Night by Elie Wiesel

Night  is a both a tragic and beautifully terrifying novel. The style of the writing is a bit different than traditional prose due to its "choppy" nature, but I feel this is an excellent choice as it seems to better reflect the thought process and mental processes of a child. The manner in which it is written feels authentic, mostly because it is, but also because it captures in frightful accuracy through powerful imagery the horrors of the Holocaust. I am not sure if I will end up assigning or teaching a unit based off of this book as I almost feel it would be better suited for a class on world history, but I will definitely have it on hand for any student to read should they choose to. Perhaps I could pull pieces from this book to show examples of different styles of narration while also showing important historical information. In my own experience, I was always told to keep making sentences longer and longer and more elaborate. Now, when trying to write creatively or otherwise, I find it difficult to shorten my sentences. It's hard to make sentences that stand out. So taking sections from this book that highlight how sentence structure and word choice are used to convey particular meanings and perspectives would be something I think I would do well to analyze and point out to students. To illustrate how effective these narrative choices are, I could compare them side by side with interviews with other Holocaust survivors and soldiers or also incorporate choice selections from documentaries that show exactly what it is that Elie Wiesel was describing. All in all, I feel that this is an excellent and important book that should not be forgotten. While it may not be an enjoyable read, it is certainly a warranted one.

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