Transcript Night Notes

Night Notes
The story that can never be told
Denying His Own Truth
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“Night, then, is written in the knowledge of
its own inevitable failure: the survivor must
tell his story, but will never communicate
the truth of his experience; what is kept
silent is more true than what is said, words
distort and betray, the Holocaust cannot be
understood or described, the constraints of
reality ensure that the story will always fall
short of the truth.” – Colin Davis
When words fail
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Broken narrative – unfinished stories
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Words take on new meaning
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Father’s anecdote
sleep
“The yellow star? So what? It’s not lethal.”
Literary Devices
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Direct Comment
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Wiesel interrupts his description of events
“The ghetto was ruled by neither German nor Jew; it was
ruled by delusion” (12).
Reader’s Knowledge of History
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Night – written in terse, telegraphic style
Wiesel avoids commentary and relies on reader to fill in
the gaps.
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Auschwitz – (27)
“In the air, the smell of burning flesh” (28).
Lit Devices (cont’d)
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Warning and Premonition
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Moishe
Mrs. Schachter
Camp inmate (30)
Elie’s direct comment
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“our race towards death had begun”
Retrospective Viewpoint
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Years later, many years later
Lets us know what Elie did NOT know
Lit Devices Cont’d
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Repetition of Themes
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Father/Son Relationships
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Bela Katz
Rabi Eliahou
Train incidnet
Elie’s guilt/relief
Loss of faith/innocence
Preparation of Effects
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Food brought to children