Night Essay (Learning About The Holocaust Through Night in High School) - April 5, 2019
Night, written in 1956 by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, is a memoir about his first-hand experiences during the Holocaust with his father Shlomo and their journey through many terrible concentration camps. The majority of middle or high school students will at some point learn about the Holocaust through school, but will only learn about it through broad discussions of events during World War II. Night gives readers the day to day feelings of people in the camps and the interactions between each other and the Nazis. Because Wiesel wrote this memoir in first person, the reader gets a highly personal and connective experience to his story that goes beyond purely understanding the events that occurred during the Holocaust. Although some might think that students should not read Night in high school due to its graphic intensity, reading Wiesel’s first-hand experiences of the Holocaust in a high school class is the best setting to induce meaningful conversations between students and have a safe space to work through the deeply saddening and disturbing subject matter.
Some adults might argue that students should not read Night in high school because it is too heavy for students or too intense and graphic, especially when Wiesel describes deaths that he witnessed. The first 30 or so pages of the book are as one might expect them to be; Elie introduces himself and his family and they get moved to the ghettos by the Nazis. But, one of the most disturbing scenes of the book occurs when Elie and his family first arrive at the Auschwitz concentration camp. When Elie and his father get herded toward the barrack they were assigned to, they walk past “flames, huge flames, [which] were rising from a ditch. Something was being burned there. A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my own eyes… children thrown into the flames” (32). Elie and his father think that the Nazis plan to throw them into the flames next, but, luckily, the Nazis just send them to their barrack. Another even more disturbing event happens later in the book during a power outage in a new camp that Elie and his father get moved to. Some prisoners sabotage part of the camp, steal a bunch of weapons, and then get sentenced to death by the Kapos. One of the prisoners that they decide to hang is a young pipel boy whose father was part of the sabotage. Elie describes that after the SS kicked over the chairs from underneath the other men and the young boy, all of the prisoners were forced to “march past the victims... Their tongues were hanging out, swollen and bluish. But the third rope was still moving: the child, too light, was still breathing… lingering between life and death, writing before our eyes” (65). The way that Wiesel describes these events causes the reader to almost see each of them happening in their own head which could be highly disturbing to some people. But, that’s almost more of a reason to read the memoir in high school; it opens the class to important conversations and creates a safe space in which these events can be read.
One of the most important conversations that can start when reading this book is the bond between parent and child. Children often take their parents for granted and the interactions between Elie and his father can help give kids a different perspective on their relationships with their mom and or dad. The only reason Elie and his father survived how long they did was because they had each other – which proves the strength of this bond. The first mention of something like this happens within the first three weeks of Elie and his father’s incarceration in Auschwitz; they discuss Elie’s mom and sister and where they might be. Elie’s father mentions how his wife “is still a young woman” and that Elie’s sister “Tzipora… is a big girl now. She too must be in a camp” to which Elie writes, “How we would have liked to believe that. We pretended, for what if one of us still did believe?” (46). Neither of them knew if the other still believed that their family was alive, and so their pretending to believe helped keep them motivated to survive. Another similar situation occurs during the miles and miles that Elie, his father, and all of the starved and fatigued prisoners from their camp are forced to run nonstop to the Gleiwitz camp. Understandably, many of the prisoners give up, fall over, and then the SS would shoot them. Elie contemplates giving up as well, but his “father’s presence was the only thing that stopped me... I had no right to let myself die. What would he do without me? I was his sole support” (87). Elie and his father had been through so much suffering together that if one of them gave up, the other would not be able to find any reason for why they should continue to struggle to survive. This type of interaction happens many times between Elie and his father during the book and it can help adolescents recognize how important their parents are and everything that their parents do for them. Although parent-child relationships rarely rely on life or death situations, many do rely on each other to grow, survive, and have motivation. A realization of this by reading about extreme happenings can help both parents and children strengthen their bond and relationship.
Night is also important for students to read so that they can face and understand issues such as violence, death, and discrimination sooner in their life rather than later. Students should be able to have sympathy for similar issues in society today and this book can help foster that behavior. In one of the camps that Elie and his father are in, they meet a Kapo named Idek who they get warned has “fits of madness” (50). One day, Elie crosses paths with Idek, and for no reason “[Idek] threw himself on [Elie] like a wild beast, beating [Elie] in the chest, on [his] head, throwing [him] to the ground and picking [him] up again, crushing [him] with ever more violent blows, until [he] was covered in blood” (53). Occurrences like this would happen all the time for no reason other than the Kapos had more power over the prisoners and so the Kapos could do whatever they wanted to the prisoners. Knowing that this violent behavior was something that actually happened in the past can help students apply this to situations in society today. Prejudices against race, religion, and sexual identification all stem from one group of people having a fear or some kind of unreasonable difference with another group of people (such as how the Germans felt towards Jews). These prejudices more often than not usually turn into violence, and again, reading about such an extreme happening of this violence can help students be more aware of their current society. A recognition and understanding of these prejudices can help protect society from police brutality, sexual harassment, and simple discrimination between groups of people. Students are always the next generation in society and so their understanding of all of this at a young age could and should help the world become a better place.
The positive outcome of reading Night in a high school setting far outweighs the negative ones. Yes, the material might be hard to work though, but it will prepare students to be better children in their adolescence and more sympathetic and understanding adults. In the words of Elie Wiesel, “Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere… Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately” (119-120). The sooner that people understand this, the sooner they can do something about it. Night helps people understand.
Works Cited:
Wiesel, Elie, and Marion Wiesel. Night: With a New Preface by the Author. New York, Hill and Wang, ©1972, 1985, 2006.
Some adults might argue that students should not read Night in high school because it is too heavy for students or too intense and graphic, especially when Wiesel describes deaths that he witnessed. The first 30 or so pages of the book are as one might expect them to be; Elie introduces himself and his family and they get moved to the ghettos by the Nazis. But, one of the most disturbing scenes of the book occurs when Elie and his family first arrive at the Auschwitz concentration camp. When Elie and his father get herded toward the barrack they were assigned to, they walk past “flames, huge flames, [which] were rising from a ditch. Something was being burned there. A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my own eyes… children thrown into the flames” (32). Elie and his father think that the Nazis plan to throw them into the flames next, but, luckily, the Nazis just send them to their barrack. Another even more disturbing event happens later in the book during a power outage in a new camp that Elie and his father get moved to. Some prisoners sabotage part of the camp, steal a bunch of weapons, and then get sentenced to death by the Kapos. One of the prisoners that they decide to hang is a young pipel boy whose father was part of the sabotage. Elie describes that after the SS kicked over the chairs from underneath the other men and the young boy, all of the prisoners were forced to “march past the victims... Their tongues were hanging out, swollen and bluish. But the third rope was still moving: the child, too light, was still breathing… lingering between life and death, writing before our eyes” (65). The way that Wiesel describes these events causes the reader to almost see each of them happening in their own head which could be highly disturbing to some people. But, that’s almost more of a reason to read the memoir in high school; it opens the class to important conversations and creates a safe space in which these events can be read.
One of the most important conversations that can start when reading this book is the bond between parent and child. Children often take their parents for granted and the interactions between Elie and his father can help give kids a different perspective on their relationships with their mom and or dad. The only reason Elie and his father survived how long they did was because they had each other – which proves the strength of this bond. The first mention of something like this happens within the first three weeks of Elie and his father’s incarceration in Auschwitz; they discuss Elie’s mom and sister and where they might be. Elie’s father mentions how his wife “is still a young woman” and that Elie’s sister “Tzipora… is a big girl now. She too must be in a camp” to which Elie writes, “How we would have liked to believe that. We pretended, for what if one of us still did believe?” (46). Neither of them knew if the other still believed that their family was alive, and so their pretending to believe helped keep them motivated to survive. Another similar situation occurs during the miles and miles that Elie, his father, and all of the starved and fatigued prisoners from their camp are forced to run nonstop to the Gleiwitz camp. Understandably, many of the prisoners give up, fall over, and then the SS would shoot them. Elie contemplates giving up as well, but his “father’s presence was the only thing that stopped me... I had no right to let myself die. What would he do without me? I was his sole support” (87). Elie and his father had been through so much suffering together that if one of them gave up, the other would not be able to find any reason for why they should continue to struggle to survive. This type of interaction happens many times between Elie and his father during the book and it can help adolescents recognize how important their parents are and everything that their parents do for them. Although parent-child relationships rarely rely on life or death situations, many do rely on each other to grow, survive, and have motivation. A realization of this by reading about extreme happenings can help both parents and children strengthen their bond and relationship.
Night is also important for students to read so that they can face and understand issues such as violence, death, and discrimination sooner in their life rather than later. Students should be able to have sympathy for similar issues in society today and this book can help foster that behavior. In one of the camps that Elie and his father are in, they meet a Kapo named Idek who they get warned has “fits of madness” (50). One day, Elie crosses paths with Idek, and for no reason “[Idek] threw himself on [Elie] like a wild beast, beating [Elie] in the chest, on [his] head, throwing [him] to the ground and picking [him] up again, crushing [him] with ever more violent blows, until [he] was covered in blood” (53). Occurrences like this would happen all the time for no reason other than the Kapos had more power over the prisoners and so the Kapos could do whatever they wanted to the prisoners. Knowing that this violent behavior was something that actually happened in the past can help students apply this to situations in society today. Prejudices against race, religion, and sexual identification all stem from one group of people having a fear or some kind of unreasonable difference with another group of people (such as how the Germans felt towards Jews). These prejudices more often than not usually turn into violence, and again, reading about such an extreme happening of this violence can help students be more aware of their current society. A recognition and understanding of these prejudices can help protect society from police brutality, sexual harassment, and simple discrimination between groups of people. Students are always the next generation in society and so their understanding of all of this at a young age could and should help the world become a better place.
The positive outcome of reading Night in a high school setting far outweighs the negative ones. Yes, the material might be hard to work though, but it will prepare students to be better children in their adolescence and more sympathetic and understanding adults. In the words of Elie Wiesel, “Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere… Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately” (119-120). The sooner that people understand this, the sooner they can do something about it. Night helps people understand.
Works Cited:
Wiesel, Elie, and Marion Wiesel. Night: With a New Preface by the Author. New York, Hill and Wang, ©1972, 1985, 2006.
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