MAKING MEANING
About the Author
Elie Wiesel (1928–2016)
was a Nobel-Prize winning
writer, activist, orator, and
teacher, best known for his
internationally acclaimed
memoir Night, in which he
recounts his experiences
surviving the Holocaust.
Wiesel became a revered
figure of peace over the
years, speaking out against
persecution and injustice all
across the globe.
Tool Kit
First-Read Guide and
Model Annotation
STANDARDS
Reading Informational Text
8.RI.RRTC.10 Read and
comprehend a variety of literary
nonfiction at the high end of the
grades 6–8 text complexity band
independently and proficiently.
Language
8.L.VAU.4 Determine or clarify the
meaning of unknown and multiple-
meaning words and phrases based
on 8th grade-level text by choosing
flexibly from a range of strategies.
c. Consult reference materials,
both print and digital, to find the
pronunciation of a word or phrase.
222 UNIT 2 • THE HOLOCAUST
Acceptance Speech for the
Nobel Peace Prize
Concept Vocabulary
As you read Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, you
will encounter these words.
humiliation persecuted traumatized
Using a Dictionary and Thesaurus When you come across an
unfamiliar word and cannot determine its meaning from context clues
alone, it’s a good idea to look up the word in a dictionary or thesaurus.
When you look up a word in a dictionary, you will find its meaning, part
of speech, and pronunciation. In a thesaurus, you will find synonyms for
a word, or words with similar meaning. A thesaurus can be helpful when
you’re looking to vary your word choices in your writing.
Compare these two entries for the word verdict:
Dictionary Thesaurus
ver•dict (VUR dihkt) n. verdict n. judgment,
1. decision arrived at by finding, decision, answer,
a jury at the end of a trial opinion, sentence,
2. any decision or judgment determination
Notice that a thesaurus does not provide definitions. Before you use a
word you find in a thesaurus, check a dictionary to verify its meaning.
First Read NONFICTION
Apply these strategies as you conduct your first read. You will have an
opportunity to complete a close read after your first read.
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NOTICE the general ideas ANNOTATE by marking
of the text. What is it about? vocabulary and key passages
Who is involved? you want to revisit.
CONNECT ideas within RESPOND by completing
the selection to what you the Comprehension Check and
already know and what you by writing a brief summary of
have already read. the selection.
 SPEECH

Acceptance Speech for the

Nobel Peace Prize Elie Wiesel

BACKGROUND
Elie Wiesel wrote more than sixty books, many of which are about his
experiences in the Buchenwald and Auschwitz concentration camps. He
was honored with a Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for his commitment to
serving people around the world who have been persecuted or currently
face persecution.

I t is with a profound sense of humility that I accept the honor

you have chosen to bestow upon me. I know: Your choice
transcends me. This both frightens and pleases me.
NOTES

2 It frightens me because I wonder: Do I have the right to

represent the multitudes who have perished? Do I have the right
to accept this great honor on their behalf? . . . I do not. That would
be presumptuous. No one may speak for the dead, no one may
interpret their mutilated dreams and visions.
3 It pleases me because I may say that this honor belongs to all
the survivors and their children, and through us, to the Jewish
people with whose destiny I have always identified.
4 I remember: It happened yesterday or eternities ago. A young
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Jewish boy discovered the kingdom of night. I remember his

bewilderment, I remember his anguish. It all happened so fast.
The ghetto. The deportation. The sealed cattle car. The fiery altar
upon which the history of our people and the future of mankind
were meant to be sacrificed.
5 I remember: He asked his father, “Can this be true?” This is the
twentieth century, not the Middle Ages. Who would allow such
crimes to be committed? How could the world remain silent?
6 And now the boy is turning to me: “Tell me,” he asks.
“What have you done with my future? What have you done with
your life?”
7 And I tell him that I have tried. That I have tried to keep
memory alive, that I have tried to fight those who would forget.
Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices.

Acceptance Speech for the Nobel Peace Prize 223

 8 And then I explained to him how naive we were, that the world
NOTES did know and remain silent. And that is why I swore never to be
Use a dictionary or thesaurus or silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering
indicate another strategy you
used that helped you determine and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps
meaning. the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor,
humiliation (hyoo mihl ee AY never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human
shuhn) n.
lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national
MEANING:
borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or
women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political
views, that place must—at that moment—become the center of the
universe.
persecuted (PUR suh kyoo 9 Of course, since I am a Jew profoundly rooted in my people’s
tihd) v.
memory and tradition, my first response is to Jewish fears, Jewish
MEANING:
needs, Jewish crises. For I belong to a traumatized generation, one
that experienced the abandonment and solitude of our people.
It would be unnatural for me not to make Jewish priorities my
own: Israel, Soviet Jewry, Jews in Arab lands . . . But there are
others as important to me. Apartheid1 is, in my view, as abhorrent
traumatized (TRAW muh as anti-Semitism. To me, Andrei Sakharov’s2 isolation is as much
tyzd) adj. of a disgrace as Josef Biegun’s3 imprisonment. As is the denial
MEANING: of Solidarity and its leader Lech Wałęsa’s4 right to dissent. And
Nelson Mandela’s5 interminable imprisonment.
10 There is so much injustice and suffering crying out for our
attention: victims of hunger, of racism, and political persecution,
writers and poets, prisoners in so many lands governed by the
Left and by the Right. Human rights are being violated on every
continent. More people are oppressed than free. And then, too,
there are the Palestinians6 to whose plight I am sensitive but
whose methods I deplore. Violence and terrorism are not the
answer. Something must be done about their suffering, and
soon. I trust Israel, for I have faith in the Jewish people. Let Israel
be given a chance, let hatred and danger be removed from her

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horizons, and there will be peace in and around the Holy Land.
11 Yes, I have faith. Faith in God and even in His creation. Without
it no action would be possible. And action is the only remedy
to indifference: the most insidious danger of all. Isn’t this the
meaning of Alfred Nobel’s legacy? Wasn’t his fear of war a shield
against war?

1. Apartheid n. social policy in South Africa from 1950 to 1994 that separated the country’s
white and nonwhite populations, creating discrimination against the nonwhites.
2. Andrei Sakharov (1921–1989) nuclear physicist and human-rights activist who was
banished from the Soviet Union for criticizing the government.
3. Josef Biegun Jewish man who was imprisoned and murdered during the Holocaust.
4. Lech Wałęsa (b. 1943) labor activist who helped form and led Poland’s first independent
trade union, Solidarity, despite opposition from the Polish government.
5. Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) leader of the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa; he
had been sentenced to life in prison at the time of this speech.
6. Palestinians reference to the violent conflict between Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews,
who have been fighting to claim the same territory.

224 UNIT 2 • THE HOLOCAUST

 12 There is much to be done, there is much that can be done. One
person—a Raoul Wallenberg,7 an Albert Schweitzer,8 one person of NOTES

integrity—can make a difference, a difference of life and death. As

long as one dissident9 is in prison, our freedom will not be true. As
long as one child is hungry, our lives will be filled with anguish
and shame. What all these victims need above all is to know that
they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their
voices are stifled we shall lend them ours, that while their freedom
depends on ours, the quality of our freedom depends on theirs.
13 This is what I say to the young Jewish boy wondering what I
have done with his years. It is in his name that I speak to you and
that I express to you my deepest gratitude. No one is as capable
of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of night.
We know that every moment is a moment of grace, every hour an
offering; not to share them would mean to betray them. Our lives
no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us
desperately.
14 Thank you, Chairman Aarvik. Thank you, members of the Nobel
Committee. Thank you, people of Norway, for declaring on this
singular occasion that our survival has meaning for mankind. ❧

7. Raoul Wallenberg (1912–1947?) Swedish diplomat in Hungary who saved tens of

thousands of Jews during the Holocaust by issuing passports and providing shelter.
8. Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) Alsatian doctor known for his important contributions in
many fields, such as philosophy, religion, music, and medicine.
9. dissident n. person who disagrees with an official religious or political system.

Comprehension Check
Complete the following items after you finish your first read. Review and clarify
details with your group.
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Notebook Respond to the questions.

1. Upon accepting the honor of the Nobel Peace Prize, what two emotions does Elie
Wiesel have?

2. According to Weisel, what is the biggest threat to freedom?

3. Confirm your understanding of the speech by writing a summary of the author’s

main points.

RESEARCH
Research to Explore Choose one historical figure mentioned in the speech whom
you would like to know more about. Briefly research that person. How does knowing
more about this person help you better understand the points Wiesel makes?

Acceptance Speech for the Nobel Peace Prize 225

 MAKING MEANING

Close Read the Text

With your group, revisit sections of the text you marked
during your first read. Annotate what you notice. What
questions do you have? What can you conclude?
ACCEPTANCE SPEECH FOR
THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
CITE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE
Analyze the Text to support your answers.

Notebook Complete the activities.

GROUP DISCUSSION
When you work in your
group to answer the
Analyze the Text questions,
be sure to support your
opinions and ideas with
evidence from the text.
! WORD NETWORK
Add words related to the
Holocaust from the text to
your Word Network.
1. Review and Clarify With your group, reread paragraphs 4–7 of the
selection. Discuss the young Jewish boy to whom the author refers.
Whom or what does this boy symbolize, or represent? Why might
Wiesel have chosen to convey his point through symbolism?
2. Present and Discuss Now, work with your group to share the
passages from the text that you found especially important. Take turns
presenting your passages. Discuss what you noticed in the text, what
questions you asked, and what conclusions you reached.
3. Essential Question: How do we remember the past? What has
this speech taught you about how we remember the past? Discuss.
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

STANDARDS Concept Vocabulary

Reading Informational Text
8.RI.KID.1 Analyze what a humiliation persecution traumatized
text says explicitly and draw
logical inferences; support an
interpretation of a text by citing Why These Words? The concept vocabulary words from the text are
relevant textual evidence. related. With your group, determine what the words have in common.
8.RI.CS.4 Determine the meaning Write your ideas and add another word that fits the category.
of words and phrases as they are
used in a text, including figurative,
connotative, and technical

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meanings; analyze the impact of
specific word choices on meaning
and tone, including analogies and Practice
allusions to other texts.
Notebook Confirm your understanding of the concept vocabulary
8.RI.CS.6 Determine an author’s
point of view or purpose in a
words by correctly using each one in a sentence.
text and analyze how the author
acknowledges and responds to
conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
Language Word Study
8.L.VAU.4 Determine or clarify
the meaning of unknown and Notebook Word Families The noun trauma is the base word for a
multiple-meaning words and word family, or group of related words, that includes the verb traumatize,
phrases based on 8th grade-level
text by choosing flexibly from a the adjective traumatic, and the adverb traumatically. For each of the
range of strategies. following words, identify at least two words that are part of its word
b. Use common grade- family: captive; humility; injure.
appropriate morphological
elements as clues to the
meaning of a word or a phrase.

226 UNIT 2 • THE HOLOCAUST

 ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How do we remember the past?

Analyze Craft and Structure

Author’s Purpose and Point of View An author’s purpose is his
or her reason for writing. In a broad sense, a writer’s purpose may be
to inform or explain, to persuade, or to entertain. Usually, an author’s
purpose is some mixture of all of those things. No matter what an
author’s purpose, his or her point of view will influence the writing.

An author’s point of view is his or her perspective on a topic. It is

shaped by the author’s knowledge, beliefs, and experiences. Sometimes,
an author states his or her point of view directly. Often, however, readers
must use evidence in the text to make inferences, or educated guesses,
to determine the author’s point of view.
When you analyze author’s purpose and point of view, focus on how the
author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
Doing so will reveal telling details about an author’s position—how the
author distinguishes his or her perspective from those who may disagree.

CITE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

Practice to support your answers.

Notebook Reread Elie Wiesel’s Acceptance Speech for the Nobel

Peace Prize. Work with your group to analyze the speech, and determine
Wiesel’s purposes and point of view. Use the chart to record your ideas.
Then, answer the questions that follow.

PURPOSE AND POINT OF VIEW EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTS MY INFERENCE

Purpose #1:

Purpose #2:

Point of View:
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1. (a) In paragraph 7, Wiesel claims, “Because if we forget, we are guilty,

we are accomplices.” What do you think he means by this statement?
(b) What does this statement reveal about his point of view?

2. What is Wiesel’s point of view, or perspective, on the individual’s

responsibility to end human suffering? Identify a quotation from the
text that supports your response.

3. Review paragraphs 9–11 of the speech. (a) How does Wiesel

acknowledge and respond to other viewpoints on contemporary
political conflicts? (b) What aspects of his unique point of view does
he use to distinguish, or differentiate, his viewpoint from others?

Acceptance Speech for the Nobel Peace Prize 227

 LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Conventions
Perfect Tenses of Verbs The tense of a verb shows the time of an
action or a condition. Each of the perfect tenses describes an action or
a condition that was or will be completed before a certain time, or a past
ACCEPTANCE SPEECH FOR
action or condition that continues into the present.
THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
Perfect tenses are formed by adding a form of the verb have to the past
participle of the main verb.

VERB TENSE EXAMPLE

present perfect: action in the past I have tried to call you five times.
that continues into the present

past perfect: action in the past that I had tried to text but got no reply.
ended before another past action

future perfect: action in the future If I call again, I will have tried to
that will have ended before a contact you six times.
certain point in time

Read It
Work with your group to identify examples of the use of the present
perfect tense in Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.
Then, discuss as a group the significance of Wiesel’s use of the present
perfect tense.

EXAMPLE SIGNIFICANCE

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STANDARDS
Language
8.L.CSE.1 Demonstrate Write It
command of the conventions of
standard English grammar and Notebook Write a paragraph about something that you have been
usage. doing for some time and continue to do. Use the present perfect tense at
b. When reading or listening, least twice in your paragraph, marking each use.
explain the function of verbs.

228 UNIT 2 • THE HOLOCAUST

 EFFECTIVE EXPRESSION

Speaking and Listening

Assignment
With your group, conduct a discussion on one of the following
quotations from Elie Wiesel’s speech.
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor,
never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the
tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.” (paragraph 8)

“What all these victims need above all is to know that they are
not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their voices
are stifled we shall lend them ours, that while their freedom
depends on ours, the quality of our freedom depends on theirs.”
(paragraph 12)
! EVIDENCE LOG
Before moving on to a
Prepare for the Discussion Prior to the discussion, review the speech new selection, go to your
individually and briefly respond to the following questions: Evidence Log and record
what you learned from Elie
• What does the quotation mean? What larger idea is Wiesel trying to Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize
communicate? acceptance speech.

• How does Wiesel develop and support the ideas expressed in the
quotation throughout his speech?

Use your responses to these questions to guide your group discussion.

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During the Discussion Before you begin your discussion, assign roles
for each member of your group. Roles may include a group leader,
who keeps the discussion on topic; a timekeeper, who makes sure the
discussion stays within the timeframe designated by your teacher; and a
note-taker to record the group’s ideas. Use these guidelines to ensure a
productive group discussion:

• Draw on the speech to explore and develop your ideas. Be sure to

refer to specific passages to support your opinions.
• Take turns speaking, and listen attentively as other group members STANDARDS
express their thoughts and opinions. Speaking and Listening
8.SL.CC.1 Prepare for collaborative
• Be respectful of others’ ideas and opinions. If you disagree with a discussions on 8th grade level topics
speaker, express your difference of opinion respectfully and politely. and texts; engage effectively with
varied partners, building on others’
ideas and expressing one’s own ideas
clearly.

Acceptance Speech for the Nobel Peace Prize 229

 MAKING MEANING

About the Author

from Maus
Media Vocabulary
The following words will be useful to you as you analyze, discuss, and
write about graphic novels.

panel: individual frame of • The panels work together to tell a story.

Art Spiegelman (b. 1948)
is an American author and
illustrator whose Holocaust
narratives—Maus (1986)
and Maus II (1991)—helped
to establish the graphic
novel as a sophisticated
literary form. Maus was
serialized from 1980
to 1991, and it depicts
Spiegelman interviewing his
father about his experiences
as a Polish Jew and
Holocaust survivor.
a graphic novel depicting • The panels cannot show everything
a single moment that happens, so readers must use their
imaginations to fill in the blanks.
encapsulation: choice of • The layout and choice of the scenes drives the
which scenes to capture, readers’ interpretations.
or display, in panels • Graphic novelists can use different sizes and
shapes to give more or less weight to scenes.
speech balloon: display • The size, shape, and color of the speech
of what a character is balloon can show the emotion of the speaker.
speaking or thinking • Speech balloons can also show emotion
through the use of punctuation marks and
musical symbols.

First Review MEDIA: GRAPHIC NOVEL

Apply these strategies as you conduct your first review. You will have an
opportunity to a close review after your first review.

LOOK at each image and NOTE elements in each image

determine whom or what it that you find interesting and
portrays. want to revisit.

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CONNECT details in the RESPOND by completing

images to other media you’ve the Comprehension Check.
STANDARDS experienced, texts you’ve
Reading Literature read, or images you’ve seen.
8.RL.RRTC.10 Read and
comprehend a variety of literature at
the high end of the grades 6–8 text
complexity band independently and
proficiently.
Language
8.L.VAU.6 Acquire and accurately
use grade-appropriate general
academic and domain-specific words
and phrases; develop vocabulary
knowledge when considering
a word or phrase important to
comprehension or expression.

230 UNIT 2 • THE HOLOCAUST

 MEDIA | GRAPHIC NOVEL

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BACKGROUND
In Maus, Art Spiegelman tells the story of his parents, Vladek and Anja
Spiegelman, who survived the Holocaust. At the start of this excerpt,
Vladek and Anja are living in hiding with Mrs. Motonowa, whose
husband does not know she is hiding Jews. They arrange a meeting with
smugglers at the house of a woman named Mrs. Kawka to discuss plans
to be smuggled out of Poland.
from Maus 231
 1

7
3

232 UNIT 2 • THE HOLOCAUST

4

8
2

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 Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.

15
13
11
12
10

16
14

from Maus 233

 19
17

21

234 UNIT 2 • THE HOLOCAUST

18

22
23
20

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 Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.

27
25

29

30
24

31
28
26

from Maus 235

 37
34

35
32

236 UNIT 2 • THE HOLOCAUST

33

36

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 Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.

47
45
42
38
39

43

48
46
41

44
40

from Maus 237

 52
50
49

51

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 Comprehension Check
Complete the following items after you finish your first read. Review and clarify
details with your group.

1. Why does Vladek Spiegelman want to go to Hungary?

2. What does Anja Spiegelman feel about the smuggling idea?

3. Once the Spiegelmans are on the train, whom do the smugglers say they’re calling?
Whom do they actually call?

4. Why does Vladek Spiegelman wear a pig mask in some of the panels of the graphic
novel?
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5. Notebook Confirm your understanding of the excerpt by writing a summary..

RESEARCH
Research to Clarify Choose at least one unfamiliar historical detail in the graphic novel.
Briefly research that detail. In what way does the historical information shed light on the
story?

Research to Explore The excerpt from the graphic novel may inspire you to learn more
about the plight of European Jews under the Nazis. Formulate a research question about
the subject, and briefly research it. Share your findings with your group.

from Maus 239

 MAKING MEANING
from MAUS
! WORD NETWORK
Add words related to the
Holocaust from the text to
your Word Network.
STANDARDS
Writing
8.SL.CC.2 Analyze the purpose of
information presented in diverse
media formats; evaluate the motives,
such as social, commercial, and
political, behind its presentation.
Language
8.L.VAU.6 Acquire and accurately
use grade-appropriate general
academic and domain-specific words
and phrases; develop vocabulary
knowledge when considering
a word or phrase important to
comprehension or expression.
240 UNIT 2 • THE HOLOCAUST
Close Review
With your group, revisit sections of the graphic novel you
marked during your first read. What do you notice? What
questions do you have? What can you conclude?
CITE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE
Analyze the Media to support your answers.
Notebook Complete the activities.
1. Review and Clarify With your group, review the panels that focus
on Miloch and his family. Where are they living? What are they doing
there? How do the graphics help you understand their situation?
2. Present and Discuss Now, work with your group to share the panels
that you found especially significant or moving. Take turns presenting
your panels. Discuss what you noticed, what questions you asked, and
what conclusions you reached.
3. Essential Question: How do we remember the past? What has
this graphic novel taught you about how we remember the past?
Discuss with your group.
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Media Vocabulary
panel encapsulation speech balloon
Use these vocabulary words in your responses to the following
questions.
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1. What technique does the author use to show that a character is
speaking?
2. How does the author give special emphasis to important scenes, lines
of dialogue, or exchanges between characters?
3. How does the author help readers interpret the story in a
graphic novel?