Book Report

[GSLeloo]

So in Holocaust studies we have to right a book report on the book "Night". Since myself and others are exempt from the final we get the joy of handing it in three weeks early...

My question is which topic looks the easiest to do... we're given the choice of three and it only has to be one and a half pages but here are the topics

1. Throughout the novel lies are told; lies to other people, lies to oneself. Cite examples from the book in which this takes place. Then evealuate the effectiveness of lies in situations such as the one in which Wiesel found himself. When have you ever done such a thing? Why? Is the lie more damaging than the truth or is the lie what carries you through?

2. "Relationships define lie." Do you agree with this statement? Use examples from "Night" to support your arguement.

3. What theme in "Night" stands otu to you? How can you relate to this in your life today?


I ask because I have no idea and am suffering serious senioritis.... we have to hand it in early so she can grade it to see if we're still exempt (I've had an A+ every marking period)

[The Korean]

I remember very little about "Night".....but the first one i believe should be easier...you just gotta do a little digging.

[GSLeloo]

Key word there is digging... I can spend hours reading a book but if it's actually work I don't want to do it. What sucks is that I have to do this, it's not like Science and Computers that I can just forget cause I know I'm taking the finals...

[Atlanteax]

Originally posted by GSLeloo
So in Holocaust studies we have to right a book report on the book "Night". Since myself and others are exempt from the final we get the joy of handing it in three weeks early...

My question is which topic looks the easiest to do... we're given the choice of three and it only has to be one and a half pages but here are the topics

1. Throughout the novel lies are told; lies to other people, lies to oneself. Cite examples from the book in which this takes place. Then evealuate the effectiveness of lies in situations such as the one in which Wiesel found himself. When have you ever done such a thing? Why? Is the lie more damaging than the truth or is the lie what carries you through?

2. "Relationships define lie." Do you agree with this statement? Use examples from "Night" to support your arguement.

3. What theme in "Night" stands otu to you? How can you relate to this in your life today?


I ask because I have no idea and am suffering serious senioritis.... we have to hand it in early so she can grade it to see if we're still exempt (I've had an A+ every marking period)

I'll offer suggestions on all 3... especially as it should be "simple" with only 1.5 pages.

1) Write about "white lies" versus "malicious lies" (evil intent) versus "normal lies" (lie to deflect blame, not as innocent as white, and not evil as malicious)

2) Write about how the impact of a lie can differ between a bf/gf (or hubby/wife) vs two acquaintances vs two strangers. One could reasonably assume that the lie invoked is more likely to be a "white lie" between bf/gf than between two strangers (no honey, you don't look fat) while it also should be rare for any degree of "malicious lie" between them as opposed to complete strangers (as you'd be hurting someone close to you, as opposed to someone you may never see again).

3) Write about a "moral of the story" that you feel speaking to you from the book, and how it does or can apply to your real life.

.

Hope that this is helpful...

[GSLeloo]

Well "Night" is about.. well I got through ten pages so far and it's about these Jews in Transylvania and the Germans come in and.. I guess they're going to camps, otherwise it's about the Ghetto. Either way it's about the Holocaust.

[FinisWolf]

I also would choose choice number one, as it appears to be the easiest, and there seems to be plenty of room for opinion/your own life experience.

Finiswolf

A page and a half? I could pull that out of my ass.

[Bobmuhthol]

<<A page and a half? I could pull that out of my ass.>>

Siriusle. I've got a two page paper on rohypnol due Friday and I haven't started.

[GSLeloo]

Problem is like.. as much as Miss Ruege loves what I write, she's more strict than an English teacher and wants it to be a fact full, thoughtful, well put together paper. I have 14 days of school left, I don't have the brain left to do it.

[The Korean]

1 should be the most factful, and the bulk of it will be coming straight from the book, while the rest comes from you.

at least she's not making you read Night and Day....and writiing reports on both of them.

[GSLeloo]

I think she gave up... I mean, Miss Ruege was covering our English class today and the boys, most of whom are also in our Holocaust class, were having a game of throwing a roll of toilet paper at each others um... well.. private areas and then whoever got hit would have to nail the other back or be out of the game.

Needless to say Ruege has us watching movies the rest of the year (Finished the Pianist, onto Schindlers List, and next is Bowling for Columbine)

[Bobmuhthol]

<<were having a game of throwing a roll of toilet paper at each others um... well.. private areas and then whoever got hit would have to nail the other back or be out of the game.>>

And what's the problem?

Originally posted by Bobmuhthol
<<A page and a half? I could pull that out of my ass.>>

Siriusle. I've got a two page paper on rohypnol due Friday and I haven't started.

Please, thats almost a cake walk. Your talking to the man who once had to hand write a 5000 word essay on the donning of the military uniform.....in a day.

[GSLeloo]

LoL Um... they're seniors, they're 18 and they're that immature. Plus it's really disrespectful to Miss Ruege because she's the nicest person and they were just taking advantage of her.

I've done 10x worse to teachers.

[Wezas]

http://eolit.hrw.com/hlla/novelguides/hs/Mini-Guide.Wiesel.pdf

Elie lies:
Says his mother has heard Stein's family is alright
Lies about his age to survive "selection"

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/night/characters.html

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&q=Wiesel+%22Night%22+Notes

[GSLeloo]

...<3 <3 <3 <3 Wezas! oh my god I don't know how you did that but you rock.


And am I the only one who had respect for teachers?

I have respect for some teachers.

[Wezas]

The last link is how I did it. Google is the answer to almost all of life's questions.

That and people who post cliff notes.

[The Korean]

depends on the teacher, and how they taught.

I had a news reporter for my junior english class, and she made it really fun. lots of respect for her.

my world geography teacher, made us write notes all the friggin time from what she wrote down, and not from the book....hated her guts.

[Artha]

And am I the only one who had respect for teachers?

I respect most of mine, but they need to know what they're doing. My graphic design teacher for example, is not only creepy but has no clue what she's doing.

[TheEschaton]

Night is a pretty damn quick read, shouldn't be a problem, Leloo.

Some prominent lies, besides the lying for the selection age bit....lying from the doctor to Elie about taking his tooth out for the bit of silver he had....

...lying about the soup...etc.

The lie of "God's Chosen People", IE, the perceived lie among the prisoners of God loving them, considering their situation.

But, however, I think the biggest theme of the book is self-deception, and how Weisel used it to survive.

The thing, though, is that the lie does not make it "better". In fact, Elie seems to lament throughout the book that even though the lie offered him comfort and allowed him to survive, he knew it was a lie. And knowing it was a lie made it all ring hollow to him. In a way, while the lie let him survive - the lie also made him a hollow man, "offering supplication to broken stone" (paraphrase of Eliot's "The Hollow Men").

-TheE-

[TheEschaton]

I always respected my teachers, even if they were frickin' incompetent. It always pissed me off if people would jerk around in class - this is something these people have dedicated their lives too, you can at least give them the time of day.


-TheE-

[FinisWolf]

Originally posted by Bobmuhthol
<<A page and a half? I could pull that out of my ass.>>

Siriusle. I've got a two page paper on rohypnol due Friday and I haven't started.

I have yet to start a paper until the night before. best I did was a 10 page paper in 2 hours and got an A for it.

So take your time, relax, hell, play GS till the night before.

Finiswolf

[Atlanteax]

Originally posted by GSLeloo
And am I the only one who had respect for teachers?

Some teachers I had were excellent teachers... who I later visited during HS hours (I just walk in, in between classes) after graduation from college.

Others were tools, simply put.

Always helped if you had a teacher who know what he/she was doing...

[Wezas]

I had respect for some of my teachers.

The one teacher that failed me was one of the greatest teachers I ever had. I was failed because I didn't do the work, but she constantly tried to help me. Her class was also right after lunch so occasionally I'd be stoned in there and usually didn't pay attention. She told me that she knew I had potential (because my writing technique was better then most of the class), however I wasn't applying myself. Losing my summer to summer school definately made me think twice.

My government teacher was easily distracted. We'd always hear stories about how "back in the day" he had to tell the motel owner that the girl he was with was his wife so he could get a room. "And you wouldn't believe how many times I'd gotten 'Married'". He also spent an entire class teaching us the pyramid scam.

Had a blind teacher for the intro class at NoVa (basically teaching us about classes and routes to take). He was very cool.

[Miss X]

I had a lot of respect for most of my teachers, but I guess I was lucky to be on ALP's during high school so we always got the best teachers since we were more likely to go on to university. M
My high school social science teacher was amazing, I still see her now, she totally inspired me to do a social science degree and I'm doing post grad teacher training in september so in a few months Il be teaching social science in high school! :)

[Latrinsorm]

Originally posted by TheEschaton
I always respected my teachers, even if they were frickin' incompetent. It always pissed me off if people would jerk around in class - this is something these people have dedicated their lives too, you can at least give them the time of day.Incompetence is one thing, malicious incompetence is quite another. I don't care if the teacher sucks at teaching, they're probably more miserable than I am. But if the teacher is a dick and is going to bring us all down with him, he can fuck off.

Also, if there's ANYONE who should know very little about rohypnol, it's Bob.

[Edited on 5-19-2004 by Latrinsorm]

[Bobmuhthol]

<<Also, if there's ANYONE who should know very little about rohypnol, it's Bob.>>

:(

I'm not cool enough to date rape.

[GSLeloo]

Well I just finished it. If any comments are needed go ahead but I don't think it's any good because I don't care too much... I just don't really want to disappoint Miss Ruege.

Christina Norman
5.29.04
Miss Ruege
Holocaust Studies
Night

Throughout history there has always been a debate as to why life exists, what life means, what the point of life is. Some people believe power is life, wealth defines what makes life successful or not, and other such pompous thoughts. I believe that life can be defined by our relationships and how successful we are or aren’t in them. In the book Night by Elie Wiesel his relationship with his father is a key factor in his own personal survival.

Relationships are known to take work. They require attention, nurture, understanding, giving, and support. They are very complex and in the end very satisfactory when a relationship is able to thrive and face all odds but still keep the bonds between them tied. Elie found himself learning that exact lesson when the Germans marched into his town and took his family off to the Holocaust. When they first enter the camps he realizes that being sent to one side, left or right, was worse than being sent to the other. He himself does not know which way will mean life and which death but at the moment it doesn’t matter. “But for the moment I was happy; I was near my father.” Already Elie is finding that what is his reason for staying strong is his father.

Friend relationships can be strong, relationships of soldier and captain are also strong, but nothing can beat the relationships and the amazingly strong bond of a parent and a child. Both parent and child find their reason for remaining alive and remaining strong in each other. The horrors of the concentration camp could not break such a bond between two individuals as close as these. They each knew that as long as the other remained alive and they remained together that they would be able to face each new day. When there was the chance that Elie’s father had been gassed, Elie found himself in a state of panic and a state of losing hope for tomorrow. “I was afraid of finding myself alone that night. How good it would be to die here!” He was in a near panic until he discovered his father had been saved that night.

Elie and his father were able to help each other right until the end. When Elie’s father passed away, Elie would surely have followed if he had not been liberated soon after. The bond was not broken though, not even death. Relationships like that transcend life, death, happiness, and horror. Relationships are the key to life and the strongest can never be broken and can only be a beacon for life.