Teal's Second Response to Hanna: Night

I mainly agree with what you are saying about reality.  I think the reality in Night is beyond what any sane person could believe, or comprehend.  The times were very hard in the concentration camps, and father and son relationships were put to the test.  The head of Elie's block, brought this into perspective for the readers by saying "Listen to me, boy... you're in a concentration camp.  Here, every man has to fight for himself and not think of anyone else." (Elie 105)  This was when Elie's father was very ill, and had not the energy to get up to feed himself, and Elie had been sharing his own rations with his dying father.  This act was kindness, but kindness did not save oneself in a concentration camp.

I would like to differ from your opinion about people not being fazed by seeing men, women and children thrown into fires.  I think that these people were fazed, but after seeing it enough times started to become desensitized.  When they saw killings, and dehumanizing gestures everyday, day after day, at some point I think they were simply glad it was not them, or anyone they knew.  Later on in the book, people were only glad it wasn't them being burned or killed, for the attachment which forms between friends and family had broken, down to the simplest instinct to stay alive.

Religion has always been a tricky subject, when times get hard.  When times get a little tricky, as in Night, religion can be pushed aside for practicality.  In the concentration camps, some decided to fast during Yom Kippur, while others decided that their well being, and health was more important than being perfectly religious.  This debate continues today, with some adults relying on praying instead of medicine to cure their children. (Spong)

Spong, John. "Parents Relying on Religion to Heal Sick Children." The 

     Washington Post. 1 June 2009. Web. 18 Mar. 2012.      

     <http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists

      /john_shelby_spong  

     /2009/06/parents_relying_on_religion_to_heal_sick_children.html>.

Teal's first response

I completely agree with you, regarding the painfulness of this book. Not only is it hard for people to read, but it was very hard on Elie Wiesel. This is most certainly why he took over ten years, before even deciding to write Night. (Dove, Laura) These times of the holocaust, show the worst of humanity. The stories are hard to read, yet are important so this history is never repeated.

As you said, and I agree, it is amazing how Hitler brainwashed so many people in the Gestapo, and the German police into believing what they were doing was right. It is hard to fathom that humans, could resort to such hate against others of their own kind. Even as the prison guards worked, and oversaw the incineration of hundreds of people, how could they have not felt at least a small amount of regret and pain, seeing so many lives extinguished?

The health of Jews in the interment camps, was barely valued beyond keeping the inmates able to work. When the camp was to be evacuated, "All the invalids will be summarily killed... and sent to the crematory in a final batch." (77) which shows the entire lack of care for any Jews, unless they could work. The Jews were mainly only kept for how strong they were, and how much work they could produce. Hope was mainly only kept, knowing that the Russians were close at hand, and would liberate the camp. This hope, and the belief of some in God, kept the Jewish people from completely despairing and jumping into the fire pits, or giving themselves up for cremation.

Dove, Laura. "Elie Wiesel Bio." Memory Made Manifest: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 1 June 1995. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/holo/eliebio.htm>.

Hanna's second response: Night

Night has many themes, and I agree that a lot of them are extremely depressing.  Individuality does not come to mind immediately.  The theme of individuality comes up further into the book.  When the Jewish people were in the concentration camps, they were all dressed the same, and were worked to the bone.  They were not individuals by appearance; however, they were all individuals inside.  They all had their own families so if one disregard appearance they were all individual.

I also agree that individuality is a trait that is prevalent in all humans. We do love to be individuals; however, the people who were forced into the camps were deprived their sense of individuality.  It was not fair that this group of people lost their humanity and was treated like monsters for no apparent reason.  It seemed they all had to wear the yellow star as a symbol of ownership by the Nazis, which diminished their sense of individuality even further.  This part of the book reminded me of the way that the characters of the first Apple commercial looked.  They were very gray, sad, “conformed” people who did not have the ability to dress freely. Then that woman runs up who is dressed in color, and it showed her freedom to think and dress the way that she wanted.

The Nazi themselves looked and acted a lot like robots, without individuality and lacking the seemingly common instincts or being human to other humans.  They dressed the same, and followed the orders that they were given.  It is true; they were humans, which made it hard for me to understand why they were able to commit so many horrible things.  Was it because they were just following orders, or did they feel sympathy at all?

Hanna's First Response to Teal: Night

I agree that the holocaust was one time in history that a group of people illustrated their hatred for others. That hatred made it possible for Elie Wiesel to write this book. If there were not the resentment towards the Jewish people, it would have been another group of people whom were discriminated against. So far, how else do you think that the character Moshe is significant in the story? Does he do anything that spurs emotion in the people? What is Elie’s opinion of him? Why do you think the Jewish people still had hope in this time of horror and sadness?

There was indefinitely a divide between the people who stayed strong during the story, and those who lost hope quickly. I was surprised to read how optimistic his village was. I was wondering if it was optimism, or ignorance. They heard about all of the horrible things that were going on in the outside world, but they paid no heed to it. Those who are unable to stay strong, Madame Schächter for example, broke under the pressure and began to hallucinate about their impending doom. She was eventually silenced. That incident was very sad.

Were there any parts so far that made you miserable or were just plain horrible? I agree with you that through moments like this, the one thing that kept people sane was their connection to god. Elie was very committed to his religion, and was learning Cabala in his spare time. Your connection to Freedom at Midnight is very helpful to understand the theme of religion in the book. The people trust God so much, that they feel that God will save them from all and any bad times.

Individuality

Night has many thematic ideas, some of which are quite depressing.  One such theme, was that of individuality.  The Nazis committed terrible acts of violence, and murder on Jewish persons in the 1940's and tried to justify these acts by dehumanization.  The Nazis dehumanized the Jewish people in the concentration camps.  All inmates were given the same clothing, and same haircut,  and were marched around like animals to work all day.

Individuality is a trait, extremely dominant to the human species.  Us humans love to be individuals, and show how each one of us is different than another.  People dress differently, and cut their hair, put makeup on, just to show how they are different than the next human being.  The Nazis took away this individuality, and freedom of personal expression so they could justify killing the Jews, and treating them like animals.  They were marched, washed, clothed, fed, all according to schedule, and exactly the same procedure for each person.

The Nazis were humans too, even if they treated Jews with no human respect.  The guards of the prison camp were trained to kill without reservation, and on the spot.  One way the guards could justify doing such terrible things, was that each inmate looked the same, and wore the same cloths.  They were dehumanized to the point they had lost their own names.  Elie Wiesel experienced this and said how he "becomes A-7713.  After that I had no other name." (39) All these acts of dehumanization worked towards lightening the consciences of the guards,  who were told to kill and torment the helpless Jews.

Section 1: Covering Various Topics

Right off of the bat, I get a sense of what kind of life Eliezer lives.  He lives in an area named Sighet, which is densely populated with Jews.  He lives with his mother, father and three sisters.  This town/community faced much hatred from the Germans.  However, there were a few people in the community that exemplified the strength of the Jewish people According to the book, Eliezer’s father was a very unsentimental man.  Although he did not show much emotion at home, he was highly revered in his community.


 It seems as though Eliezer was a “preacher’s son”, where his father was an important figure in his society, and he was supposed to follow his example and lead.  However, I soon learned that Elie found his own path in the Jewish sect of Cabala.  Immediately, his father was disappointed with Elie’s decision.  I agree with Elie’s decision because he was trying to create his own view of the world without heavy influence from his parents.

As far as faith goes, the reader could already see that his mentor was Moshe the Beadle, until he was arrested.  I feel like this was where the sense of being able to ask for help from a higher power diminished.  Shortly into the book (around page 4), I was getting depressed.  The Jewish people became the scapegoat for the unhappiness of the Germans and that aspect was highlighted quite obviously.  For example, throwing babies up into the air and shooting them as machine gun targets.  It was actually painful to read, I even felt tears coming on.


 I was not shocked because I have read about the horrors of the Holocaust; however, imagine watching your own child or sibling hurled in the air, only to be shot by a sniper or machine gun.

One moment in the story that angered me was during Passover when Jewish community leaders were arrested. They were not criminals; they were simply trying to enjoy a religiously important holiday, which was ruined. Even criminals deserve more respect than what those people faced every day. Elie made a remark that this moment was a turning point, “the race towards death had begun” (8). This was the beginning of the death threats, the inability to leave home, and the raiding of the homes began.


Isolating the Jewish people was actually one of the German's biggest weapons.  According to an article about the Jewish resistance (Introduction to The Holocaust,) the Jewish people were unable to band together, or even get necessary help from others for a long time.  I do not understand how the Gestapo and the German police officers did not see how wrong their actions were.  Could they not imagine their own family in the same position? So far, this book is very depressing and painful to read.

"Introduction to the Holocaust." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Holocaust Museum, 2011. Web. 11 Feb 2012. .

Hope, religion

Throughout history, there have been times of grief, and hatred.  One vary major time, like this, was that during the holocaust.  Moshe, was one Jewish patron who escaped the mass murders by the Nazis.  He was shot in the leg, and taken for being dead.  As he told his story, he spread the word of what was to come.  As the village of Elie Wiesel was emptied of all Jews, by the Hungarian police, hope remained.  "Who knows?  Perhaps we are being deported for our own good."(18)  During this time, families were forced to leave their homes, with very little notice.  Even during these times, the citizens of Wiesel's town still had hope that what was happening was for the better.

Throughout hard times, the difference between strong and week willed people begin to show more significantly.  As in Night, when everyone was forced out of their houses, to be deported, they still had hope and strength.  Most people would crumble under circumstances and strenuous as these, and resort to wailing and sobbing.  But not for Elie and his village.  They kept themselves with extreme courage, and stayed strong even when faced with eviction from their own house!  Elie, was a devout Jew, and studied the Torah.  His believe in God, and that he would be kept safe, kept his hopes up.  

As in Freedom at Midnight, belief's in God can be a huge preserver of trust and faith in an otherwise helpless situation.  When the Hindu men were about to shoot their wives so they would not be raped by the Muslim attacking them, they yelled "God is trust." (Collins)  To keep tranquil their wives, that they were about to shoot, they all recited the mantra "God is trust" over and over.  Such is the power of God, and religion: in both books, characters relied on religion to stay calm at their darkest hour.

Collins, Larry, and Dominique Lapierre. Freedom at Midnight. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975. Print.

Reading Schedule

We should have both books by: February 15

Night/Their Eyes Were Watching God: Post when we can