Theme Of Guilt In Elie Wiesel's 'Night'

14. Was the theme implicit or explicit? Explain. I would say that the theme is implicit because the author never really comes out and says it, but rather it is hinted. The last chapter of part three is a more obvious way of saying the theme is guilt, but the author does not say it and so the reader has to infer. When Hannah commits suicide, it was most likely because she could not live with the guilt of what she had been apart of. When she tells Michael she has learned how to read, we can infer she was referring to how she had now read everything that had gone on during the Holocaust.

15. How did the following bring out the theme:

Plot: The plot of the novel brought out the theme of guilt because again, Germany had felt so guilty for the Holocaust and what had gone on during it.

Character: Michael and Hanna both portray feelings of guilt.

One instance when he felt was realizing that he had loved a woman that had committed war crimes and also when she came to the pool one last time to see him, but he did not run up to greet her. She felt guilt after knowing all she done/been apart of with the Nazis.

Setting: Without the setting taking place after post-war Holocaust in Germany, the theme of guilt would most likely not have been possible since the characters feelings of guilt come from, in a sense, the Nazis and the Holocaust.

Symbolism: When Michael describes the airplane crashing at a curve, I remembered that earlier in the chapter, he had asked himself if he genuinely loved Hanna, or he felt he had to love her because they made love. He said he would have felt guilty for not loving her. The metaphor of the plane symbolised that their relationship would end, but also guilt.

Point of View: Had the point of view not been in first person, we would not have been able to see that Michael felt guilty. First person point of view gave the readers an insight to his feelings and also allowed us to understand his side of things

too.
Style: The author’s diction, choice of point of view, had they been different would have definitely affected the theme of guilt in the story. Also, going in depth each time the characters made love. In my opinion, I thought the details were not necessary, but when I finished the novel, I realized it was needed to show that Hanna would be with him for the rest of his life. She would effect him, his thoughts and future relationships and ultimately his choices that led to the ending of guilt.
16. Would you recommend this novel to a friend? Why or why not? If I was to answer this question after only reading the first five chapters, I would have said no. However, upon finishing the book, I had really put myself in the story and felt sad when she had killed herself. This novel definitely made me want to keep reading more and more. I would definitely recommend it to a friend and I am glad this was the novel of choice.