Night By Elie Wiesel Characters, Vocab, and Summaries of each Chapter

Who is Elie Wiesel?

A 15-year-old Jewish boy sent to Auschwitz, the only survivor of his family.

What happens to Elie's family in Auschwitz?

They are exterminated, worked to death, and experimented on.

How does Elie Wiesel's faith change throughout the story?

He struggles to believe in hope and loses his love for religion due to the horrific events.

Who is Chlomo Wiesel?

Elie's father, a shop owner and community activist, who was held in high esteem.

What is significant about Moishe the Beadle?

He warned the Jews of Sighet about the Gestapo's actions but was not believed.

Describe Eliezer's mother.

A calm woman who tried to maintain normalcy during their deportation.

What happens to Tzipora?

Elie's little sister who is separated from him and executed.

What role does Madame Schaechter play in the story?

She foresees the fire and chaos ahead, acting as a prophet during their transport.

Who is Dr. Mengele?

A notorious SS officer known for cruel experiments on prisoners.

What happens to Juliek in the camp?

He is a musician who befriends Elie and later dies in the camp.

What does Franek do to Elie?

He beats Elie's father until Elie gives him his gold crown.

Who are Yossi and Tibi?

Two brothers from Czechoslovakia who befriend Elie in the Buna camp.

What is Idek's role in the camp?

He is a violent Jewish Kapo who beats Elie and his father.

Who is Akiba Drumer?

A religious prisoner who sings and asks others to say Kaddish after his execution.

What happens to Zalman during the march?

He falls due to a stomach cramp and is trampled to death.

Who is Rabbi Eliahou?

The head of a small congregation who searches for his son after the march.

What is Meir Katz's relationship to Elie?

He is a friend of Elie's father who brings Elie vegetables and later dies in the cart.

What does the term 'Beadle' refer to?

An honorific term for someone in the Jewish church.

Define 'Hasidic'.

A religious movement within Judaism.

What is a 'Ghetto'?

A place where a group is forcibly segregated from others.

What does 'Fascism' mean?

A far-right, authoritarian political ideology.

What is 'Mysticism'?

The practice of trying to experience God or ultimate truth.

Define 'Pestilential'.

Relating to or causing a deadly disease or something extremely annoying.

What is a 'Truncheon'?

A thick stick used as a weapon by police officers.

What does 'Unremittingly' mean?

Constant or continuous.

What is an 'Antechamber'?

The gas chambers and crematoriums used for extermination.

Define 'Colic'.

A sharp, sudden pain in the stomach.

What does 'Raucous' refer to?

Loud, harsh, unpleasant noises.

What is a 'Convoy'?

A heavily guarded transport of prisoners.

What does 'Lamentation' mean?

An expression of mourning or sorrow.

Define 'Emaciated'.

Very thin and weak due to illness or lack of nutrition.

What does 'Melancholy' refer to?

A lingering sense of sadness or gloom.

What are 'Automatons'?

Mechanisms that operate automatically.

What does 'Prostrate' mean?

To lose all strength or determination, often in submission.

What does 'Riveted' mean?

To be completely focused or locked onto something.

What does 'Liquidated' refer to?

The complete and violent destruction of a community or camp.

What event foreshadows the horrors of the concentration camps?

Madame Schächter screams about a roaring fire outside the train window.

What happens to the prisoners upon arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau?

They are forced to surrender all valuables under threat of execution.

What significant loss does Eliezer experience at Auschwitz?

He is separated from his mother and sister, Tzipora.

What does Eliezer witness that causes a crisis of faith?

He witnesses burning pits of human bodies.

What happens to Eliezer and his father during the selection process?

They are told to lie about their ages and professions to pass selection.

What cruel act does the Kapo Idek commit against Elie?

Idek whips Elie 25 times in front of the crew.

What do the Jews of Buna decide regarding Yom Kippur?

They decide not to fast because they are already being starved.

What inheritance does Eliezer's father give him?

A knife and a spoon.

What happens to Eliezer's father during the second selection?

He survives, but Akiba Drummer does not.

What does Eliezer pray for during the march from Buna to Gleiwitz?

He prays for the strength to never betray his father.

What tragic event occurs when Elie and his father are in the cattle car?

Elie frantically slaps his father to revive him after he is mistaken for dead.

What horrific scene do the German workmen create during the transport?

They throw bread into the open cars, causing prisoners to tear each other apart.

What does Eliezer experience as his father becomes ill?

He feels guilt for wishing to be free of the burden of caring for him.

What happens to Eliezer's father on January 28, 1945?

He is brutally beaten by an SS officer and later taken to the crematory.

How does Eliezer feel after his father's death?

He feels a hidden sense of relief, thinking 'Free at last!'.

What happens as American troops approach Buchenwald?

The Nazis decide to evacuate and liquidate the camp.

What does Eliezer see when he looks in the mirror after liberation?

He sees a living corpse looking back at him.

What significant event occurs on April 10, 1945?

An underground Jewish resistance movement fights back against the SS guards.

What is the fate of the prisoners during the final days at Buchenwald?

They go without food or water for six days before liberation.

What does Eliezer's experience in the camps lead him to lose?

His faith in God and humanity.

What does the character of Rabbi Eliahou represent in the story?

The struggle of faith and the bond between father and son.

What does the violin playing symbolize in the context of the story?

A moment of beauty amidst the horror, as Juliek plays for the dying.

What does the act of throwing frozen corpses out of the train signify?

The dehumanization and brutality faced by the prisoners.

What does Eliezer's relationship with his father reveal about survival?

It highlights the moral dilemmas and emotional burdens of survival.

What does the public hanging of the young boy called pipel signify?

The loss of innocence and the impact of cruelty on faith.

What does Eliezer's decision to evacuate with his father despite his injury indicate?

His deep bond and sense of duty towards his father.

How does the story depict the transformation of the prisoners?

They become numb and detached, focusing solely on survival.