World History X: Night Project & Resources

Directions: Use this post as a hub for all Elie Wiesel and Night related information. Here you can get background information on the novel, biographical on the Author, and historical information on the period of time.  The resources will change from time to time so please check back while you read the novel.

Project: Reactive Scrapbook - Due Monday May 16
For each chapter in Night, you will provide a one-page reaction to events that took place in the chapter. Focus on multiple events and identify any questions you may have as a result of consuming the chapter.

Your scrapbook will consist of a Cover Page, 9 pages of writing, and 9 pages of a mix of sketches, pictures from magazines, internet, or pictures taken by you.  When you open the scrapbook, the images will be on the left, writing on the right.  Each image page must have 4 different images relating to the events, mood, theme, or aspects from the chapter. See the example below to get a sense for what I would like to see when I open your scrapbook.

Help With The Novel
Reading Guide for the novel Night

Biographical Information on Wiesel
Nobelprize.org
Bio on Wiesel
Oprah interviews Wiesel

Historical Background on Time Period

Holocaust Museum
Archived Footage 
Timeline of the Holocaust

Writing Subjects/Topics:

Possessions:

·         If you had to leave your home today and could only take what you could carry in a small backpack, what would you take? Why are these things of value to you personally?

·         What are your most prized possessions? Why?

·         How would giving up all of your material possessions change your views on what is important in life? How would your priorities change?

Identity:

·         In what ways do you feel the place or places you consider “home” have shaped you?  How much of an influence do the places you are from affect your identity? Explain.

·         What are some of the ways in which your identity is repressed on a daily basis? Think about school rules, parents' rules, etc. How does this repression make you feel?

·         What are some ways in which a person’s identity can put them at a disadvantage in today's world? What are some examples of these disadvantages you see on the news or around the community?

Relationships:

• Who are some of the most important people in your life? Why? 
• Who do you feel has mostly impacted who you are today? How? What attributes do they possess that you value?  Describe this person and a fond moment you have of them.
• What do your family members expect of you? What and whom do they want you to become? Do you agree with what they want for you? Why or why not?

Freedom:

·         Address the following in a journal entry about freedom: How do you define freedom? What freedoms are important to you? How much freedom should people have? How is your freedom limited?

·          If you were forced to give up your home, possessions, family, and freedoms, what affect would this have on you?

·         Describe a time when your freedom was taken away from you. Have you ever been grounded, told you could not do something that you wanted to do? What was your response?

·         Do you have more freedom or less freedom than your parents had at your age? In what ways might your freedoms be different from theirs? In what ways might your freedoms be similar to theirs? Why?

·         How much freedom should people have? When is it okay to limit freedom? When is it not? Provide examples from texts, movies, speeches, historical events to support.

Resistance:

·         How would you define resistance? In what ways can a person resist things?  Does resistance need to be an open or shown action? How have you shown resistance in your life? What were you resisting and why?

·         In what ways do we see Elie and the prisoners around him resist? What are he/they resisting? How? Why?

Beliefs, Values and Challenges:

·         When have you been faced with a time your beliefs were challenged? What challenged your beliefs? Why? How did you handle it?

·         What has been your greatest life challenge? Were you able to overcome this challenge and what did you have to do?

·         What is something you have sacrificed to help someone else? Describe the situation and your feelings.

·         Respond to the following quote from Joseph Joubert: “It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.”

·         Respond to the following quote from Rollo May: “The opposite of courage is not cowardice, it is conformity.”