Night Seminar Questions

1. As Night begins, Eliezer is so moved by faith that he weeps when he prays. He is also searching for a deeper understanding of the mystical teachings of the Kabbalah. How does Eliezer's relationship with his faith and with God change as the book progresses?

2. What literal and symbolic meanings does "night" have in the book?

3. Early in the book, after Moishe the Beadle escapes his execution, no one, not even Eliezer, believes his tales (p. 7). Even when the Germans arrive in Sighet and move all the Jews into ghettos, the Jewish townspeople seem to ignore or suppress their fears. "Most people thought that we would remain in the ghetto until the end of the war, until the arrival of the Red Army. Afterward everything would be as before" (p. 12). What might be the reasons for the townspeople's widespread denial of the evidence facing them?

4. Think of the kapos and the little blonde pipel who is hanged on page 64. Who are the bystanders? Who are the perpetrators? Who are the victims in Night? Do these roles sometimes overlap?

5. At the end of Night, Wiesel writes: "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" (p. 115). What parts of Eliezer died during his captivity? What was born in their place?

6. What scenes from Night do you remember most vividly? Have they made you look at the world or your family differently?

7. In his 1986 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Wiesel says: "[O]ne person of integrity can make a difference, a difference of life and death. As long as one dissident is in prison, our freedom will not be true. As long as one child is hungry, our life 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" (p. 120). How has Elie Wiesel fulfilled this purpose with this book? How does this statement make you feel about your place in the world?

Seminar Questions

Things Fall Apart Seminar Questions

Be prepared to answer each of these questions. Have text marked to back up your opinion! You r names will be randomly drawn to answer.

Throughout the novel, Chinua Achebe provides opposites, or foils, to help the reader understand the characters’ motivation and/or the culture. Based on your reading and our discussion, explain how either
Okonkwo and Obierika are foils of one another
OR
Nwoye and Ikemefuna are foils of one another.

In your discussion, make sure you include specific details.
In chapter three, the narrator tells us that Okonkwo “was possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death.” Give three examples from Okonkwo’s life which prove this statement to be true.

An Umuofian proverb states, “If a child washed his hands, he could eat with the kings.” Explain how Okonkwo has “washed his hands” of his father’s legacy.


Using Okonkwo’s relationship with Ikemefuna, Ezinma and Nwoye, define fatherhood according to the Umuofians.

Discuss three causes and three effects of the accidental shooting at the end of Part One.

Explain the significance of the title of the novel.

How does the cultural information in Part One prepare the reader for the remainder of the novel? Give at least 3 examples.

Do you believe Obierika was a true friend to Okonkwo? Why? Would Okonkwo agree or disagree? Why?

Describe how the villagers disappoint Okonkwo in the end? How does Okonkwo’s exile contribute to this disappointment?

Discuss three changes the Umuofians experience during the novel. How do you think the culture will change as a result?

Due Dates for Second Period

Signature Assessment- Thursday
Things Fall Apart Seminar- Friday
Things Fall Apart Test- Monday
Childhood Memory- Tuesday

Where I'm From Poem

The WHERE I'M FROM Template
I am from _______ (specific ordinary item), from _______ (product name) and _______.
I am from the _______ (home description... adjective, adjective, sensory detail).
I am from the _______ (plant, flower, natural item), the _______ (plant, flower, natural detail)
I am from _______ (family tradition) and _______ (family trait), from _______ (name of family member) and _______ (another family name) and _______ (family name).
I am from the _______ (description of family tendency) and _______ (another one).
From _______ (something you were told as a child) and _______ (another).
I am from (representation of religion, or lack of it). Further description.
I'm from _______ (place of birth and family ancestry), _______ (two food items representing your family).
From the _______ (specific family story about a specific person and detail), the _______ (another detail, and the _______ (another detail about another family member).
I am from _______ (location of family pictures, mementos, archives and several more lines indicating their worth).

January 29

1st period- Extra Credit Opportunity- Watch the State of the Union Address. Write 5 things you agree with and 5 things you disagree with.

2nd- Read Chapters 5 and 6 for Monday & Chapters 7 and 8 for Tuesday. Complete the "Where I'm From Poem."

3rd- Work on the Oedipus Study Guide

January 26, 2010

1st- Have paper signed.

2nd- Have paper signed. Bio-poem for your favorite character.

•line 1 First name
•line 2 Four traits to describe line 1
•line 3 related to/sibling of
•line 4 Who cares about
•line 5 Who feels
•line 6 Who needs
•line 7 Who gives
•line 8 Who fears
•line 9 Who would like to see
•line 10 Resident of
•line 11 last name

10.28.09

1st-
* Read Chapter 11
* work on comparison papers- worksheets WILL be collected tomorrow!

2nd-
* study your vocabulary stems for your midterm
* If you didnt turn in your worksheet, make sure it is ready for collection tomorrow!

4th-
* Finish Chapter 2
* Study guide