Assignment Schedule: Night
May
22-23: Read to p. 97; expect a brief quiz
May
24, 28: Finish the novel; there will be time in class to work
on writing (see writing prompts below)
Show
draft work: May 29 or 30
Further
review of writing, if needed: See me again any time
after that.
Final
version: Any time during finals week (ends June 3-6)
Writing: Choose one of the following prompts for
a five-paragraph essay that includes an introductory (thesis) paragraph and a
conclusion. Every body paragraph must include details from the book, including
direct quotations.
1. Reread the preface that starts on p. vii. Wiesel
says, “I needed to give meaning to my survival.” What are three “meanings” or ideas that a reader should take from the book?
That is, what abstract ideas, not
ideas about Wiesel himself.
2. In the preface, Wiesel includes passages that he
removed from the first draft of the book. Beginning on p. xi, he tells us more
about his father’s death, and he says he cannot forgive himself. On p. 91 in the
memoir, Elie sees a rabbi’s son abandon his father, and Elie worries that he
will betray or abandon his own father. To what extent does Elie both betray and stay faithful to his
father?
3. We discussed how Wiesel utilizes various motifs in
his memoir. Explore how his use of motifs helps to develop characters and the
book’s main ideas.
