Chapter 5
How is the decision to leave made?
Elie decided he would go wherever his father went. He asked his father what they should do, but he didn't answer.
Who makes the choice to leave?
Elie decides for them both to evacuate with the others.
Why does Elie describe himself as "afraid" of having to wish his father a happy New Year?
Elie is afraid of saying this because he didn't believe there would be a new year.
How has the relationship between Elie and his father changed during their time at Auschwitz?
Elie is his father's strength. Elie's father is the only thing Elie has left; the only thing remaining from his past life and family.
Describe the encounter between father and son after the services.
Elie went to his father, took his hand, and kissed it. A tear fell. Neither said anything.
"The stones were so cold that touching them, we felt that our hands would remain stuck. But we got used to that too." (pg. 78)
Elie's use of imagery appeals to the reader's sense of touch/feel. The reader can imagine the harsh gusts of freezing winds and the burning sensation of touching extremely cold stones in the middle of winter.
What did Eliezer dream of when he dreamed of a better world?
He dreamed of a world without bells.
Elie says, "My eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone." What do you think he means when he says that he is alone?
He feels that God has left him and the other Jews. He doesn't understand why God would let such dehumanization take place.
What did Eli's father give to Eli, and what did Eli ironically call it?
He gave him a spoon and knife he called it his inheritance.
How have Elie's experiences at Auschwitz affected that faith?
He has seen terrible, unimaginable suffering of his fellow humans and terrible evil at the hands of the Nazis. These experiences have scarred him, and they have made him question his faith.
How does Elie respond when he discovers that his father has indeed been "selected"?
He hates that he thinks this might be a good thing for his father (that he won't have to suffer anymore).
Why does Elie's neighbor in the infirmary have "more faith in Hitler than in anyone else"?
He is a Jew and says Hitler has kept all his promises to the Jews, but nobody else has.
How does Elie respond when he learns his father has avoided the "final selection"?
He is glad.
What happens to Akiba Drumer?
He loses faith in God, the lack of will to live, and he is chosen for the selection.
Why was Akiba Drumer chosen for selection according to Eli?
He lost his faith, will to live, and had already begun to die.
The head of Eli's block gave some words of advice to the prisoners to improve their chances and avoid being selected. What did he say?
He said for them to move their limbs, give themselves color, run quickly, don't be afraid, and look healthy.
How does Elie respond when he fears his father has been "selected"?
He thinks that the burden of his father's lack of strength will finally be lifted from him.
Why did Eli's hospital neighbor refuse to be fooled?
He thought that all of the jews would be killed before they were freed; he had more faith in hitler because he actually kept all of his promises.
The head of Elie's block gave some words of advice to the prisoners to improve their chances and avoid being selected. What did he say?
He told them to try and move their limbs, give themselves some color, to not walk but to run, to not look at the SS, and to not be afraid.
Why does the head of Eliezer's block make the prisoners clean out the block before they are evacuated?
He wants the Russians, who are liberating them, to think that men, not animals, lived there.
What happened to Elie's father?
He was still alive he proved his worthiness during the second selection process and is still alive.
When winter came to the camp, what happened to Elie?
His foot gets infected and begins to swell from the cold.
When winter came to the camp, what happened to Eli?
His right foot swelled from the cold and he could no longer stand on it, he went to the doctor to have it examined.
Why do you suppose they never honored the request?
I think because one more death is hard to remember.
"...a glacial wind lashed us like a whip." (pg. 77)
Imagery: The author's use of descriptive words allows the reader to "feel" the glacial wind.
What did Akiba Drumer ask of his fellow prisoners?
In accordance to jewish custom, to say kaddish for him in three days when he was gone.
Wiesel's description of himself as "ashes" is an example of which figure of speech? What does the term suggest?
It is a metaphor and he compares himself to the weightless and insignificance of ashes.
What is a "selection"?
It is where all the men remove their clothes and are inspected by Dr. Mengele. If their name is written down, they are chosen to leave. Which means they are of no use anymore and are going to be killed.
The prisoners had heard similar rumors in the past. Why were they particularly hopeful this time?
It's because they heard gunshots/cannons in the night.
Why was this good news for the prisoners?
It's because they would be freed by the Russian army.
Why does Elie direct his anger toward God rather than the Germans?
It's easier to "blame" God because there will not be any direct consequences, like there would be with the Nazis.
Do Elie and his father keep their promise to Akiba Drumer?
No, they do not keep their promise because terrible days followed, and they forgot.
"The bell regulated everything. It gave me orders..." (pg. 73)
Personification: A bell cannot give orders.
"His eyes would suddenly go blank, leaving two gaping wounds, two wells of terror." (pg. 76)
Personification: A well can't feel terror.
Night is written in short, simple sentences. Critics call this kind of writing "controlled."
That means that every word has been carefully chosen for a precise meaning.
What "gift" did the Germans have for the prisoners for the New Year?
The "gift" for the prisoners was a new selection.
"The bell. It was already time to part, to go to bed. The bell regulated everything. It gave me orders and I executed them blindly. I hated that bell. Whenever I happened to dream of a better world, I imagined a universe without a bell." (pg. 73).
The bell symbolized the lack of control prisoners had over their own lives.
What bad news did the prisoners receive that day?
The camps would be dissolved into Germany block by block every day.
What was the doctor's diagnosis for Elie?
The doctor decided to operate because he said if they waited, the toes, foot, and possibly his leg might have to be amputated.
When Eli's number was not written down for selection what joke did his friend make?
The joke was "You ran too fast for them to even read your number".
Why did his father give him the spoon and the knife as his inheritance?
The knife and spoon are the most valuable things his father has to leave him.
What is the significance of Elie's dad giving him his knife and spoon?
The knife and spoon meant dignity because the prisoners normally ate in an undignified way in Auschwitz.
Two days after Eli's operation, what rumor began circulating around the camp?
The red army was quickly racing to Buna and they would soon be liberate.
Why does Elie say that the he and his father "had never understood one another so clearly"?
The suffering they have both gone through together is what makes them understand each other clearly.
What does Elie's anger suggest about the depths of his faith?
The very fact that Elie is mad at God reveals that Elie still believes in God, but his expectations have changed.
Several days later though, some of the prisoners were told that they were not to report to work but would instead stay in camp. Who were these prisoners?
These were the 10 people chosen by Dr. Mengele for selection his father was one of these people the block leader locked himself in his room.
What has each come to represent to the other?
They are each other's will to live.
What choices are open to Elie and his father when the camp is evacuated?
They can leave with everyone else, or they can stay in the infirmary.
During Yom Kippur, what did the prisoners debate?
They debate whether to fast or not.
What do Elie and his father promise Akiba Drumer?
They promised they would say Kaddish for him.
What became of those people who stayed behind in the hospital?
They were liberated by the russian army two days after the evacuation.
What was to become of these men?
They would go through a second selection.
What was the doctor's diagnosis?
They would need to operate,if not, the entire foot/leg would need to be completely amputated.
"The race seemed endless; I felt as though I had been running for years." (pg. 72)
This is a hyperbole because it exaggerates the length of the race in saying that it was endless.
"He was just skin and bones, his eyes were dead." (pg. 78)
This is also personification because eyes cannot die.
"Back then, Buna was a veritable hell. No water, no blankets, less soup and bread...Today, this is a little paradise." (pg. 70)
This is an example of a metaphor because Buna is being compared to hell and a "little paradise."
"His eyes would suddenly go blank, leaving two gaping wounds, two wells of terror." (pg. 76)
This is an example of a metaphor because it is comparing eyes to wounds and wells.
"The old men stayed in their corner, silent, motionless, hunted-down creatures." (pgs. 70)
This is an example of a metaphor because the men are directly compared to hunted-down creatures when they aren't literally creatures being hunted.
"In the midst of these men assembled for prayer, I felt like an observer, a stranger." (pg. 68)
This is an example of a simile because it relates Elie to that of an observer or stranger.
"Thousands of lips repeated the benediction, bent over like trees in a storm." (pg. 67)
This is an example of a simile because it relates the men repeating the benediction to trees bent in a storm.
"...a glacial wind lashed us like a whip." (pg. 77)
This is an example of a simile because it shows the relation of the winds lashes to that of a whip using "like" in the comparison.
"...prophets announced to us: peace in the world, the Red Cross negotiating our liberation, or other fables...And often we would believe them...It was like an injection of morphine." (pg. 80)
This is an example of a simile because what the prisoners are being told is not an injection of morphine.
"My foot was on fire." (pg. 83)
This is an example of hyperbole because Elie's foot is not actually on fire nor does it actually feel as hot as a fire.
"He was just skin and bones, his eyes were dead." (pg. 78)
This is an example of imagery because the reader can imagine/"see" a person of just skin and bones and having no expression/life in their eyes.
"Through the frosty window panes we could see flashes of red. Cannon shots broke the silence of night...There was whispering from one bunk to the other." (pg. 83)
This is an example of imagery because the reader can visualize the frosty window panes and the red flashes from the bullets and hear the loud cannon shots outside of the building.
"The SS offered us a beautiful present for the new year...selection...An SS would examine us. Whenever he found someone extremely frail...he would write down his number: good for the crematorium." (pgs. 69-70)
This is an example of irony because the author describes a "beautiful present" as the selection that would lead to death.
"...prophets announced to us: peace in the world, the Red Cross negotiating our liberation, or other fables...And often we would believe them...It was like an injection of morphine." (pg. 80)
This is an example of irony because the rumors of liberation from the Allies eases the prisoners' pain and builds up their hope, but the reader knows the rumors are false.
"...a glacial wind lashed us like a whip." (pg. 77)
This is an example of personification because wind cannot whip.
"I felt sick at heart. How kindly they treated me. Like an orphan." (pg. 75)
This quote is a simile because it relates the treatment of Elie from his peers to that which an orphan would receive.
"Run as if you had the devil at your heels! And most important, don't be afraid." (pg. 71)
This quote is ironic because it emphasizes that the most important thing in surviving a test that determines one's life is to not be afraid, which can be considered merely impossible!
"After the war, I learned the fate of those who had remained at the infirmary. They were, quite simply, liberated by the Russians, two days after the evacuation." (pg. 82)
This quote is very ironic in a depressing way because it was unexpected that those who remained at the infirmary would be liberated, and Elie ultimately chose more cruelty and suffering by deciding to follow the others.
What choice did Eli and his father have to make that day? What was their decision?
Whether or not to stay in the camp/infirmary or leave with the others and they choose to leave.
Was the diagnosis successful?
Yes, the operation was successful. Elie would be able to walk like others in just two weeks.
Was the operation successful?
Yes, there was a sac of puss and the doctor had to remove it and Elie will be able to walk in two weeks.