PB1B

Kassandra Sanchez

Zack De Piero

ENG 101-108

10/19/2016

PB1B: Night by: Elie Wiesel

Genre: Historical Novel

Elie Wiesel was known for his unfortunate experiences in the holocaust. One of his greatest writings, in my opinion was ‘Night”, It's a sorrowful retelling of what happened and what led to his imprisonment in several concentration camps. This story is written from his perspective, it shows us his emotions and thoughts during this difficult time. Although i would suggest reading this book from beginning to end there are a couple of different ways to read it.  ‘Reading Like a Writer’ is definitely what to do if you are reading this book for a paper or even for your own entertainment. This story is full of dreadful and heart wrenching words and quotes, “Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere.”- Elie Wiesel . Why did the author include it? Why did he organize it in this specific way?  What is he trying to say to us? Why does it sound so poetic?

Reading like an author is defiantly a very sophisticated way of finding and analyzing both the book and the mind of the author. But ‘close reading’ is another great way of getting to know the author and his emotions through his writing. Paying attention to small detail and writing your thoughts on the side allow you to look back and answer any unknown questions. Highlighting also helps a lot. Key Points and important details should be highlighted to remind you of forgotten details. I feel as though in this kind of reading there is no argument nor is there an ‘idea’ other than “there’s good and bad in everyone”. Some would feel very offended if they were told to take a position on this book. Is the author wrong for allowing his father to suffer? Is he wrong for not shedding a tear for him? Although you could go through with this kind of ‘reading strategy’ it would be fairly difficult and controversial but, not impossible.

Visual literacy would definitely enhance and help translate emotions and feelings just as well as ‘words’. By looking at the cover of ‘Night’ what kind of aura or sentiment does it give off? To me it gives off a sad and kinda sinister meaning, Due to the barbed wire that is keeping the boy in one position only, not only that but the boy has no face. It’s almost as if darkness has finally taken over him. Engulfing not only his body but his emotions also. The silhouette has torn clothes and is standing in a defeated stance. I legit just created a summary of the story before reading it, by just looking at the cover,  A picture is worth a thousand words. It adds more detail and could also enhance the reader's experience.( Even though I wouldn't really like to see pictures of his life in Nazi, Germany.)  

Although there are reasons as to why one would have to read this book. Whether it’d be a book report or a class reading. I promise you that ‘close reading or reading like a writer’ will enhance this novel for you. It a amazing piece of literature. Enjoy it.

Links:
Elie Wiesel Quote