Night Questions

1. Who was the person gazing at Elie at the end of the memoir?

2. At the end of the book, Wiesel says “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was
contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left me.” What parts of
Elie’s identity died during the Holocaust and what parts were born in their place?

3. Do you think Elie eventually becomes like Rabbi Eliahu’s son, who abandoned his father
when he fell behind? Are Elie’s actions in ignoring his father’s cries better or worse than the
Rabbi’s son?

4. Why do you think that Eliezer and the other prisoners don’t think of revenge or anger when
they are liberated?

5. The Yiddish version of Night concludes with Elie smashing the mirror with his fist and writing,
“I am not so naive as to believe that this slim volume will change the course of history or shake
the conscience of the world. Books no longer have the power they once did. Those who kept
silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow”. How does this ending change your impression of
Wiesel?
6. What effect does the ending of the book have? What does the lack of closure say about Elie’s
story?

7. The worker that Elie witnessed throw bread to the starving Jews is compared to someone
that Elie sees later on in his life doing something just as cruel. What statement is Elie making
about cruelty? How does Elie’s use of language shape our perspective of the female?