The Book Night by Elie Wiesel

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Recommended: Elie Wiesel's journey through the Holocaust

Title: Night

Author: Elie Wiesel

Genre: Autobiography

Setting: Night takes place in Germany during the Holocaust. The majority of the book is taken place in various concentration camps such as Auschwitz and Buchenwald.

Characterization:

Eliezer- Eliezer or Elie is the narrator of Night. Elie enters Auschwitz as a teenager along with his family. He stays close to his father and becomes the protector as the book progresses. Elie’s faith is constantly challenged and sometimes damaged in the book. Elie is strong and is good-hearted because he never gives up on his father and survives the Holocuast.

Schlomo- Schlomo is Elie’s father and a respected Jewish leader back home. Schlomo is poor, quiet, shy and awkward. He barely spoke and stood out of people’s way.

Moishe the Beadle- An awkward man who is silent and shy. Moishe is a teacher at the synagogue in Sighet. He teaches Elie about the Kabbalah. Moishe warns everyone about what’s going to happen before it actually happened. He manages to escape and no one believes him because they don’t want to accept the reality of the situation.

Juliek- Juliek is a Polish violin player and a prisoner in Auschwitz. Juliek is brave because during the Holocaust none of the Jews were allowed to play German music and challenges authority by playing Beethoven.

Akiba Drumer- Akiba is a well-known singer and a prisoner in Auschwitz. He sings Jewish music and moves the hearts of any whenever he uses his beautiful voice. In Auschwitz Akiba dies and so does his faith.

Madame Schacter- Madame Schacter is a crazy woman is on the train with Elie to Birkenau. On the train she screams and says she sees flames burning. She is constantly beaten by other passengers just so she would be quiet.

Idek-...

... middle of paper ...

...sees is death around him. He begins to wonder how easy it would be to give up, but he doesn’t.

“By now I moved like a sleepwalker. I sometimes closed my eyes and it was like running while asleep. Now and then, someone kicked me violently from behind and I would wake up.”-(pg.87)- Elie is the voice of this quote. At this point in the death march he is walking unconsciously. He has become so accustomed to walking that he can almost sleepwalk. He has no choice but to keep walking and if he stops the sea of people marching behind him will trample to death.

“Meir, my little Meir! Don’t you recognize me… You’re killing your father… I have bread… for you too… for you too…”-(pg. 101)- An old man is saying this to his son. His son is trying to kill him for the piece of bread he has. His starvation overcomes to a point that he doesn’t even recognize his own father.

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