Things to Think About (with Ms. Hammond):
- Words you may not know: indifference, inert
- What is one feeling or image that you feel will stay with you, even after reading?
- What do the father-son relationships within this chunk and the last reveal about human nature (91-92, 101)?
- Why does Elie choose to include his memory of “The Parisian Lady” on the ship in Aden? How does this connect to the rest of Elie’s experiences during the Holocaust?
- Do you condemn Elie’s father’s for “choosing death?” Do you condemn Elie for abandoning his father during his moment of greatest need?
- Does Elie’s thought of “free at last" after his father's death, followed by his immediate and long-lasting guilt, remind you of any experiences you’ve had in your lifetime, so far?
- What does Elie’s admission that “…since his father’s death, nothing mattered to [him] anymore” (page 113) reveal about his humanity?
- Throughout the entire novel, but especially throughout the final chapters, Elie reflects upon the dehumanization of the prisoners. In what ways have the prisoners lost their humanity? (ex. loss of hope, indifference to what happens next, supreme selfishness, indifference to cruel treatment of selves and others, treatment of one another with competition rather than compassion/dog-eat-dog/survival of the fittest mentality in favor of civilization, Elie’s sense of relief at his father’s death, Elie being “out of tears,” 112)
- Night has been criticized for being an “anticlimactic” piece of writing. Is the way Elie chose to end his memoir effective or ineffective? Explain.
- In Elie’s experience, who are the victims? Who are the oppressors? Who are the bystanders?
- In Elie’s experience, who are the victims? Who are the oppressors? Who are the bystanders?