Comparing Night and Dawn Post 4

You made a really good point in your last post Monica. The point that I am talking about is the will of survival that Elie and Elisha both have. They are definetly fighters, and that is one of the most important character traits to have in my opinion. What would life be like if you didn't put up a fight? They almost remind me of Athy in When Broken Glass Floats. So far in the book, Athy never gave up as her father and brothers die. It is a pretty common theme in a lot of books, and is really apparent in Night and Dawn.
Another thing that I noticed is that the book has different angles in it. In Night, the main character had no control over what was happening. He was just being pushed around, and pretty much almost dieing all the time. He had to sit back and watch as all of his family members died. But it is kind of the opposite in Dawn. Elisha is taking a stand. He is fighting back, he is part of the war. I feel that if Elie was in the postition that Elisha was in, he would do well. It goes back to my other post about how I think that Elie wishes that he was more like the character Elisha. Elisha has this sense of pride in himself. Elie has a sense of longing and depression. There is quite a big character difference in my opinion.

Post 3 of Compare and Contrast

Monica, I agree with you in your post that Night has a lot more emotion in it then Dawn does. Dawn has this vague sense of, how to put it, not being there. Night is real. Night is intense. Night shows raw emotion. Night broke my heart reading it, especially since I knew that it was a realy story. Dawn just didn't have that affect on me, and I feel that it made the story not as good as it could have been.
To be honest, I felt that Dawn could have been a better book. It really lacked compared to Night. Maybe if it wasn't considered Night's sequel it would be a little better. Just, basically nothing can compare to Night I don't think. To make Dawn better, I think that Elie should have written more about his life. It would be really interesting to see his thoughts on the Holocaust later on in time. How thye may have changed, or maybe they are still the same thoughts that they have been since the begining. I feel like they might not have changed, maybe even grew worse as he reflects over the times. There is a lot of time in life to reflect, especially on the sad moments. And obviously Elie has had a thousand life times of sad experiences. Monica, do you feel that Dawn could have been better? If so, what would you have changed to make the book better?

Monica Corcoro. Posting 4. Compare and Contrast

A theme that I saw in both books was fear. Both Elie and Elisha were afraid of many things going through their lives, and it showed that both had a hard time going through of them. In both Night and in Dawn, they constantly had life obstacles interfere with them throughout the novel. Night showed Elie going through the troubles of how everyone was treated in the Holocaust, while Dawn showed the expression of all the hardships encountered while facing the troubles of gaining something truly wanted. For them to get to where they were by the end of both novels they had to go through ups and downs just to get to where they wanted to be; and I greatly admire them for it. They are one of the few people who never stopped believing in themselves, and they got very far in their lives because of it. If only both Elie and Elisha went through the journey together, I think they would have overcome their fears a lot quicker because both had the endurance to overcome their fears, but if they had each other there, then they would have someone like them to help them strive even more.

Although both Elie and Elisha had agonizing stories they shared with the reader, I realized that not only did Elisha have to gain independence from Palestine again, but I kept forgetting throughout the book that he just came out of the Holocaust as well. Since I noticed this, I realized that the hardships in a person’s life never really end; you just have to keep trying to get to where you want to be.

Monica Corcoro. Posting 3. Compare and Contrast

I would really like to focus on how both Elie and Elisha both strived to do everything they could to survive under conditions they had to go through. Not only did Elie’s family die, like I said in my last post, he also had to undergo and learn a lot of techniques to knowing how to survive the concentration camps. He had to understand what the Nazis wanted and didn’t want the Jews to do for them. Regulations such as the age-range check was one of the first steps they had to go through before actually working. I thought Elie and his dad were quite wise about changing their ages to make sure they were not out of age-range for working conditions. Not only did he have to avoid being killed, he also had to be careful of ever getting in trouble because that would always lead to beatings or even murder as well. Elie’s dad accidentally made that mistake by wanting to go to the bathroom, and I just felt so terrible for both him and Elie. Elisha, on the other hand, had to go through a series of murder trials and executions of people, and that was his only way of surviving the Palestine territory under the English rule. She needed freedom in her home country, and wanted it just as much as the rest of her group.

Both Elie and Elisha had to overcome a lot in their obstacles in life, and although both stories are quite depressing, I am glad they both accomplished what they needed to do in their lives.

Monica Corcoro. Posting 2. Compare and Contrast

Abby, I do agree with you about Elie having the necessities needed for surviving the Holocaust. At the beginning of Night, Elie had his family to support him and each other in the concentration camps, but later lost them due to the Nazis of course. It was as if God was planning out his fate for him. What I mean by that is when he first got moved into the concentration camps, he had no experience or guidance to help him throughout his journey, which is why his family was there to help him. Later on, when his mother and young sister died, he kind of got the hang of knowing how to survive there. Once his father died, he didn’t really need his protection or guidance anymore because he already had a very good sense of how to survive under those certain kinds of harsh conditions. What do you think Abby? Do you think God planned out Elie’s life to be that way? Why or why not?

Another thing that interested me was that Elisha had nearly the same situation, but he kind of drove his own life in certain directions for the better. Once he got out of the concentration camp, he refused to go back to his home; which I found very strange. Usually, people would want to go to the place where they feel themselves, but I think the reason why he didn’t is that he knew his hometown was nothing like it was before. It was almost as if God was trying to steer him in different places, while he just had to figure out what was best for him in the end. What do you say about that Abby? Do you think fate brings us in different directions so that we can make the right decisions?

Comparing Night and Dawn

I also want to talk about Elie in this post Monica. Elie is such an interesting character, we could spend a lot of time discussing him. In Night, I would say that Elie was a rich character. I would not say that he was necessarily rich in the amount of money that he owned, but he was rich in character. He had God. He had a great family that he cared about. He also had a passion, which was learning. Then after the Holocaust and the book turns to Dawn, it all disappears. It seems to me that he has no sense of belonging. It is depressing in a way. Elie loved his family so much, and he choose not to go back to his home.
The tone of the two books has changed also. Night was full of fear. Dawn is full of fear, but also numbness and regret. Regret is a pretty hard thing to deal with. I do not know about you Monica, but regret is one of the hardest emotions for me to personally deal with. I stay up late at night thinking about what I should have done, or what I should have done differently. I bet Elie does the same, even to his day. I bet that he regrets killing all those people. I bet that regret is the hardest emotion that Elie has to deal with. He had dreams about it in the book. He probably still has dreams about it right now. Monica, do you think that regret is the hardest emotion to deal with? And do you think it is the hardest emotion to deal with for Elie?

Comparing Night and Dawn

There is one obvious thing to talk about. That is the character development of Elisha. I am pretty proud of this character, which is a wierd thing to say. I usually don't get to attached to characters, but i'm really fighting hard for this one. The fact that Elisha is getting a stronger faith in God makes me think back to Night. Night was the complete opposite. Elie started with a strong faith, and then lost it. I bet this has something to do with the author. My guess is that he regrets his decision on loosing his faith. I need to go read some more about Elie's life after the holocaust. Because this book has a strong religious sense in the way that he is gaining faith, I bet the author might be doing the same as he goes along writing. I bet this character is a reflection on himself. What he wished he had done. Who he wished he could have been. Who he wanted to be. I hope so, because Elie really needs something to hang on too.
Also, Dawn and Night are great basic books to see real character development, and well, undevelopment in Night's case. It's really obvious to see. In Night, Elie looses all his faith. In Dawn, Elisha gains his faith. Reading these books has helped me be more aware of how a character does actually develop. Has reading tehse books helped you in your reading outside of the books, Monica?

Dawn

I think I was right Monica! Those people that Elisha killed really do affect him. He does care. I talked about this in a previous post, about how deep down he does care about the people he killed and is not numb as he says he is. It is apparent in chapter 5 when the people he killed appear to him in a dream. I bet that forgetting a death is a hard thing to do. It is shown in so many other books and movies too. I can't imagine what it is like to take a life. Can you? I feel like it would scar me for a long time, like it did Elisha.
In this scene I am also seeing the real Elisha come out. He doesn't want to be a killer. This dream tells himself that this is true, when the child says that people are there to execute them because Elisha couldn't do it himself. It's a weird thing to think about. This man had killed many people, it would seem like it would just be a normal thing by now. But it isn't. Everything that he has ever killed does affect Elisha. I really feel bad for him. It is especially hard because the Night series is a true story. This story makes you have a really strong connection with the main characters. I feel like I know Elisha, and I know his pain. It breaks my heart reading these books. These are the hardest books that I have had to read. It makes you think about your life. About how you have it so much better then everyone else has it. It makes you a more caring person. It opens up your eyes to the real world.

Dawn

In chapter 4, I am seeing similarities between this book and 1984. The part that I am talking about in Dawn is when the man goes to the asylum and questioned him for twenty-four hours. They used violent force on him, as you have read. It is just like in 1984 when the party questioned Winston. It seems to be a really common occurrence in books. I think because it works is the reason why they do it. If I was questioning someone, and wanted information out of them, I would use force also. Because pain is a hard thing to deal with. Monica, do you feel that using force is a good way to get people to do what you want? Another thing I noticed is that I can connect this book to Freedom at Midnight. The Moslem's in the story made the Hindu's eat meat when they wouldn't. It's the same in Dawn, where the people who are questioning the man try and make him eat meat. I feel like that is a really important part. If you can break a person down enough to make them do the one thing that they will not do, it shows your control over that person. It might even be more affective then pain is. Monica, do you think that pain or breaking down a person is the way to make people do what you want? A combination of both could work very well, also.

Monica Corcoro. Posting 1. Compare and Contrast.

Something that I have noticed about both Night and Dawn is that unlike Dawn, Night is a nonfictional story that the author himself has experienced. It talks about all the hardships and obstacles Elie had to encounter while being in these concentration camps; including the death of his family. I feel like he deeply describes the situations of events very closely and analyzes them in such well content. He describes every moment as if the reader were right there with him, which I greatly admire in a book. The stories he converses about makes it seem as if the event was more intense and more compared to Dawn.

Dawn, on the other hand, was a fictional story that isn’t about Elie, but about another man who survived the Holocaust. Although this book had a lot more background story to the protagonist, the emotion applied into the told events were not as strong they were in Night. What I mean is that both books had very depressing and emotional stories imbedded into them, but the writing style of Night made it so that every word that was said made the story very gripping. In Dawn, however, I thought that the short events in it were not very interesting. The events were usually long and had not much lesson towards them in the end. I think the reason for this is that this is a fictional novel. Wiesel did not encounter this event himself, so the emotion while writing this was not as strong as in Night, when he actually did encounter those experiences. What do you think Abby? Do you think the emotion was as strong in Dawn as it was in Night?

The intensity from both books were different, but the writing in it is different as well. I enjoyed how Wiesel gave a little bit of mystery to who the narrator was at the beginning of the novel. Then later on, he reveals the character. This kind of writing is something I would enjoy reading again because it makes you wonder who is talking and why are they talking.

Monica Corcoro. Posting 4. Dawn.

I really admire Elisha for his both his strong faith in him and strong intuition in his beliefs. I have realized that throughout this book, he has always tried to overcome his inner-demon, I would say. The reason I say this is because he always converses with his peers and with the reader of how he has been afraid of so many things throughout his lifetime. Back to the beginning of the book, he constantly talked about how his fear of the dark affected his daily life, even when people like the beggar told him not to be. In chapter 5, he became afraid to even give a prisoner food. I think it was because he did not feel pity towards the prisoner, but remorse if he did give food; even though the prisoner told Elisha he was starving. Although Elisha did not conquer all his fears by the end of the novel, it was still clear to me that he was striving to overcome them as much as he could.

Elisha’s strong intuition in himself really showed and grew throughout the novel; which I also greatly appreciate. Right when Elisha got out from the concentration camps, all he wanted to focus on was his study of Philosophy and of God. He had so many questions in his mind about God, and really strived to learn about him; even when he was with Gad and the rest of the terrorist group. Abby, when you explained how he was not afraid of killing anyone, I think it was because he knew that it was his job and was the only way to get the English out of Palestine; his home country.

Monica Corcoro. Posting 3. Dawn.

I do agree with you Abby about Elisha constantly talking about the night and how he is afraid of it. You are probably correct by saying that he is afraid of the dark because that is when he has to murder someone. But I would think that since he has grown up to be a terrorist ever since Gad has taken him to be his own, he would have been used to killing people already; as if it was second-nature to her. As I said in my first Dawn post, the beggar and Gad would constantly tell him to not be afraid of the dark, for it was just like day only with more meaning towards thoughts and moods. So I don’t think he is scared only because of killing people because of him alone; but mainly afraid of innocent citizens dying because of him and his group of terrorists as well.

Throughout the reading, I have noticed how it didn’t matter to Elisha to where he was to be placed in the world after the concentration camps; all that mattered to him was to study the knowledge of Philosophy and of God. He was even offered to go back to his homeland, but for some reason he didn’t want to go. If it was me and if I were to be sent back home, I would definitely take it. I think he didn’t want to go back because he felt lost and didn’t think he belonged anywhere else but the place he was already in. He was there for so long that he felt he needed to start life all over again once he got out. Do you think so too, Abby? Or does my statement not make much sense?

Dawn Post 3

Going off your first post for Dawn, I agree with you, and what the beggar says, about Night. Night shouldn't be something to fear. But realating that to other books is hard. For example, I read "The Hunger Games" for my quarterly reading debate on banned books. The book talked a lot about the terror of night, and how you don't know what is going on. It cuts off one of your most important senses, your sight. The Night can be a scary thing.
I also agree with you in the statement that Elisha seems lost. I talked about that in an earlier post, so I won't talk about that part of it again.
I'm also seeing another part to the sense of God that Elisha feels. I was reading your post, and I realize that I might have been wrong about him. I was too busy comparing him to the main character in Night, Elie, to realize this. He does seem to have a strong, growing faith. This really makes me see the character in a different light. Maybe he isn't that bad after all, in a way. Besides the whole killing part. I feel that Elisha as a character will continute to develop throughout the story. I think it would be a good thing if he did, especially if he developed religously. It would all open up our minds to a new idea, and show the right path.

Night in Dawn

As I am reading, I notice a really common theme pop up. Well, maybe it isn't a theme exactly, but it seems important to the author. And that is night. Do you notice that Monica? Elisha is always talking about night. I think I know why though. Everything that Elisha does is at night. All the killings, raids, everything. I bet night is important to the author because that is where the violence takes place. Maybe the dark is a scary place to him. Do you think so Monica? Or do you think what I have noticed has nothing to do with the story?
Also, Elisha said he does not care about killing, but I don't believe him. Instead of saying going out to kill people, he says 'putting on the gray colors of the SS'. (30) I think that it is hard for him to say what he is doing. It probably brings up bad memories of his life in the concentration camps. I'm assuming his life was a lot like Elie's life in Night. He was always surrounding by killing, and threatened to be killed. Then suddenly he became the killer. If I were Elisha, I bet that would be hard to think about. All that terror that people were inflicting on him, he was now giving it to other people. That is pretty horrible, and I think that Elisha is repressing his true feelings about the people that he killed. So far in the book, he remembers exactly how many people he has killed. Each time, and how he did it. It is obvious that he cares because he remembers. If he didn't remember, he wouldn't care. Remembering is kind of like caring in a way. Do you think remembering is caring Monica?

Dawn First Post

In the beginning of Dawn, Elisha has some clear character traits to talk about. It seems that Elie wants someone to follow. That person is Gad. I suspect that he is looking for a person to follow, like a god. Since he no longer has his god, it is like he is alone. He needs someone to follow. Elisha is not a leader. Gad easily recruited him for his cause, as shown on page 11. "Gad had recruited me for the Movement and brought me to Palestine. He had made me into a terrorist." Also, it is clear that Elisha is a sensitive person. No one can blame him though, after he just went through the holocaust. As you already know, the Americans gave him the option of going home, but he refused. There was no life for him at home. I think that that would be something hard to go through. I know for myself, that family is important to me. I bet it is to you, Monica also. How would you feel if they were suddenly all gone? Home wouldn't be home anymore. I understand what Eliisha is going through. But besides sensitive, Elisha has a brave sense about him. He is willing to go out and kill someone.
Also, Gad is a really manipulating character. He knows how to convince people to do what he wanted. It was like he knew that Elisha used to be really religious, if he was, and he used that to his advantage. So Gad compared himself to biblical characters. "He said "I am Gad" in the same way the Jehovah said "I am that I am."" (14) I think that is what made Elisha really trust Gad. Gad could be the person that he had been looking for to replace god, like I talked about in the first paragraph.
Elisha looking to replace his god with someone else is a really big thing. I am pretty religious, and I believe in god fully. I trust what he does. It's hard for me to imagine a time when I would say that God does not exist, and I do not believe in him. Can you imagine yourself saying that, Monica?

Monica Corcoro. Posting 2. Dawn.

What I like and find very interesting about the writing style of Elie Wiesel is that in Dawn, he does not introduce the all the characters directly right away. Just two pages in, the reader is already introduced to the beggar and Gad; but they are quite vague descriptions. The narrator mainly talks about what they had said to him or her, but Wiesel did not really put the character into a distinct description of them. Not even the narrator of this novel is introduced right away. But in the following chapter, the narrator is already revealed as an 18 year old girl named Elisha. She ends up giving more insight on the other characters in the story, which I think is different yet well thought out of Wiesel to do in this novel. What I like about this style is that it's very mysterious at first, then gives character analysis after they have given the reader a sense of what the person is like. It gives the reader interest because the stories that are being told. They are quite interesting which makes the reader to not only read further into the book, but the reader would also want to know who is telling these interesting stories. From my perspective, after I had read “Night” and started this book, I thought the narrator would be Elie again, but in a different situation. But once I got further on into the novel, they finally introduced a different character in a completely different perspective. I liked how Wiesel made this novel so that it would leave the readers wanting to know more and more. What about you Abby? Do you like or dislike Wiesel’s writing styles?

Monica Corcoro. Posting 1. Dawn.

 Something that really caught my mind on the beginning of this novel was how much Elie was so naïve to the world around him. The beggar was the person who taught Elie “how to distinguish night from day.” Although he had many fears in his life, he was told by the beggar to never be scared, especially of the dark. “Night is purer than day; it is better for thinking and loving and dreaming. At night, everything is more intense, more true. The echo of words that have been spoken during the day takes on a new and deeper meaning. The tragedy of man is that he doesn’t know how to distinguish between day and night. He says things at might that should only be said by day.” (5) What Beggar was trying to say is that he should not be afraid of the dark because night is no different day, except night has more mystery and meaning towards feelings and moods created then.
 

Not only does the beggar help Elie go through life-situations, Gad does as well. “Don’t torture yourself in the dark…This is war.” (6) Elie seems to remember what Gad ends up telling him. I think it’s because he knows that he can trust Gad and that he knows everything there is on learning and knowing how to survive under these conditions. Elie seems to be very ignorant to the world around him, but since he is still a juvenile, it makes sense that he still needs support and help from people Like The beggar and Gad.

 

What I find really interesting about the Holocaust is that they make people kill each other. While Elie was in Palestine, I felt terrible when he said that he had to go kill someone by force. I honestly don’t think it is right for prisoners to kill other prisoners because they did not do anything to harm each other in the first place. All Elie could know about this person was that he was his enemy. Knowing that Elie is limited to the things he knows about this person, he still has to follow the orders of what the guards say to do, or else he would be executed as well.

Finishing Night

As Night comes to a close, my heart just breaks. I can't believe the holocaust actually happened. It was a horrible thing. Those people were sitting in concentration camps, running non-stop, until they died. Many died from starvation and natural causes also. Monica, in your opinion, what is worse? Dieing from natural causes in the concentration camps or being killed?
Besides the killing, what the guards at the camp made people do was absolutely horrible. They made the Jewish people kill each other. A lot of the time they were killing their friends and families by throwing them into fire, like in the beginning of the book. But, maybe just like Gandhi said, we can be able to learn from the holocaust. (Freedom at Midnight)
The Nazis didn't think that Jewish people were the only bad, alien people. They also thought the Gypsies, Russian and Polish slaves, and the disabled were bad people. (Introduction to the holocaust) Today, we don't feel the same way. Our society feels bad for slaves and disabled people. It's like the complete opposite. Monica, do you think that the world learned from the Holocaust as Gandhi said? Maybe we just learned about how evil our world is too. Through first semester in Humanities we read books about hate and the evil that is in all human beings. It must be true if things like the holocaust is happening. And just like in Night, we can even see things like that happening today.
In Africa right now, people are killing Christians. It's pretty much like how the Nazis treated the Jews. They are a group of people against another one, killing people (Killings for Christianity). Do you see the situation in Africa to be like what is happening in Night? I do.
The worst part to happen in Night would have to be Elie's dad dieing. He worked so hard to try to keep himself and his father alive, and in the end it failed. His body even got robbed of the few possessions it had. Monica, what was the hardest part in Night to read for you?

Bibliography
"Holocaust History." Introduction to the Holocaust. United States Holocaust Museum. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. .

Humphrey, Mark. "Killings for Christianity." MarkHumphrys.com. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. http://markhumphrys.com/christianity.killings.html.

Monica Corcoro. Posting 4. Night.

Abby, you make a very good statement by saying that the Holocaust was a terrible event in world history. For one, the Jews did not even deserve to be tortured and killed because they did not even do or say anything to offend Hitler; for he just hated them and the religion for unreasonable reasons. And for the Nazis to support Hitler aren’t any better than Hitler himself. They followed his commands, and agreed with them; knowing already what the outcome would be. To answer your question about the cost of lives, Abby, I would say that dying from murder would be even worse. The reason for that is that person would be forced to die; which I think that should never happen. Death should happen for a certain reason, and by force, accident, or planned murder should not be the right way to pass away.

The death of Eliezer’s father was quite depressing, I agree, which is why I too think it is the worst part of the book. Although it is quite redundant to what you said, but Eliezer and his father tried so hard to keep each other together; considering they already lost 2 other members of their family at the beginning of their journey at the concentration camps. I honestly felt really bad for Eliezer because he became lost and unstable. He almost felt like he didn’t know what to do and he couldn’t go on. Although, part of him did feel like he could be better without his father, he felt devastated that he had to leave behind most of his life with his father.

As I said before, this event was one of the many cruel events that ever occurred in world history, and I honestly hope an event such as this one does not happen again. To answer your question Abby, I do not think the world learned their lesson quite yet. What I mean is that everywhere around the world, there is still some mistreatment of citizens by police officials; which is similar to the Nazis and the Jews; but on broader terms.

Monica Corcoro. Posting 3. Night.

Many things have crossed my mind about this novel, but one thing that really stood out for me was the strong faith that Eliezer and his dad had in them. “My God, Lord of the Universe, give me strength...” “Where he is? This is where—hanging in the gallows.” “And I, who believe that God is love...” All of these quotes represent how much Eliezer has grown in his faith and how he trusts in the figure he chooses to believe in.

Not only do strong faith in God helps Eliezer and his father overcome the hardships, but their strong faith in both their inner-selves and in each other flourished. When they lost the rest of their family, whom is Eliezer’s mother and little sister, their faith in each other has grown abundantly. Abby, you are right by saying that they are very fortunate by staying together throughout their encounters in the concentration camps. “We had already suffered so much, endured so much together. This was not the moment to separate” is what Eliezer said about him and his father. He knew that he and his father have gone through so much together, that he could not give up on losing him at that point.

I do agree with you of what Eliezer might have felt when his father was being tortured for asking to use the bathroom. It was very unnecessary and cruel of them to abuse him like that for something harmless such as that. I find it very sad how there was nothing to stop or prevent the Nazis from doing so, and all Eliezer could do was to stand there and watch his father get tortured.

Monica Corcoro. Posting 2. Night.

Abby, I do believe there were many lies told throughout this novel; however, not all of them were lies, depending on where and who the lies came from. You bring up a good point by talking about the Jews bribing a village person for a false fact. They did not end up in a well-treated labor camp. Instead, they ended up in a concentration camp where Jews were to be burned. Although there are multiple events where Jews are being lied to, I believe it is mainly the other way around. In Birkenau, Eliezer, his father, and many others are advised by other prisoners to do and to not do certain actions so that they can avoid being killed by the Nazis. Those advised survival tactics included to not rely in rebellion but on faith, and to do whatever they are advised to do by the Nazis. This would prevent Eliezer and his father to disperse into humanity, just like what happened to Eliezer’s mother and sister. If Eliezer and his father did not know about this information, they would have not been able to survive as long as they would have.

Another thing is that everyone who was on their side was telling the truth…they just decided not to believe the truth; and that is where they pay the price. Referring back to your previous post, Abby, you stated that the Jews could have avoided this Holocaust if they had just listened to Moshe the Beadle. Well, Moshe did not tell a lie about this holocaust; he was telling the complete truth.

Night Selections

In the third section of Night, I see what all of society does. The guards just do it more drastically. It's selection. It's picking on people because of the way they look. In Night, they pick out the weaklings, and kill them because they are of no use. The thing is, this happens every day on Earth, just not as drastic. Some people don't get picked to be on a team. Some people are made fun of. It's a sad thing, but it's what every society does.
Another thing that I noticed is a real sense of family. Elie and his dad are really close, they support each other every step of the way. They are lucky in that way. With all the people in the concentration camps, it's a miracle that they were able to stay together. But as we are reading, we do see disappointment and shamefulness. I'm talking about the part where Elie's dad asked to go to the bathroom, but got beaten. That moment I found to be emotional. What did you think of that Monica? That moment when Elie couldn't help his dad was horrible. I think that's something that a lot of people can understand. There's always that moment where you can do nothing about it, but you just have to watch what is happening. Except Elie has it way worse. Here is a quote I found that I think supports what I said. "had felt that his father was growing weak, he had believed that the end was near and had sought this separation in order to get rid of the burden, to free himself from an encumbrance which could lessen his own chances of survival. I had done well to forget that. And I was glad that Rabbi Eliahou should continue to look for his beloved son. And, in spite of myself, a prayer rose in my heart, to that God in whom I no longer believed. My God, Lord of the Universe, give me strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahou’s son has done."

Lies

In this post Monica, I really want to focus on lies. Lies, as clearly shown in the second section of Night, is a useful tool. It can make people believe what you want to believe. It makes people do what you want. But really, if I wanted to control a person, like the leaders of the concenration camps, I would lie. In Night, lies are used to tell the Jewish people that everything is going to be ok, when it clearly isn't going to be. When the cattle cars stop, the Jews bribed a citizen of a city to tell them what was going on. They are told that they have arrived at a labor camp where they will be treated well and kept together as families. That, is just one big lie. Just read this quote that Elie says about his first night in the camp. "Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never."
What these people did was just absolutely horrible. What kind of people do this? They made them burn eachothers bodies also. The part that they were going to be kept together as a family was also a lie, because right when they got to the camp the woman in Elie's family were taken away and Elie said, "At that moment I did not know that that was the last time I would see my mother and my sister's again." It is just horrible. It's hard for me to put my mind around. Is it for you Monica? This kind of stuff, it just breaks my heart reading it. I feel completely awful for every single person that had ever been in those camps. It makes me wonder what is wrong with this world.

Monica Corcoro. Posting 1. Night

Abby, I do agree with you how the Jews could have avoided the holocaust if they knew how bad it was. Moshe did warn them about the struggles they would have to overcome, but because all those actions seem too horrendous to be true, they doubted his knowledge. I think the only reason why the people of Sighet were very calm about the situation is because if they did believe it was true, it wouldn’t be as bad as what Moshe the Beadle said it was. He was trying to warn and prevent the whole town from encountering what he had seen, but no; they didn’t bother to understand how in deep trouble they are in. To answer your question, Abby, I do believe that if the people were wise enough to hear out Moshe’s warnings, they would be able to avoid the holocaust; or at least hide from it for a long period of time.

I do agree with Abby how the holocaust is one terrible event in history. The Jews were tormented for something they didn’t even deserve. Because of this cruelty, it causes some to have disputes and feuds with each other and some to become insane. Madame Schachter eventually snaps out of it while in oppressive treatment and starts screaming every night. And because she did this continuously the following nights, the rest of the people in the train cart decide to tie her up and beat her until she would become quite. By having people tormented together in such unlivable conditions, I think they will eventually crack under the pressure and eventually exterminate each other.

Night First Post

Monica, as I am reading Night I can't stop thinking about one thing. Some Jewish people could have tried to avoid the holocaust, and that could have easily happened in the town of Sighet. After the Hungarians banned all foreign Jews, Eliezer's mentor Moshe the Beadle gets taken away. And when he comes back he told everyone about what was happening. About the terror and the chaos that was happening in the place where they took him. But no one believed, Monica. What would have happened if they did believe him? Could they have escaped? They just called him a lunatic. A lot of people could have avoided death if they just listened to him. I feel bad for Moshe. Just because he wasn't as well of as a lot of people in his city people looked down upon him. Even when he was trying to help. What do you think Monica? Do you think that the Jews in Sighet could possibly have avoided the holocaust? I just have this feeling that it could have been avoided for some people.
When the Gestapo comes to Sighet, it reminds me of the Indians in South Africa and how they had to have ideas with them at all times. Except him the Jews place they had to wear yellow starts to identify who they were. This is discriminating against their religion. It's what we have seen all throughout history. But, Hitler was always being racist toward people. If they didn't have the blonde hair and yellow eyes he considered them not perfect. It's interesting at what lengths the Hungarian government went to keep the Jews under control. They even separated Jews from the rest of the population of the cities, putting them in the Ghettos (Holocaust).
Reading this book is just sad. We all know what is going to happen, but Elie's family seems to almost not be concerned.

"Holocaust Badges." Jewish Virtual Library. The American-Isreali Enterprise. Web. 01 Feb. 2012. .

Schedule for Posts

Weeks 1-4: Night by Elie Wiesel
Weeks 5-8: Dawn by Elie Wiesel
Weeks 9-12: Comparing Dawn and Night by Elie Wiesel

Abby Jarve
Monica Corcoro