Contents
Character map
2
Introduction
3
Tips for writing essays
17
Essay 1:
‘The head of the block says to Elie, “Here, every man has to fight
for himself and not think of anyone else … Here, there are no
fathers, no brothers, no friends”.’ Does this statement reflect how
Elie behaves?
19
Essay 2: “You will find true answers, Eliezer, only within yourself.”
What true answers did Elie find?
23
Essay 3: ‘Wiesel says, “… the child that I was, had been consumed in the
flames”.’ How and why does Elie change in the course of events
related in Night?
27
Essay 4: ‘Night shows that even in brutalising conditions people still behave
humanely.’ Discuss.
31
Essay 5: ‘Night provides an overly pessimistic view of human nature.’ Discuss.
35
Essay 6: ‘Night teaches us about values that are really important.’ Discuss.
39
Essay 7: ‘Wiesel is a different person when he leaves the camps than he
was when he entered them.’ Discuss.
43
Essay 8: What saves Elie – inner strength or luck?
48
Essay 9: ‘The terrible experiences Elie undergoes in Night alter his personality
beyond recognition.’ Discuss.
52
Essay 10:‘Night shows that adversity brings out the very best and the very
worst in people.’ Do you agree?
56
Practice topics
61
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Sample essays on texts
Character map
Sarah
Chlomo
Mother of Elie, Hilda,
Béa and Tzipora
Gassed and cremated
at AuschwitzBirkenau.
Father of Elie, Hilda,
Béa and Tzipora
Sent to the
concentration camps
with Elie. Dies shortly
before liberation.
married to
torments
Franek
son of
Elie
Tzipora
Elie’s younger sister
Gassed and
cremated at
Auschwitz-Birkenau
with her mother.
brother of
Main character
and narrator
Sensitive boy, sent to
concentration camps
from age 12–15.
Survives.
torments
brother of
Initially friendly foreman,
who quickly becomes
brutal towards Elie and
his father.
Hilda and Béa
Elie’s older sisters
Survive the camps.
respects
Moché the Beadle
Elie’s spiritual guide
Warns the Jews of
Sighet about the
approaching disaster.
examines
Dr Josef Mengele
Sadistic SS Officer
who tortures
prisoners and
performs cruel
medical experiments.
2
friends with
Tibi and Yossi
Twins who befriend
Elie at Buna.
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Night
Introduction
Elie Wiesel was born in 1928 and lived in a close-knit Jewish community in Sighet, Transylvania.
The region has long been the scene of conflict and dispute between Hungary and Romania.
Wiesel’s quiet upbringing was disrupted by the arrival of the Nazis in 1944. The entire Jewish
community was deported to concentration camps in Poland and Wiesel was separated from his
mother and sister on arrival at Auschwitz. Ten years after the end of World War II, Wiesel wrote
his memories in Yiddish, titled Un die welt hot geshvign (And the world kept silent), which was
compressed into Night and translated into English and French. He became an American citizen
in 1956 and continued to write novels and plays. His plays include Zalmen, or The Madness of
God and The Trial of God (Le Proces de Shamgorod). His other novels include The Gates of the
Forest, The Oath, The Testament, and The Fifth Son. He lives in New York City with his wife and
their son, Elisha, and teaches at Boston University.
The question at the centre of Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night is, ‘Where is God? Where is He?’ (p.76).
At that moment there seems to be no answer, even for the most devout believer, Eliezer, the
central character who introduces himself simply with: ‘I believed profoundly’. Night exposes,
clearly and powerfully, aspects of human nature which readers may never have faced in others
or in themselves. In the face of the evil witnessed by Eliezer and his fellow sufferers, God does
appear to be dead and the bonds that tie father to son and friend to friend destroyed.
Brief synopsis
The opening of Night introduces the villagers, Moché the Beadle and Eliezer’s father. Readers
become aware that the villagers act and react together to the events that engulf them; they
appear as one character because they act collectively. The appearance of the Germans and the
restrictions placed on the villagers’ lives are always greeted by a succession of emotions, first
fear and then confidence, first resignation and then reassurance. Readers are aware of how
worsening events affect the village rather than how the protagonist is affected:
Anguish. German soldiers – with their steel helmets, and their emblem, the death’s head.
However, our first impressions of the Germans were most reassuring … The Germans were
already in town, the Fascists were already in power, the verdict had already been pronounced,
yet the Jews of Sighet continued to smile. (p.20)
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Night
Tips For Writing Essays
If you follow these simple tips, you’ll be assured of an extra
mark or two!
10 Do’s
• Know the text really well and answer the question properly.
• Write a plan.
• Structure your essay using an introduction, several body paragraphs and
a conclusion.
• Use paragraphs with clear topic sentences to mark the progression of your
argument. Remember ‘new paragraph = new point’. A good example of a clear
topic sentence is: ‘The consequences of racial prejudice are explored in Othello’.
• Use correct spelling and ensure you always spell book titles, characters’ names or
authors’ names correctly; for example, ‘Eli Wiesel’s Night’.
• Put direct quotations in inverted commas; for example: ‘Othello defends
Desdemona’s loyalty to Brabantio, swearing ‘my life upon her faith’.
• Display your knowledge of the text by selecting relevant references to support
your views. For example, if you choose to focus on the moments of Eli’s life that
shaped his personality in Night, you might analyse the scene featuring the death
of his father.
• Work out your own point of view on key elements such as characters, narrators,
plot, etc.
• Keep to topic.
• Acknowledge the difference between genres; for example, film, play. For example,
when discussing a film, refer to ‘shots’, ‘images’, ‘scenes’, etc. When discussing
a play, acknowledge the performance aspects, such as stage directions, the
playwright’s instructions for the setting, etc.
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Night
ESSAY 1
‘The head of the block says to Elie, “here, every man
has to fight for himself and not think of anyone else …
Here, there are no fathers, no brothers, no friends”.’
Does this statement reflect how Elie behaves?
Death is not necessarily the worst thing that can happen to a
person, yet it is our instinct to avoid it that enables us to endure
unspeakable horrors and makes some people behave in ways
they would normally abhor. Although Night gives details of many
individuals who lost their sense of duty to their fellow human
beings and became completely selfish as a result of their fear of
Opening with a provocative
statement grabs readers’
attention and focuses on the
main ideas to be argued. The
key terms and concepts are
introduced – ‘selfish’, ‘duty’,
‘fellow man’, ‘relationships’,
‘humanity’.
death, Elie is not one of them. His constant concern throughout
his ordeal is to maintain his humanity, understanding that it is his
relationships with his father and others in the camps that help
him survive.
Elie, before the war, is portrayed as a deeply religious boy for
whom his community and his family meant everything. His Jewish
faith instilled in him a sense of duty to care for his parents and to
live an ethical life. He is often pictured at prayer, and is described
as extremely devout: when his father asks him why he prays so
intently, he answers, ‘Why did I breathe?’ His father, Chlomo, who
deals extensively with the issues of the community, is described
as a model citizen. He believes that Jews are better off living with
their brothers, even in ghettos, where they could at least live free
from ‘hate-laden stares’. His father’s advice guides Elie in the
camps. When Chlomo becomes too weak through hunger and
overwork to take proper care of him, Elie reverses roles to become
his father’s parent and protector. In this sense, Elie shows that he
respects the values of family and community just as much as his
father does.
The references to his training
in values and modelling, which
create Elie’s sense of duty,
explain his attitude. The essay
immediately focuses on Elie’s
behaviour, in context, as the
topic requires.
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