Essay Prompt for "Night" (Essay due Friday, March 14th)

Night
by Elie Weisel
(This is your chance to demonstrate your understanding of Elie Weisel's book. Make sure you include everything you think is appropriate in meeting this goal).

WRITING TASK
Personal identity is a combination of many factors. It includes both the labels others place on us and the words and phrases we use to describe ourselves. In Night, Elie Wiesel tells the story of a 15-year-old boy who survived a time in Europe when millions of children, women, and men were systematically murdered solely because of their ancestry. He focuses on the final year of the Holocaust--a year the author spent at the Nazi death camp Auschwitz--and tells how that story changed him as a person. When asked why he chose to tell it, he responded by speaking of those who did not survive to tell their own stories. "I owe them my roots and memory. I am duty-bound to serve as their emissary, transmitting the history of their disappearance, even if it disturbs, even if it brings pain. Not to do so would be to betray them, and thus myself." What is he suggesting about the relationship between the story he tells and personal identity? What is he suggesting about the importance of "bearing witness?"

Write an essay in which you discuss how Wiesel explores the following two questions in Night: What is the relationship between our stories and our identity? and To what extent are we all witnesses of history and messengers to humanity? What details and examples does he use to support the main theme of his memoir? What literary devices--i.e. style, tone, diction, mood, characterization, plot development techniques, etc.--does he draw on to evoke and sustain readers' emotional involvement in his story?

CHECKLIST FOR YOUR WRITING
The following checklist will help you do your best work. Make sure you:

• Read the writing prompt carefully.
• Use specific details and examples (reasons, details, facts) from Night to demonstrate your understanding of the selection's main ideas and Wiesel's purpose.
• Organize your writing with a strong introduction, body, and conclusion. (Be sure to include a strong thesis statement by establishing the context for your stance, and then your viewpoint--otherwise known as subject + opinion).
• Choose specific words that are appropriate.
• Vary your sentences to make your writing interesting to read.
• Use an appropriate tone and voice.
• Check for mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence formation.