Night Themes Motifs Symbols and Important Quotes Literary

Night: Themes, Motifs, Symbols, and Important Quotes

Literary Theme: It is defined as being a main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work that may be stated directly or indirectly. Major Theme - a major theme is an idea that a writer repeats in his work, making it the most significant idea in a literary work. Minor Theme - a minor theme, on the other hand, refers to an idea that appears in a work briefly and gives way to another minor theme.

Themes in Night Eliezer’s Struggle to Maintain Faith – As Elie lives through horrific events he has difficulty believing in a just God who would allow for these things to happen. Silence – 1. Through fear of death he watches others, as well as his father, being beaten in silence. 2. During his internment, he questions why the world allows this to occur without rising up in vocal protest. Cruelty Toward Other Humans – In the various camps we see the prisoners suffer through a number of injustices, but we also see it in Signet prior to the deportation with Moishe the Beadle and between the prisoners themselves.

Literary Motifs: It is an object or an idea that repeats itself throughout a literary work. Motif vs. Theme - a motif contributes toward the development of the/a theme. It is a recurrent image, idea or a symbol that develops or explains a theme while a theme is a central idea or message. Motif vs. Symbol – a symbol, in a literary work may be seen once or twice, but will represent something else and help to understand an idea or a thing. Whereas, a motif is a reoccurring image, idea or sound that help to explain the central idea or theme of the text.

Motifs in Night Tradition – Elie struggles with the commitment to Jewish traditions inside of the different camps. The internal conflicts he suffers through are caused by the brutality of the circumstances he finds himself in, as well as the tie these traditions have to his life prior to the Holocaust. (Linked to theme of Struggle to Maintain Faith and Cruelty to Others) Religious Observance – In the first portion of the text, Jewish observances/prayers/holidays are spoken about often, but once in the camps, those practices are no longer carried out. We see this especially after the death of Elie’s father. (Linked to all of themes present in the text)

Symbols in Night Fire – Seen twice in the text, fire is the symbol of the cruelty of the Nazis’. The first sight/vision of fire is seen by Madame Schächter who is delirious on the train. The second is when Elie watches the babies thrown into the burning ditch. Fire as an Allusion - In the Bible, fire is associated with God and divine wrath. God appears to Moses as a burning bush, and vengeful angels wield flaming swords. In Gehenna—the Jewish version of Hell—the wicked are punished by fire. Yet in Night, it is the wicked who wield the power of fire, using it to punish the innocent. It is this experience that has upset Elie’s belief in a benevolent, or even just, God.

Symbols in Night Continued… Night – In the Bible, when God first begins his creation, the earth is “without form, and void; and darkness [is] upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1: 2, King James Version). God’s first act is to create light and dispel this darkness. Darkness and night thus symbolize a world without God’s presence. Night always occurs when suffering is worst, and its presence reflects Elie’s belief that he lives in a world without God.