NIGHT Guided Reading w/ Answers

Section 1
1. Describe Moshe the Beadle.
Very poor, jack of all trades, invisible to the community, versed in
religious literature. He was timid, with dreamy eyes, and did not speak
much.
2. Describe Elie Wiesels father. What was his occupation?
He was cultured and unsentimental. He had more concern for
outsiders than for his own family. He and his wife were storekeepers.
3. Why was Moshe the Beadle important to Elie Wiesel?
Moshe became his cabbalist, or instructor in the mystical aspects of
the Jewish faith.
4. Why did Eliezer pray, and why did he cry when he prayed?
He prayed to get closer to God, and receive answers; he didnt know,
cried because of a depth of feeling
5. Summarize the story Moshe the Beadle told on his return from being
deported. Why did he say he had returned to Sighet?
He and the other foreign Jews had been taken by train through
Hungary and into Poland. They were taken to a forest and made to dig
graves. They the Gestapo killed them. Moshe escaped because he
had been mistaken for dead, although he was just wounded. He said he
returned to tell the Jews to prepare themselves before it was too late.
6. What was the public reaction to Moshes story?
People refused to believe him. Some would not even listen to him.
They said he just wanted their pity.
7. How did Wiesel say he felt about the Hungarian police3?
He said he began to hate them because they were his and his
communitys first oppressors.
8. Who was Martha? What happened when she visited the Wiesel family in
the ghetto?
Martha was a former servant of the Wiesel family. She visited the
family in the ghetto and offered them safe refuge in her village. Elies
father refused to leave. He told Elie and his sisters they could go, but
they refused to be separated.
9.

What does Elie sees his father doing (2 things)?

Chlomo warns community then Elie sees his father crying. Elie is
shocked.
Sections 2, 3
1. Explain, our eyes were opened, but too late.
They had gone along when they should have resisted
2. What did Madame Schchter see in her vision?
She said she saw a fire a furnace, with huge flames.
3. How did the other people in the car react to Madame Schchter?
Some of the young men tied her up and gagged her. Then they hit her.
The others encouraged the young men.
4. Where did the train stop?
It stopped at Auschwitz. Alternate answer: It arrived at Birkenau, the
reception center for Auschwitz.
5. What did the Jews in the train car discover when they looked out the
window?
They saw flames gushing out of a tall chimney in to the sky.
6. When did Wiesel say the travelers left their illusions behind?
It was when they left the train at Birkenau. They left their cherished
objects and illusions behind on the train.
7. Which notorious SS officer did they meet at Auschwitz
They met Dr. Mengele.
8. What was Elies main thought as the men and women were being herded
from the train?
It was to stay with his father at all costs.
9. What can you say about the faith of the older Jewish prisoners? What
prayer were the people saying? Why was it unusual?
They are holding on to their faithstill strong They were reciting the
Kaddish. It was unusual because they were saying the prayer for the dead
for themselves.
10. What did Elie do when the gypsy struck his father? Why? What was
his fathers response?
He did not do anything. He felt remorse, and thought he would never
forgive the gypsy. His father whispered that the blow did not hurt.
11. When questioned by the S.S. Officer, why did Elie lie about his age and
occupation?

He wanted to be put in a work group, not sent to the crematorium (also,

as an adult he could stay with his dad)
12. What was the first horrifying sight that Elie at first disbelieved?
Children and babies being thrown into the fire pit
13. Explain what Elie meant when he said, Never shall I forget these
flames which consumed my faith forever.
His faith is gone like the people who burned
14. Why does Elie lie to Stein about his family?
He wants the man to feel happy that his family is alive (not to die sad)
15. Why was the prisoner in charge of Elies block removed from this
position?
He was too humane
Section 4
1. Describe Elies encounter with the dentist.
The dentist wanted to take out Elies gold tooth. Twice Elie said he was
ill, and the dentist did not take the tooth. Then the dentist was
arrested and his office was closed.
2. What did Elie Wiesel do when Idek hit his father? What was he thinking?
Elie did not do anything to help his father. He was trying to keep from
getting hit himself. He was angry at his father for not avoiding Ideks
punishment.
3. Who took Elies gold tooth? Why did Elie give it up?
Franek, the foreman, wanted the tooth. When Elie refused, Franek
began tormenting Elies father. After two weeks, Elie gave him the
tooth.
4. During one of the preliminary ceremonies for a hanging, what did Juliek
whisper to Elie? What does this suggest?
He asked when dinner wassuggesting that they no longer are moved
by seeing death, only worried about themselves.
5. During one hanging, Elie and the other prisoners cried. What made this
hanging different from others? How did Elie say the soup tasted the night
the pipel (young servant boy) was hanged?
It was a child and he wasnt heavy enough to pull hard on the rope;
therefore, he was alive and suffering for a long time before he died
from the hanging. He said it tasted of corpses.

Section 5
1. What did the men do on the eve of Rosh Hashana? How did Elie feel while
the others were praying?
They held their prayer service and later wished each other a Happy New
Year. He felt strong, and said he had stopped pleading. He was not able to
feel sorrow. He observed the prayer service like a stranger.
2. What was Elies decision about fasting on Yom Kippur? Why did he make
that decision?
He did not fast. One reason was because his father had forbidden him to
fast because he was already weak from having too little food on a day to
day basis. The other reason was that he saw his gesture as an act of
rebellion against God.
3. How did Elies father respond when he learned his name had been written
down? Why was his father giving Elie his knife and spoon?
He was calm, practical. The inheritance was a knife and spoon. Mr. Wiesel
had been selected. He was giving his only possessions to his son before
his death.
4. What has begun to happen to the faith of some of the Jews?
it is decreasing; they are starting to question their faith
5. What is Elies reoccurring thought, the same thought he mentions in
Chapter 3?
Being separated from his dad
6. What happened to the patients who stayed in the hospital instead of
being evacuated?
They were liberated by the Russians two days after the others left.
7. The head of the block ordered the men to clean? Whats the irony?
This is ironic because he and his men had forced them to live like pigs,
but now did not want the enemy to know the truth.
Sections 6,7,8,9
1. While running, an idea began to fascinate Elie. What was the idea? What
kept him from carrying out his idea?
The idea of death began to fascinate him. The only thing that kept him
from trying to die was his fathers presence.

2. What horrifying realization did Elie have about Rabbi Eliahou and his son?
How did Elie respond to this?
That the son purposefully left his father behind; he prayed that he
would never do that
3. Describe Elies meeting with Juliek.
Men were pushing and trampling over each other. Elie heard a voice that
he recognized. It was Juliek, the musician from Warsaw who had played
the violin at Buna. They spoke for a few seconds. Juliek then played a
Beethoven concerto on his violin. The next morning Juliek was dead and
the violin had been broken.
4. How did Elie again help his father when they were on the train?
He woke him from a nap; they were about to throw him off the train
because they thought he was dead
5. Describe the scene Elie witnessed between the unnamed father and son.
The son beat the father to get his bread and the father died. The son was
killed by the other passengers so they could have the bread.
6. How many men started out in the train? How many were left when they
arrived at Buchenwald?
One hundred men started out. About twelve were left.
7. What is the familiar fear Elie feels when they arrive at Buchenwald?
Being separated from his father
8. What is Elies thought about his father that he is ashamed of later?
That he might be better off without him
9. Elies father is sick with dysentery. What advice did the head of the block
give Elie? What did Elie think of the advice?
Not to try to save him by giving him his food. Elie thought that he was
correct, but he didnt follow the advice
10.

What happened to Mr. Wiesel, Elies father?

He called for Elie, but Elie did not come. He dies alone (at
Buchenwald) on January 29, 1945. When Elie woke, Chlomo had
already been taken to the crematorium. Elie is too exhausted to cry. He
feels relief.

11.

What happened on April 10, 1945?

The resistance fighters took charge of the camp. At 6 PM the first
American troops arrived.

12.

Do the released prisoners think of revenge?

No
13. How had Elie changed?
He used to pray every day, go to church to study every night; now, he is
angry at God, doesnt pray, etc. He is alone. Hes seen the worst of
humanity.