ENglish Quiz first of 11th grade

Man’s inhumanity to man —

The main theme; people cruelly hurt, torture, and kill other people.

Religious faith

A minor theme; faith helps prisoners survive, but Elie’s faith is seriously shaken.

Night

Symbolizes physical darkness, evil, suffering, and darkness of the soul.

Darkness of the soul

Elie feels that the evil around him has changed and darkened him

Holocaust —

The period when Jews were persecuted, tortured, and murdered by Hitler’s Nazi regime.

Nazi persecution

Jews were forced to wear yellow stars, lost their homes and businesses, lived in ghettos, and were deported.

Concentration camps

Camps where prisoners were forced to work, starved, beaten, tortured, and killed.

Selection

Nazis separated healthy prisoners who could work from weak or sick prisoners who would be killed.

Crematorium

A place where prisoners' bodies were burned.

Eliezer Wiesel (Elie)

Narrator, protagonist, and main character; a Jewish teenager who struggles to survive the Holocaust.

Shlomo Wiesel (Chlomo) —

Elie’s father; religious, respected, and eventually dies in the camp.

Moshe the Beadle —

Poor religious man who warns the Jews about Nazi atrocities.

Mrs. Wiesel —

Elie’s mother; caring and supportive.

Hilda Wiesel —

Elie’s oldest sister; survives the camps.

Beatrice (Bea) Wiesel —

Elie’s older sister; survives.

Tzipora —

Elie’s younger sister; does not survive.

Batya Reich — Relative who stays with the Wiesels in the ghetto.

Relative who stays with the Wiesels in the ghetto.

Stein of Antwerp —

Relative who meets Elie at Auschwitz; Elie lies to him to give him hope.

Berkovitz —

Villager who reports on the terror against Hungarian Jews.

Madame Kahn —

Wiesel’s neighbor who provides temporary housing to a German officer.

Hungarian Police Officer —

Kind officer who promises to warn Elie’s father about danger.

Stern —

Police officer who calls Elie’s father to a council meeting.

Maria —

Wiesels’ maid who offers them shelter and safety.

Madame Schachter —

Deportee who screams about seeing “fire and furnace.”

Madame Schachter’s son —

Ten-year-old boy who shows courage.

Bela Katz —

Son of a tradesman; forced to work in the crematory.

Yechiel —

Brother of a rabbi; cries for Elie and his father.

Akiba Drumer —

Muslim singer with a deep voice who dies in the camp.

Juliek —

Polish violinist who plays his final performance at Gleiwitz and dies the next day.

Louis —

Dutch violinist who regrets Jews cannot play Beethoven.

Hans —

Berlin musician who tries to calm Elie.

Franek —

Former student from Warsaw who wants Elie’s gold tooth and bullies him.

Protagonist —

Eliezer Wiesel; the main character fighting to survive.

Antagonist —

Hitler, the Nazis, Nazi guards/doctors, Gestapo, and Hungarian police who persecute Jews.

Climax —

Elie loses much of his faith in God and refuses to pray on Rosh Hashanah.

Outcome —

Elie survives but is physically and emotionally devastated and loses his family.

Sighet —

Elie’s hometown where the story begins.

Ghetto —

Area where the Nazis force Jews to live.

Birkenau —

Reception center leading to Auschwitz.

Auschwitz —

Concentration camp where Elie and his father are imprisoned.

Buna —

Camp where Elie and his father work.

Gleiwitz —

Camp reached after the forced march through snow.

Buchenwald —

Final camp where Elie’s father dies.

Cattle cars —

Train cars used to transport Jews to concentration camps.

Rosh Hashanah —

Jewish New Year; Elie refuses to pray during it.

Liberation

Allied forces free the prisoners at the end.