Night Essay Prompts, Topics, & Questions

Do you need to write an essay on Elie Wiesel’s Night? Are you feeling too overwhelmed and don’t know how to start? No worries!

In this article, we’ve gathered everything you need to create an outstanding Night essay: topics, the most insightful questions, valuable prompts, and useful examples.

Essay Topics
Writing Prompts
Essay Questions
Samples
Hook Examples

Elie Wiesel’s Night Essay Topics

Betrayal in Night.
Night as a semi-autobiographic memoir.
Compare the protagonist of Night and its author.
What is the role of faith in Night?
Family in Night: a boon or a bane?
The role of Idek in Night by Wiesel.
Psychological aspects of survival in extreme conditions, according to Night.
How were the ghettos portrayed in Night?
Elie Wiesel’s mission of reconciliation.
Traumatic consequences of the Holocaust in Night.
According to Night, which human side is stronger: good or evil?
The path from suffering to hope in Night.
What was the Night’s influence on modern literature?
The embodiment of humiliation and terror against the Jewish folk in Elie Wiesel’s Night.
How did Wiesel’s personal story impact Night’s plot?
Why was the Nobel Peace Prize granted to Elie Wiesel?
Human degradation in Night.
How did Elie Wiesel contribute to literature about the Holocaust?
The meaning of friendship between prisoners in Night.
How did Elie Wiesel apply literary devices in his novel?
The transformation of Eliezer’s personality throughout the book.
Describe the main character’s personality at the beginning of the book. What were the boy’s interests? How did he perceive the world living in Sighet? Examine how the concentration camp changed Eliezer’s attitude towards life.
The significance of family ties in Night by Elie Wiesel.
Analyze the relationship between Eliezer and his father. In your opinion, are family ties a powerful or a destructive force for the main character? State your position and support it with good examples.
Night: just a title or a powerful symbol?
Does night itself symbolize anything in the book? If yes, what? What role does the symbol of the night play for the comprehension of the entire story? To make your essay more dynamic, consider inserting relevant quotes from the book.
The religious context in Night, a novel by Elie Wiesel.
Investigate Eliezer’s attitude towards God. Compare and contrast his perception of divine powers in the beginning and at the end of the book. What factors influenced the transformation of the main character’s worldview?
Did Eliezer become a stronger or a weaker person?
Analyze Eliezer’s transformation. Did the obstacles he went through make him feel weaker or stronger? Present your point of view and support it with valid arguments and appropriate evidence from the text.
Is there a life after the concentration camp?
“From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me” (Eliezer, Night). How do you think Eliezer’s life will look like after the camp? Is there any chance he will be able to get back to everyday life?

Eliezer’s relief after his father’s death: a betrayal or a normal reaction?
Why do you think Eliezer felt like he got rid of the burden after his father passed away? Should the main character be ashamed about it? Analyze how the trials Eliezer went through transformed his attitude towards his dad.
Hell on Earth.
Describe the Nazi’s inhuman actions toward the deported Jews. What were the Nazi’s intentions? After Eliezer witnessed the tourers in the concentration camp, did he lose faith in God? Or did he only started questioning God’s justice and kindness?
The unexpected interpretation of the symbol of fire.
The fire is the central symbol Elie Wiesel includes in his book. Analyze its meaning and significance. Compare and contrast the role of the fire in Night and the Bible. Why do you think the author interprets fire in quite an unusual way?
The significance of Night by Elie Wiesel for the audience of the 21^st century.
Think about the lessons the modern readers could learn from this book. Will you suggest reading it to your children? In your opinion, can Night become outdated and irrelevant one day?

Night Essay Prompts

Use the following writing prompts for Night by Elie Wiesel to find inspiration for your next essay.

Themes in Night by Elie Wiesel Essay Prompt

Night has multiple themes that unfold as the plot goes. You can base your paper on one of these themes, including:

Losing and gaining faith. In your essay, study Eliezer’s faith at the beginning of the book and how it transforms at the end.
Inhumanity. Why do some characters in Night act sadistically? Explicate what made them so cruel.
Identity. Did Eliezer keep his identity, or did he lose it? Clarify your opinion with the help of quotes.

Dehumanization in Night Essay Prompt

Dehumanization is one of Night’s central concepts. Here are some ideas on that topic for you to use in your writing:

Eliezer’s loss of morale. In your work, scrutinize how Eliezer’s moral compass altered from the start of the novel till its ending.
Idek and his cruelty. Why did Idek follow Nazi’s commands despite being Jewish himself? State your viewpoint.
Numbers instead of names. Prisoners of the concentration camp are not permitted to use their names. Why was this practice employed, and how did prisoners manage to preserve their identities?

Night: Father-Son Relationship Essay Prompt

Another theme that you can notice in Night is family relations during the Holocaust. Here are some possible topics that you can research:

Eliezer and his father. Throughout the book, Eliezer frequently wonders if it would be better to live without his father or if he should attempt to protect him. What decision did he make and why?
Rabbi Eliahou and his son. Eliahou’s son decides to abandon his father. Did he make the proper choice?
Father and son Meir on the train. Meir beats his father to take a crust from him. What made him do it? Was he right or wrong? Explore it in your essay.

Prompt for an Essay on Night by Elie Wiesel: Hope

In Night, you can spot numerous cases of hope helping people go through the terrors of concentration camps. Your paper can study one of these aspects:

A man cannot live without hope. In Night, the readers can observe the horrible sufferings of the Jewish people, yet Eliezer still survives. Did hope support him? State your position in your essay.
What is stronger, a hope or a fear? Nazis made life unbearable for their prisoners. Despite that, Eliezer didn’t give up and continued to live. Explain how his hope made him overcome his fear and apathy.
Is there still hope that Eliezer will live a normal life after the end of Night? In the final chapter, we see Eliezer as a living corpse. In your paper, clarify whether his hope would allow him to recover after the Holocaust or if it was lost for him.

Loss of Faith in Night Essay Prompt

Hope is often questioned in Wiesel’s novel Night. If you want to research this topic, take a look at the following prompts:

Eliezer’s faith crisis. The protagonist goes from being a faithful person to being convinced that God doesn’t exist. Analyze this dynamic and expand on what influenced Eliezer.
God’s silence. Eliezer and his friends are forced to question how an all-knowing, all-powerful God could permit such atrocities and brutality to take place. What’s your opinion on this? Share it in your essay.
Why did Eliezer still believe in God? Despite losing his faith, he believed that God had actually assisted him in surviving the Holocaust. Why do you think he came to this viewpoint?

Night Essay Questions

Could Night have a different ending?
In what ways does Eliezer’s connection with God evolve in the book?
Why was Idek cruel towards prisoners?
Why did Wiesel name his book Night?
What is the role of Juliek’s violin in the narrative?
What provides Eliezer with the fortitude to endure the nightmares of the Holocaust?
Why was Night written from the first-person perspective?
What makes Eliezer tell Stein false information about his family?
Why does Eliezer separate his mind from his body?
What’s the meaning behind Eliezer’s mirror reflection at the end of the book?
Does Eliezer manage to avoid turning into a brute?
Why does Eliezer speak of prisoners as “creatures”?
What is the significance of Eliezer’s number A-7713?
What is the central theme in Night?
What makes humans turn into brutes, according to Night?
What’s the function of Madame Schachter in the narrative?

Night by Elie Wiesel: Essay Samples

In case you lack the inspiration to compose your Night essay, we collected the most insightful samples. Read their summaries, choose the one you most liked, and create your outstanding piece of writing!

Father-Son Relationships in Eliezer Wiesel’s Book “Night”
Are you about to write an essay on the evolution of the relationship between Eliezer and his father? Take a look at this example! You will find an analysis of the family ties and a bunch of crucial quotes.
Jews’ Suffering in “Night” by Elie Wiesel Literature Analysis
The given essay sample explores the trials the Jews were forced to go through during the Holocaust. Also, you will find some insights into Eliezer’s struggle to maintain his faith in God. Check it out!
Events in the Concentration Camps: “Night” by Elie Wiesel
This essay gives a general overview of the events that occurred to Eliezer and his fellow Jews in several concentration camps. Also, the author focuses on the effect of hardships on the relationship between Eliezer and his father.
Eliezer and His Father in Elie Wiesel’s Night
How did Eliezer change his attitude towards his father as the plot progresses? Curious about the reasons for the main character’s personality transformation? Read this essay and grasp the answers to all of your questions!
Elie’s Life in “Night” by Elie Wiesel
The following essay will take you into a long journey of Eliezer’s life, starting from Sighet and ending in the hospital in front of the mirror. Are you ready to feel compassion towards the main character? Check this essay out!

Elie Wiesel’s “Night” – Eliezer’s Faith in God
Eliezer’s relationship with God takes a separate storyline in the book. Do you want to investigate it? Take a look at this essay!
Family Relationship in ”Night” by Elie Wiesel
At the beginning of the book, Eliezer’s family is an exemplary one in Sighet. But how do the family ties shift throughout the story? Do they weaken or strengthen? Read this sample and figure it out!

Hook for Night Essay: Best Examples

The best possible hook types that you can use for a paper on Night are a rhetorical question, quote, and a misconception:

Rhetorical question. This type of hook is commonly used because it compels readers to look for the answer. An essay on Night could begin with the query such as this:
How can humanity become so cruel?
Quote. A strong quote at the beginning of an essay always brings a lot of attention. For instance:
To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.
Misconception. Just like an unexpected fact, a hook that clears up a widespread mistake surprises and enlightens the reader on something they probably didn’t know. For example:
Many people state that Elie Wiesel wrote Night as autobiography. In fact, its main character has many differences from the author.