Barnes / HST 103 Modern Europe
Primary Source Review: Elie Wiesel, Night
Primary sources are the most important tools in the historian’s toolbox. They are written
when historic events took place, and so are the lenses through which we view the past.
The historian’s job is to research them with an eye toward understanding and
interpreting historic people, places, issues, and events. Without primary sources, the
past would be dead for us.
For this assignment you will read the primary source written by Elie Wiesel in his book
Night. The book is available at the PCC Library, or if you wish to purchase it you can
find used copies for under $1.00 on amazon.com.
Your task is to write a review of the book by answering the questions below.
REMEMBER: You are a historian researching past events through the writing of
someone who experienced them. Therefore, your review will discuss issues such as
what you learned about the events being described, how you believe the author’s bias
has affected his description of those events, and whether the source is historically
significant for understanding the events it describes. By engaging with the past in this
way, and then writing your own analysis of the source you are meeting the following
HST 103 Course Outcomes:
 Articulate and interpret an understanding of key historical facts and events in
modern Europe.
 Identify the influence of culturally based practices, values, and beliefs to analyze
how historically defined meanings of difference affect human behavior.
 Identify and investigate historical theses, evaluate information and its sources,
and use appropriate reasoning to construct evidence-based arguments on
historical issues.
To get full credit for this assignment, your paper MUST be in the following format:
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Typed, double-spaced, 12-point font
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5 - 7 pages
Your name, the name of the course, and the date on the first page
When you quote directly (verbatim) or make any reference to information you
learned from the source, you should cite in a footnote at the bottom of the page.
See the document titled “How to insert a footnote” in the Files section of your
MyPCC Course Tools for instructions on how to insert a footnote into a Word
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document. If you need further assistance, please ask me.
o The footnote should have the author’s name and page number(s) where
the referenced information can be found, i.e. Wiesel, 37.
Limit the number of direct, verbatim quotes to no more than one per page.
A Bibliography or Works Cited page is not necessary, since the book is the only
source you should be using.
**Remember! You are critiquing this text for its purpose, credibility, and
historical significance. This is NOT a book report. Don’t just summarize what
Wiesel’s book is about. You should discuss the source and indicate whether it is an
important document for understanding a historic period by answering the following
questions in your paper:
Place the source in its historical context
• Who wrote it? What do you know about the author? What are his or her biases?
• Where and when was it written?
• Why was it written?
• To what audience is it addressed?
Classify the source
• What kind of work is it?
• What was its purpose?
Understand the source
• What point is the author trying to make? Summarize the thesis.
• What evidence does the author give to support the thesis?
• Is there any action the author expects the reader to take as a result of this work?
Evaluate the book as a source of historical information
• Do you find the author’s account to be a credible source for historical information
about the events/time period he describes? Why or why not?
• What have you learned about the historic period/events the author describes that you
did not know before?