Ch 1-5 Question and Answer Study Guide - Night - Ms. Brown

(Ch 2) Describe Madame Schachter and her actions. How is she similar to Moishe?

"There was a woman among us, a certain Mrs. Schachter. She was in her fifties and her ten-year-old son was with her, crouched in a corner. Her husband and two older sons had been deported with the first transport, by mistake The separation had totally shattered her" (24). Mrs. Schachter is an older lady in her 50's that has a son with her going with them to Auschwitz. She is mentally ill and is depressed that she might never see her two other sons and her husband ever again. Mrs. Schachter is similar to Moshe because they both were running away/ taken away somewhere else.

(Ch 1) Describe the setting (time and place).

1942 in Sighet, Hungary "Spring 19424. Splendid news from the Russian Front," (8). "The Jews of Sighet-the little town in Transylvania where I spent my childhood..." (3).

(Ch 2) What is Birkenau?

Birkenau is a concentration camp were SS men seperated people either going to left (death) or to the right (life). If you were to go to the right you were to live. If you had gone to the left you would die in the crematorium by being burned alive. (28).

(Ch 1) What is Elie Wiesel's strong and unique connection with Moshe the Beadle?

Elie & Moshe both share an interest in Kabbalah "The real answers, Eliezer, you will find only within yourself. 'And why do you pray Moshie?' I asked him. 'I pray to the God within me for the strength to ask Him the real questions," (5).

(Ch 3) What is Wiesel's number and where does he "wear" it? Why did they give prisoners numbers instead of names? What is the significance of it?

Elie's number is A-7713 and he gets it tattooed on his left arm. I don't know why they gave the prisoners numbers instead of names. (42).

(Ch 3) Why does Wiesel thank God for mud?

Ellie thanks God for mud because Ellie had new shoes and if one of the staff were to see them he would get them taken away but since they were covered in mud they looked old and dirty so they didn't get noticed. (38).

(Ch 3) According to Wiesel's father, what has happened to Wiesel's mother and little sister?

Ellie's father said that his mother and sister are in the labor camps. (46).

(Ch 1) What story does Moshe tell when he returns to Sighet?

Jews were taken to a Polish forestand were ordered to dig their own graves then they got shot. "Day after day, night after night, he went from one Jewish house to the next, telling his story and that of Malka, the young girl who lay dying for three days, and that of Tobie, the tailor who begged to die before his sons were killed," (7).

(Ch 2) How is Madame Schachter proved to be not crazy but perhaps "visionary"?

Madame Schachter is proved visionary because she just sees things that no one else sees and she isn't crazy because she would be doing dumb stuff. (28).

(Ch 1) Who is Maria and what does she offer?

Maria is an old servant and begs the Wiesel family to go to her village.

(Ch 1) How do the Jewish people of Sighet react and respond to Moishe at this point?

Moshe got ignored and people thought he was crazy. "But people not only refused to believe his tales, they refused to listen. Some even insinuated that he only wanted their pity, that he was imagining things. Others flatly said he had gone mad," (7).

(Ch 1) Why do you think people fail to heed the warnings of Moshe?

People didn't believe Moshe's story so they were in denial and thought his story wasn't possible. "'Jews, listen to me! That's all I ask of you. No money. No pity. Just listen to me!'" (7).

(Ch 3) Who is the "Angel of Death" and what "choice" does this man give the prisoners?

The Angel of Death is a tall man who looked like trouble and he stood next to an SS officer. The choice he gives the prisoners is you could either work or you die in the crematorium, so it's work or die. (38-39).

(Ch 3) Why does the gypsy strike Wiesel's father and how does Wiesel react when this happens? Is his self-criticism valid? Why/why not?

The Gypsy strike Elie's father because they maybe feel offended. Ellie reacts by thinking to himself why didn't he do something about it, his father had just been slapped. This is not self-criticism because Ellie couldn't do anything about it because Ellie would have gotten slapped for telling the Gypsy off. (39).

(Ch 1) Describe the "expulsion".

The Jews are allowed to bring one pack and food. They hide their valuables because they can't bury them.

(Ch 2) What are the Jews told at Kaschau?

The Jews are told, " 'From this moment on, you are under the authority of the German Army. Anyone who still owns gold, silver, or watches mest hand them over now. Anyone who will be found to have kept any of these will be shot on the spot. Secondly, anyone who is ill should report to the hospital car. That's all.' " (23-24). They are told at Kaschau they aren't aloud to carry any gold, silver, and watches on them to use in the future in case they need it or if they do get caught having it them will be shot. Also they tell them that they are now under control of the German Army.

(Ch 1) Describe the ghettos.

The ghettos were too small, cramped, abandoned and fenced in. The Jews couldn't have contact with non Jewish people, for them it felt like a normal life because they were all together. You can see the dark side of human nature because they have to fight for their needs. They had a council, police force, welfare agency etc. "Two Ghettos were created in Sighet. A large one in the center of town occupied four streets, and another smaller one extended over several alleyways on the outskirts of town," (11).

(Ch 3) For what job were the strong, sturdy men selected that first day?

The job the strong and sturdy men were assigned on the first day is to work in the crematorium on the first day. (35).

(Ch 2) Describe, using detail, the journey by train.

The journey by train was long and tiring for them. Mrs. Schachter's screams about the fire that wasn't visible to anyone but her made people mad in the train because she woke them up from their sleep. " 'Look at the fire! Look at the flames! Flames everywhere...' Once again the young men bound and gagged her. When they actually struck her, people shouted their approval: 'Keep her quiet! Make that madwomen shut up. She's not the only one here...' " (26).

(Ch 3) What lie does Wiesel tell Mr. Stein and why?

The lie that Wiesel tells Mr. Stein about is that he has heard from Mr. Stein's family and that they are ok because Mr. Stein seemed really worried about his family. (44-45).

(Ch 3) Describe why the men begin weeping and praying. Does Wiesel join in? Why or why not?

The men began weeping and praying, including Ellie's father, because they were scared to be burned alive in the crematorium. Ellie joins in by praying just like his father by repeating the words that his father says because he prays that his son will be ok and have his son be remembered and Ellie prays for that to happen once he is dead. (33).

(Ch 3) Some of the young men want to revolt. Why don't they?

The men didn't want to revolt because they know they would be killed either way. They accepted that they were going to die so they didn't bother. (31).

(Ch 2) How do the others in the car react to her? Why?

The others in the car react to Mrs. Schachter by noticing that she is mentally ill by yelling 'fire' that she sees but no one else sees any fire in the distance. After a while from hearing her say those things some people in the car got annoyed of it because she woke them up from their sleep and since there was no fire anywhere to be found people got mad at her and told her to shut up. (26).

(Ch 3) What infamous person is directing the men to the left and to the right? Why is this direction significant? Why is it advisable for Ellie to pretend he is older and for his father to pretend he is younger?

The person directing the men to the left and right was Dr. Mengele. The direction they got to go is significant because his father went to the right but Ellie was heading to the crematorium. If he was younger they wouldn't be able to use him for very much and if Ellie's father was younger than he actually was they could use him for good. (31).

(Ch 3) Describe the "process" that Wiesel and the other new arrivals go through that first night and day.

The process they had to go through they had to do some tests to see who was the strongest people out of the group to work in the crematorium and them they had to run naked pushing barrels having clothes thrown at them. (36).

(Ch 1) What three "restrictions" are imposed on the Jews?

The restrictions Jews had were confined to their homes, forced to give up their valuables and had to wear a yellow star. "'The yellow star? So what? It's not lethal..." (11).

(Ch 1) What are the Jews' first impressions of the Germans occupying Sighet, and why do they react this way?

Their first impression of the German occupying Sighet were reassuring. The Germans were polite towards the hosts of the houses they lived in. "Still, our first impressions of the Germans were rather reassuring. The officers were billeted in private homes, even in Jewish homes. Their attitude toward their hosts was distant but polite. They never demanded the impossible, made no offensive remarks and sometimes even smiled at the lady of the house," (9-10).

(Ch 1) How do Elie and his sisters help the first Jews who are deported out of the ghetto?

They bring the Jews water.

(Ch 1) How does what is happening in Night connect with your research topic, or how do you predict it will?

What's happening in the book will connect by maybe Jews finding about Dachau where they are excepted and the journey there.

(Ch 1) Why does Moshe suddenly leave Sighet?

When the Hungarian authorities began to expel all foreign Jews from Sighet, Moshe was one of them. Moshe leaves and Elie thinks he will never see him again. "How had he, Moshe the Beadle, been able to escape?" (6).

(Ch 2) At Auschwitz two men are allowed to get out and fetch water. What news do they bring back to the car?

When two men got out of the car to go get some water they exchanged a watch for some information. They were told that they were at their final destination, that they were to leave the car there. They saw a labor camp in site where families would be together and young would work in factories and old and sick would work in the fields. (27).

(Ch 3) How are Wiesel and his father "greeted" by some of the prisoners at Birkenau?

Wiesel and his father were greeted by some of the prisoners by asking how old they were and the prisoners said to change their age from 15 to 18 and 50 to 40. (30).