Themes, symbols, and motifs come alive when you use a storyboard. They're an essential part of any story, and help readers make connections to the material. Students can track themes and symbols in Night and support their choices with details from the text.
At the beginning of the novel, Wiesel focuses heavily on the fact that his intended occupation was to study and learn all he could about his religion. However, as time progress and increasingly heinous atrocities occurred, Elie’s faith is shaken.
Three times in the novel Elie brings the reader's attention to familial relationships between fathers and their sons. Often it is to capture the mistreating of elders. For example the story of Rabbi Eliahou’s son, who leaves his father to die during the death march.
In the novel, Wiesel describes two types of silence. The first being the silence of the victims and their lack of resistance to the Nazis. The second refers to the silence Elie hears when his prayers go unanswered. Again, he believes that God has turned his back, or is absent, in his time of need.
In the novel, Wiesel uses fire to symbolize God's divine wrath, as well as the Nazis' power and destruction. The first appearance is when Mrs. Schächter believes she sees fire out of the train window. Several times she screams out, however, to the others it is only a vision. When they arrive in Berkinau, all on board see great flames rising from the smokestacks, spewing ashes.
Throughout the novel, Weisel makes biblical allusions to night or darkness. According to the Torah, God began the world by expelling the darkness. Therefore, darkness symbolizes a world without God. Several times in the novel, night is mentioned; this is when suffering is at its worst. For example, the night before being deported, Elie and his family get little rest; the fear of the unknown chokes their ability to sleep.
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that identifies recurring themes in Night. Illustrate instances of each theme and write a short description below each cell.
Engage students regularly by weaving quick theme tracking moments into your lessons. Pause after key scenes and ask students to note a theme or symbol they notice in a dedicated journal or on sticky notes. This builds ongoing awareness and makes theme analysis less overwhelming.
Demonstrate your thought process as you identify a theme or symbol in a passage. Verbalize your reasoning, pointing out specific words or actions that connect to the theme. This helps students see how to move from evidence to interpretation.
Provide students with simple charts or graphic organizers to track themes and symbols as they read. Include columns for evidence and explanations. This makes it easier for students to collect and organize their thoughts before writing or discussing.
Divide your class into small groups and assign each a theme or symbol to discuss. Encourage students to share examples they’ve found and debate how those examples fit the theme. Collaboration helps clarify ideas and strengthen analysis skills.
Invite students to relate a theme or symbol from the novel to their own experiences or to current events. Engaging in personal connections makes abstract ideas more meaningful and memorable for students.
Night explores major themes such as loss of faith, father-son relationships, and silence in the face of suffering. These themes highlight Elie Wiesel’s internal struggles and the impact of the Holocaust on his beliefs and family bonds.
Students can identify symbols and motifs in Night by tracking recurring images or ideas, like fire and night, and connecting them to the novel’s themes. Using a storyboard helps visualize and explain these elements with supporting text details.
In Night, fire symbolizes both God’s wrath and the Nazis’ destructive power. It represents terror and destruction, especially in scenes like Mrs. Schächter’s visions and the flames of Birkenau’s crematorium.
The motif of night in Elie Wiesel’s novel stands for darkness, suffering, and loss of hope. It marks the times of greatest fear and despair for Elie, symbolizing a world without God or comfort.
An effective lesson plan includes having students create storyboards to identify and illustrate recurring themes and symbols in Night. This activity encourages analysis, visual learning, and written reflection to support deeper understanding.