Journal Entry #5

Journal Entry #5
Although Night is a memoir, parts of it have been embellished. If you were to write a memoir, what parts of your own life would you embellish? Why?

Night Chap. 5 Discussion Questions

Night: Discussion Questions Chapter 5

Directions: With a partner(s), discuss these questions thoroughly. After an ample discussion, write down your answer. Your answers should be complete sentences.

1.    On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, over 10,000 Jews gather for prayers. Describe Eliezer’s thoughts as the prayer is recited. How does he twist the words of the recitation?

2.    Yom Kippur was the Day of Atonement—a day when the followers of God as a way to make reparations for their sins. Describe why Eliezer does not fast.

3.    Wiesel writes that “[t]he SS offered us a beautiful present for the new year.” What is the irony of this statement? What was the “beautiful” present?

4.    What advice does the head of Wiesel’s block give the men to get through the selection? Why does the head of the block give advice at all?

5.    Why does the head of the block attempt to assure the ten that were selected to stay in the camp that they would be fine? Once again, honestly does not seem like the best option.

6.    What was Eliezer’s inheritance from his father? How does the use of the word “inheritance” in the chapter compare to how most people use this word. Give another example of how a common word is used differently in Night because of the speaker’s experiences.

7.    When the reader is first introduced to Akiba Drumer, he is a deeply religious many; what has happened to Drumer? What did he ask for from his friends at the end of his life? Did they give it to him? Why or why not?

8.    It is difficult to trust anyone in Buna—one of Eliezer’s close friend threatened his life over a golden tooth. Why does Eliezer trust the doctor in the infirmary?

9.    Eliezer and his father decide to evacuate with the rest of the camp instead of remaining in the infirmary. Placed in the same situation (not knowing that the infirmary would be liberated two days later), what decision would you have made?

10.  The last section of this chapter begins, “At six o’clock the bell rang. The death knell. The funeral. The procession was beginnings its march.”
Describe the figurative language being used here. What is the speaker foreshadowing?