Night

Title- Night

Author- Elie Weisel

ISBN- 0030554624

Publication Information- Steck-Vaughn, New York: 1999.

Plot Summary- Night is the classic semi-autobiographical story of Elie Weisel's experiences in several concentration camps during World War II. Eliezer is a fifteen year old who longs to find a life with God. Instead, he finds his life in a virtual hell on earth with his father. Eliezer and his community do not believe the stories they hear about the treatment of Jews until it is too late. Eliezer's family is first forced into a ghetto and then onto trains and into Birkenau where he is forever separated from his mother and sister. They then end up in Auschwitz and eventually Buna where they witness all the atrocities the Nazis have to offer. As the war comes to an end, he is force marched to Buchenwald, where Eliezer's father dies. Shortly thereafter, he is liberated.

Critical Evaluation- This short novel has always attracted teenagers because of the subject matter alone. Students are often attracted to holocaust fiction largely for the same reasons adults are; we all seek to make meaning of this most horrific period in history. The novel is short and from the perspective of a teenager. Many students come to after reading The Diary of Anne Frank. This piece, however, gives them the story that Anne's diary does not- the life inside of a concentration came from an actual survivor. Furthermore, this novel examines the complex relationship between father and son. In the opening, it is a typical relationship, a stressed one between a teenager and his father. However, as the story progresses, the reader is given the other side of this relationship; the bond that is formed between father and son in extreme circumstances. All in all, this novel is always successful with students and often inspires students to read other pieces in this genre.

Reader's Annotation – Night is the overwhelming story of life inside a concentration camp from the perspective of a young man who actually survived it.

Author Information- Elie Weisel is a world renowned leader in Human Rights and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. As a survivor, he believes it is his duty to do all that he can to prevent other genocides from happening in the world today.

Curricular Ties- History- holocaust, English

Genre- Historical fiction, holocaust fiction

Book talking ideas- Discuss how the relationship between father and son change throughout the novel. How does one retain faith in the face of ultimate evil?

Challenge issues- This book is rarely if ever challenged.

1. Re-read the text to familiarize myself with the story
   
2. Ask parents for their specific objections (they are required to file that with our school district)
   
3. Review approved books list from California Department of Education for similar materials
   
4. Review approaches from ALA
   

Interest Age 14 to adult

Why I selected this piece- This is one of my students' favorite novels. It is part of the sophomore curriculum at my school. It is the one piece I never have trouble getting students to read.