"Night had fallen." --Night Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of Night gave us an introduction into the terrible abyss that Elie and his family are about to enter. Here are the main points we talked about in class:

--Moishe the Beadle was captured by the Germans, and left for dead when he was shot in the leg. He came back to Sighet to warn the rest of the Jews, but no one would listen to him. They didn't want to believe him. This was your quiz questions--It is human nature for us not to believe that negative things can happen to us. We don't want to believe that negative things can come to our doorstep and affect us.

--Elie puts praying, living, and breathing in the same thought. This shows us how deeply religious he is and how much his world will shatter when he reaches the concentration camp.

--The yellow stars were a way for the Germans to categorize and separate the Jews. You could not easily tell a Jew from any other religion, as they have no distinct features. The yellow star enabled Germans to label Jews and keep them visible. The psychological effect of these stars is astounding. You become a number, a stereotype, another face in the crowd without a true identity.

--Most Jews, including Elie's family, thought of the ghettos as a "good" thing. Why? They felt that now they were amongst other Jews, their brothers. Here they felt they had strength in numbers and strength in safety. At least now, they would be less likely to be singled out. What's twisted about this way of thinking is that the ghettos were unguarded. It was the fear that kept the Jews inside.

--Elie and his family had multiple chances to escape.
1. Moishe the Beadle's warnings
2. Elie's family's maid coming to tell them about a shelter she made for them
3. An old friend banging on their door

--The Hungarian police were Elie's first oppressors. Remember, these were their police at one time--their protectors. And now, they were calling them out and lining them up on the street. He hated them because they were his neighbors, his own fellow people.

--At the end of the chapter, Elie and his family, along with 80 other Jews, were loaded into a cattle car and taken away without a word of how long they would be travelling or where they were travelling to. Here is an image of one:

Just a note as we continue reading this memoir, the subject matter is incredibly serious and it is very intense. We need to approach this memoir as mature adults with an open heart and have the courage to be vulnerable and let this story affect us, and perhaps even change us. It's all right to laugh sometimes to keep our classroom atmosphere light-hearted and fun, but at the same time, I would like to try to be serious and appreciate the tremendous effort Elie had when he wrote his story. We can only begin to imagine the pain and the grief he must have had when recollecting all these memories of this horrible past. Let us be wise and pay respect to that by reading this book with a mature and respectful manner.

DEETS:

In-class:

--Night Paragraph Quiz

--Night Chapter 1

--Begin reading Night Chapter 2

HW:

--Analysis Flash Cards

--Read to pg. 47 of Night by Wednesday