Night Topic #5
Free write about the novel and your reaction to it. Is this an important book for students to read? Why or why not? Explain why you think Eliezer remained silent ten years after the Holocaust. Do you now understand what it means to be a witness and how crucial it is to tell your memories, your story? Explain.
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Jacob said,
October 10, 2007 at 6:01 pm
I think this book was a good choice to read this year because it is a firsthand story of an actual person who actually went through this. The evils described in this book were real, this is no fictionalized novel. I think this was a major factor in why he told no one about it for 10 years after that, he probably didn’t think that anyone would believe him, or that people would ridicule him (for some reason, I don’t know, just tossing ideas around). Being not only a witness, but a part of that evil, that manmade hell, must be so hard to go through and live with afterwards. Knowing that 11 MILLION PEOPLE died in those very camps, 6 million of which were Jewish, must put a lot on the mind, I’ve seen animals die, but it isn’t as bad if you didn’t know the thing or person that died. That is probably why the SS men had little (if at all) a problem with doing what they did.
Rosie said,
October 10, 2007 at 6:16 pm
In my true opinion, everyone should read “Night” by Elie Weisel. He lived through a true living hell. He had so much strength to bear through it all. This book is so important to read. Noone should ever forget the holocaust and all of its horrors. Elie was silent for a decade, in my opinion, because he needed to cope and he did not want to relive it. I mean who would? Yes it is so crucial. You need to be able to retell all of your stories so people can try and not repeat your mistakes. When I read the novel, it brought tears to my eyes. I love this book and personally think that everyone mistakes
DanielleT said,
October 22, 2007 at 6:08 pm
I truly think that kids should read this novel. It really enlightened me to what really went on during that time period. I couldn’t believe the things that happened but it gave me a new insight to how great my life really is. You never know how much you really have until you see what others had to do without. I think it’s so important that people tell their stories of what they witness so that they can learn about a part of history that will never be forget. It helps kids my age to understand the pieces of this event better.
dwaynecloy said,
October 23, 2007 at 10:56 pm
I think that Night is a very important book to read. I feel that this book gives our generation a glimps at what prejudice and pure hatred can lead to. It also puts you in “someone elses shoes.” Night shows us how much prejudice can effect people mentally and physicaly. I think that Eliezer remained silent for ten years because of the mental strain the Holocaust put on him. Another reason could be because he lost everyone in his immeadiate family in the process. He was probably still mourning his losses. To be quite honest, I still don’t understand what it means to be a witness. But I do understand how vital your story can be. If you were to have survived something as cruel as the Holocaust and not tell your story you would be depriving the generation after you the opertunity to see how cruel we as humans can be.
Jenny said,
October 24, 2007 at 12:21 am
I think that, as hard as it is to read a book like Night, it is really important that people read it. The book gives so much insight into what it must have been like to have gone through the Holocaust. Most people have not come even close to experiencing the kind of horror that Eliezer did. It’s really interesting to read a book written the way this is, explaining exactly what he saw and how he felt at the time. Books like Night really help people to learn and grow, so it’s good that he wrote about it, even though it was obviously difficult. I admire Elie Wiesel for having the courage to put his painful story out there.
Lauren Nieman said,
October 25, 2007 at 12:31 am
Personally, this novel is a very important to read because some people do not know the significance of the Holocaust. For example, how many people they hurt, how they hurt the people, or why they hurt the people in the concentration camp. This book is important because you don’t want to forget the past so you don’t relive it. This book was an eye opener for me because I never really understood how horrible they made it for them. I understood that they starved them but all the physical abuse was unknown to me. I completely understand why Eliezer stayed in silence for 10 years. He was hurt so bad and not just physically but mentally. He lost his father, mother, little sister, and was called horrible names on a daily basis. I also understand what it means to witness. Witnesses are crucial to events so they can tell you exactly what happens and the effect it has on people.
Emily said,
October 25, 2007 at 1:57 am
In my opinion, this was a good book. It was very emotional at times. Right when you think that the bad things would die down and things would get better they wouldn’t and they would increase. I think that it is important for students to know about this tragedy that happened and this book is a very good way for students to see what really went on during this time. I think that he remained silent for ten years because it would be so hard to come out of this situation and just talk freely about what he had seen. I don’t think that it would be possible for someone to come out of a situation like this and be able to open up about it very quickly. It would take a lot of time. I also think that since his father died that it may have been kind of in reverence of him in some ways. This book has taught me more of what a witness really is and I have learned a lot from reading this book.
Katelyn said,
October 25, 2007 at 2:37 am
This novel was very moving. It showed how cruel humans can be. Some of the things in this book totally shocked me. I honestly couldn’t believe that one human being could actually do some of those things to another human being. I think it’s an excellent book for students to read because it shows a real life account of the Holocaust and hearing stories like that is important not only to students, but to everyone. I think he remained silent for so long because he was hurt, and maybe still surprised, and that’s not something you just come out of and talk and talk about. Seeing what he saw and going through what he went through probably really changed him as a person, and maybe he needed time to get used to that change and to his environment around him. It’s crucial because everyone needs to know what those people went through, not only in the Holocaust, but in everything else to. People need to hear other peoples’ stories so that they can anticipate things, unlike all of the Jews who had to go through that terrible event.
Cayla D said,
October 25, 2007 at 2:38 am
I think this Holcast in imoprtant for students to learn about. I liked the book and it really put everything into perspective with it being a real story. When something extremely dramatic happens in your life, like the holcast, it is really heard for people to move on with their life afterwards. Once ou ahev been traumatized like Eliezer was its not something you can just forget. I understand exactly what it means to be a witness. My sisters friend got raped and it took her two years to come out and tell people. She went into depression and had to go to theropy for it. Things like the Holcast or rape isnt something you should take lightly, as many people do.