37
“Drive out despair and you will keep death away from yourselves.” Pg 38
“At all costs we must keep her” pg 27
“Not fifty, forty. Do you understand?” pg 28
“We can’t let ourselves be killed.” Pg 29
“Run! And we ran, after a few minutes of racing a new barracks.” Pg 34
“He had lost his reason for struggle and began to die.” Pg 73
“Yet another lost night.” Pg 79
“Fast would mean a surer, swifter death” (wiesel 66)
“why but why should I bless him? In every fiber I because he had thoughts of children
burnt in pits.” (wiesel 64)
“I did not fast…there was no longer any reason why I should fast.”
“In my pocket I had two pieces of bread. With how much pleasure could I have eaten them!
But I was not allowed to, not yet.” (wiesel 80)
“for once we could despise our faith for ourselves.” (wiesel 78)
“winter had come. The days were short, and the nights had become almost unbearable.”
(wiesel 73)
“we knew what that meant, a 35 year old man would examine us whenever he found a
weak one, a musulman, as we called them. He would write his number down, good for the
crematory.” Pg 66
“should we fast? To fast would mean a surer, swifter death…I did not fast, mainly to please
my father who had forbidden me to do so.” (wiesel 66)
“but as soon as he felt the first cracks forming his faith, he had no reason for struggling and
had begun to die.” (wiesel 73)
“in my pocket I had two pieces of bread…I could have eaten them…not yet.” (wiesel 80)
“help one another. It is the only way to survive.” Pg 38-39
“Here, you have got to work. Of not, you will go to the furnace.” Pg 36
“There is a long road of suffering ahead of you.” Pg 38
“fool, listen to what I say.” Pg 28
“the instinct of self-preservation, of self-defense, of pride, had all deserted us” pg 34
“we’ve got to do something. We cant let ourselves be killed. We cant go like beasts to the
slaughter. We’ve got to revolt. “
“here you have got to work. If not you will go straight to the furnance.” Pg 36
“I did not fast, mainly to please my father, who had forbidden me to do so. But further,
there was no longer any reason why I should fast. I no longer accepted God’s silence.” (
Wiesel 66).
“They still believe and in fer, they are saying the prayers of the dead.” (Wiesel 31).
Family bonds
“They’re bombing Buna!’ someone shouted. I thought of my father. But I as glad all the
same. To see the whole works go up in fire – what revenge!” (Wiesel 57)
“At the end of an hour, we saw the units come back, in step, as usual. Joy fully. I cought
sight of my father.”(Wiesel 58)
He cares less about his father and more about revenge.
P27 Eli & Father were inseparable due to fear
P30 “ Its ashamed… a shame that you couldn’t have gone with your mother…”
P36- 37 Eli stopped caring as his father as beaten.
Eli found that his family had fallen apart. He tried to protect himself as best as he could. Eli
did care for his father and did try to help him but sometimes it became to much
-lessons to teach dad marching skills(53)
-only wants to get into good unit if his dad comes with him(46)
-“…any anger I felt at that moment as directed… against my father”(52)
-tries to get his dad to come everywhere with him (48)
-ask for his father’s advice about the truth (52)
-“I certainly do. But on one condition: I want to stay with my father” (Weser46).
-“I had watched the hole scene w/o moving. I kept quiet. […] any anger I felt […] as directed
[….] against my father.” (weiser 52).
Yossi and tibi whose parents were exterminated had a relationship with each other, not
their parents(Weisel48).
Elies bond with his support , but is beginning to live for himself the other boys had no
patertionship with each other.
During the bombing, Elie thought of his father’s safety because he didn’t want to lose him
(Weisel 57)
“ Where is god no?” and I heard a voice with me answer him “Where is he? Here he is – its
hanging here on this gallows…”pg 62
“I had one thought not to lose him not to be left alone” P27
“commotion. At all costs e must keep together” P27
“well then, listen to me. You’ll be completely recovered in a fort night.” (wiesel 76)
“I’ve got more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He’s the only one who’s kept his
promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people.” (wiesel 77)
“where is go now” “He is hanging here on this gallows” pg 62
“God is testing us.” Pg 42
“we felt the end was near-the real end. We couldn’t hold out in this icy wind, in these
gusts.”(wiesel 97)
“my mind was invaded suddenly by this realization-there was no more reason to live, no
more reason to struggle.” (wiesel 93)
“he had to stop for a moment. I begged him, ‘I cant’ he groaned”
“My god, lord of the universe, give me strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahou’s son has
done.”
“..There was no more reason to live, no more reason to struggle.” Pg 93
“I woke from my just at the moment when two men came up to my father.” Pg 94
“My god, Lord of the universe, give me strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahou’s son has
done.” (wiesel 987)
“The dead stayed in the yard under the snow, like faithful guards assassinated, without
burial.” (Wiesel 87)
“He didn’t listen to what we told him. He could only repeat that all was over for him, that he
could no longer keep the struggle, that he had no strength left, nor faith.” (wiesel 72)
“It’s the end. God in no longer with us.” (wiesel 73)
“Poor AkibaDrumer if he could have gone on believing in god, if he could have seem a proof
of god in this caluary. He would not have been taken by the selection.” (wiesel 73)
“Blessed be the name of the eternal. Why, but why should I bless him.” Pg 64
“They gave us our evening meal, a very thick soup, but no one touched it. We wanted to
wait until after prayers.” Pg 63
“as I swallowed my bowl of soup, I saw in a gesture an act of rebellion and protest against
him.” Pg 66
“Do you trust me. My boy?” “I trust you
absolutely, doctor.” (wiesel 76)
“I’ve got more faith in Hitler than in anyone else.” (wiesel 77)
“it’s the end. God is no longer with us.” (wiesel 73)
“You must never lose faith, even when the sword hangs over your head. That’s the teaching
of our sages…”
“’what are you, my god,’ I thought angrily.” Pg 63
“I had ceased to be anything but ashes, yet I felt myself to be stronger than the almighty, to
whom my life had been tied for so long.” Pg 65
“As I swallowed my soup, I saw in the gesture an act of rebellion and protest against him.”
Pg 65
“He was not the only one to lose his faith during those selection days.” (wiesel 72)
“how can I believe, how could anyone believe in this merciful God?” (wiesel
“but for the moment I was happy, I as near my father”
“I realized he did not want to see what they were going to do to me… the burning of his
only son” P30
“I did not move… My father had just been struck… and I had not flicker an eyelid…
yesterday, I should’ve sunk my nails into the criminal’s flesh. Had I changed so much then?
So quickly? P37
Elies bond with his father is stronger because whenever something bad happens to him,
like when he gets beat he feels bad for his father. Other bonds feel apart, like that boy how
beat on his father because he didn’t make his bed right.
Inhumanity to man
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“All night. Your father’ll be working here by your side.”Pg 48
“All night, son. When you feel better, come back and see me.” Pg 49
“She gave me a mournful smile and slipped a bit of bread into my hand…’Bite your
lip, little brother. Don’t cry keep your anger and hatred for another day’ “ pg 50-51
“He leapt on me, like a wild animal, hitting me in the chest, on the hood, throwing
me down and pulling me up again.” Pg 50
“do you see the chimney over there?” pg 28
“not far from us, flames were leaping up from a ditch, gigantic flames.” Pg 30
“Never shall I forget the little faces of the children whose bodies I saw turned into
wreaths of smoke beneath the silent blue sky.” Pg 32
“Here, you have got to work. If not, you will go straight to the furnace.” Pg 36
“Faster, you swine, you filthy sons of a bitchs!” pg 51
“He had wanted to get rid of his father!” pg 87
“throw out all the dead! All the corpses outside!” “the living rejoiced.” (wiesel 94)
“I woke up suddenly and felt two hands on my throat trying to strangle me.” (wiesel
96)
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“don’t you recognize me? I’m your father…you’re hurting me…you’re killing your
father.” (wiesel 96)
“German soldiers bait the prisoners to fight by using bread. One old men managed to
acquire some bread but he was killed by his son.” Pg 96
“20 bodies were thrown out of our wagon.” Pg 94
“the dead were abandoned in the train, only the ones who could still stand were able
to get out.” Pg 98
“there were dozens of prisoners to receive us, ____ hand striking out anywhere, at
anyone, without reason.” Pg 32
“here, you have got to work. If not, you will go straight to the furnace. To the
crematory.”
“how could it be possible. For them to burn people, children, for the world to keep
silent.” (wiesel 30)
“Humanity? Humanity is not concerned with us. Today anything is allowed.” (wiesel
30)
“ I was aware of nothing but the strokes of the whip.” Pg 55
“I once saw [a boy] beating his father because the latter had not made his bed
properly.” Pg 60
P. 57 “ He reached the first cauldron. […..] Jealousy consumed us, burned us up like straw.
[…] poor hero, committing suicide for a ration of soup!”
P.57 “ I thought of my father. But I was glad all the same.” P. 59
“ The thousands who had died daily at Auschwitz and at bitke nauo in the crematory ovens
no longer troubled me.”
Behind me, an old man fell to the ground. Nearby, an ss man replace his revolver his its
holster.” Pg 30