"Night": Chapter 3: One True Sentence

03/10/2011

Due: Monday, 3/14 @ 7:30 a.m. (Late blogs NOT accepted!)

"All you have to do is write one true sentence.
Write the truest sentence you know."
~Ernest Hemingway~

True sentences are sentences that (1) show the reader what is happening instead of telling, (2) uses sensory words, (3) uses active verbs and (4) never uses any form of the verb "to be" (is, are, was, were, has, have, been).

On page 29, Wiesel writes his true sentence when he comments that his life has been changed by "eight simple, short words." These eight simple, short words are spoken by a SS guard when he says, "men to left, women to the right."

In a well written paragraph of no less than two hundred words (Grammar and Mechanics - 2 point), answer/comment on the following:
~Explain how the characterization of Elie has changed. First explain how Elie was characterized in the first chapter before the arrival of the Nazi's in Sighet then explain how the characterization of Elie change through chapter 3. (4 points)
~Based on the changes you discussed, why do you think the phrase "men to left, women to the right" is considered Wiesel's true sentence? Why/How is it so impactful? (4 points)
~Lastly, give an example of another true sentence that has perhaps changed your life, the life of others, or has impacted history. (2 points)

Comments

Shawn M

03/13/2011 7:33pm

The Jewish community in Sighet was blindsided when the Nazis and Hungarian police took them in to what is know as isolation. In the begging that Jews where told to give up all there importants such as gold or silver. Most of all of them gave in but there were some that didn’t want to give up their gold or silver. So they would bury it into the ground. The police were very smart how they slowly got the Jews to give up most of their rights. Such as making the Jews think that they were kind such as giving chocolate. Slowly but surely thing just became worst. They were all gathered up and put onto a small railroad cart. Just about 80 people were stuffed into this cart. The cart was to small for the amount of people that put into this cart where there was not enough room for people to even sit. The Jews became aware of the situation that they had no clue what was going to happen. They all planned to eat as less as they could the save for tomorrow. They lasted for about two-three days without food nor water. People just wanted to live for tomorrow. The train came to a stop and the door opened the Gestapo came abroad and said in a brief statement if you have any jewelry to give it up or be shot on spot under the German Army order. They were taken off the train and moved to get there hair cut off and clothing removed. Based on my thoughts “Men to the left, woman to the right” and I believe that Elie this had to be the most impacted thing that could have be done to his life. The separation of the two groups is main way of life that he has to live by. His mother and two sister were taken away this is had to be a huge impact on anyone life. A sentence that has made an impact on my life is “life goes on” I heard this from Mr. Anderson. He told me this and it is so true life does not stop when something bad happens it just keeps on going.

George B

03/14/2011 9:05am

Elie and his family arrive in the Jewish concentration camp called Auschwitz after a painful two day train ride. Soon after arriving Elies life has becomes horribly changed. Just after arriving to the concentration camp on the first day Elie becomes separated from his Mother and two sisters. He is now with his father in the concentration camp. Before arriving Elie assumed that he would be put into a work camp. This was what the Gestapo had told the citizens of Sighet before they were forced to leave. However after being separated from his Mother and two sisters, Elie and his Father have not yet been sent to a work camp. Instead they have been sent to assigned baracks where they sleep for much of the day. Elie and his Father get a very small portion of rations each day. They mainly get a piece of bread and some soup. So as a result they are both slowly growing very weak. The sentence, "men to the left, women to the right," has a huge impact on Elies life now. This sentence is what separated him from his Mother and two sisters. Now there is the horrible possibility that he could never see them again. A sentence that i believe has changed my life is, "if you want something, you have to work for it." This sentence was said by my dad. This sentence is proved to be true everyday in life as everyone goes to work and earns a paycheck. Then they use that paycheck to purchase goods.

Anthony G

03/14/2011 3:34pm

Elie’s life has changed dramatically so far. Elie is now separated from his mother and sister. His family had to leave their home and travel many miles in small cattle car filled with 80 people. There wasn’t even enough room to lie down in the cars. Plus you only received a small portion of food and water. After the horrifying journey in the cattle car the men and women were separated into two different camps. “The men to left, women to the right.” This is Wiesel’s true sentence. I feel this sentence to be impactful because this is the point where Elie will no longer be able to see his mom or sister. He has no clue what they are going through or if they survived. What would you do if your mom and sister were just taken away from you without being able to say bye? After being separated from each other, Elie and his father were sent off to another camp where they had to take off all their clothes and get their head shaved. Early the next morning the prisoners were forced to run to another camp where this time they soaked in disinfectant and took a hot shower. After all that was done they had to run again to another camp where this time they received clothes. After putting on the clothes they walked through a town to another camp. This time they were finally able to rest and everyone got sleep. A true sentence that has changed my life is a slogan from my elementary school, “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” This true sentence has taught me to treat everyone equal and not to leave anyone out.

Anthony L

03/14/2011 7:22pm

Elie along with 79 others are in a cattle car which is nailed shut, while they all lose their common decency they also realize they're not just being relocated. One lady, Madame Schachter, starts screaming "Fire!" randomly over and over upsetting everyone enough to bind and gag her. Eventually after the awful journey they reach their destination Auschwitz where Elie Wiesel here's the officer say "Men to the Right, Women to the Left." As he watched his mother and sisters walk away he stuck very close to his dad. I myself could never imagine or even want to be in that position to walk away from your mother and sisters knowing you'll probably never see them again, knowing that your family was split up and you yourself might not have that much longer. Whilst in the camp he had to shave his head, remove his clothes, and get a tattoo. Afterwords he transferred from camp to camp running everywhere where eventually he was able to rest for a slight amount of time until transferred to Buna. A true sentence for me is "Good News Is on the Way" which taught me to always keep my head up and things will always be brighter soon no matter how bad.

Tyler G

03/14/2011 8:09pm

Elie’s life has changed a lot since she was taken into isolation by the Germans. He has been taken away by his mother and his sister, had to be held in an 80 person cattle car that wasn’t big enough for anyone to even lie down, and lacked of food or water. Then he had arrived in Auschwitz and was when the officer had said “Men to the right, Women to the left.” That is when he knew he would never see his mother or sister again. I would not be able to take all of that in not being able to see my mother or all of my sisters. The true sentence “Men to the right, Women to the left” is so impactful because it shows that he knows it’s going to be the last time he will ever see them and him being able to accept that is unbelievable. Afterwards, he was then ordered to take off all his clothes and he had the numbers A-7713 which was what his new name was to the officers. He began to think that Auschwitz would be better then where they had been before. One true sentence that I had always followed is from a great football and baseball player Bo Jackson is “Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.” I think of that quote every time I feel like I can’t do something.

Mark G

03/14/2011 8:37pm

Elie’s life has changed a lot since she was taken into isolation by the Germans. He has been forced away from his parents and his siblings. He was forced to stay in a car box that was made to fit 80 people. They were starving and everyone had there time to take breaks and sit on the floor because it was so crammed in there. Once they arived and Auschwitz the officer or nazzi said "men to the right, women to the left". That is when he realized that he would probably never see his mother or sisters. The saying "men to the right, women to the left" is a very important saying because it shows and makes everyone realize that its going to be the last time they'll ever see them and be able to accept that is unbelievable. Once in the concentration camp, they were all ordered to take of all there clothes and get naked and they each were assigned a number which pretty much showed everyone who they all were. He was astonished at what he was seeing in Auschwitz and could not belive what was about to come his way. One saying that ive always followed and still follow is " In the end, it's not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away". I follow this because it makes me realize that i have to live life and just have fun in a good way that doesnt break the law.

Stefani B

03/14/2011 9:28pm

Elie’s life has changed a lot in chapter 3 of the “Night”. After a long, cramped train ride they finally arrived to the concentration camp. Every body was separated, men from women, old from young. Elie got to stay with his dad, but separated from his mother and sisters. They had to get washed up and shaved their heads and get numbered. The number was inked into his sink and that’s how the officers would know his new “name”. This was only the beginning to this horrible time. They had barley any food or water, they had to sleep on wood bunks with a bunch of other people. “Men to the left, women to the right” I believed it really impacted Elie’s life because at that moment he didn’t know when he was going to see his mother or sisters again. How can anybody go from one day being happy with their family to the next day never knowing when you are going to see them again, it had to be heart breaking. A sentence that has made an impact on my life is “Everything will be alright in the end. If its not, then its not the end”. This is very true because you can t just expect everything to be perfect without going through the rough spots.

Joe W

03/14/2011 9:53pm

Elie’s life in chapter three was changed greatly. He got to the concentration camp with his family and was immediately taken away from his mother and sister. Some of the younger boys went with their mother but Elie stayed with his father. The quote “men to the left and women to the right” effected Elie because it was like they were sheep not in control of anything that was around them. The soldiers could just move them anyway they wanted to. Elie was even told to lie about his age so he could stay with his father. Some of the prisoners on the other hand were telling them that this was the line for the crematorium. Elie was very frightened by this. Elie and his father were no more than two steps away when they were hoarded the opposite way and put into a barracks with many other men. This was a turning point in Elie’s life because he realized that he no longer had any control of his life in any way or form. A quote that has affected my life was by Vince Lombardi and he said, “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” That quote says to try your hardest and don’t give up even if you don’t succeed at first.

Zach N

03/14/2011 10:01pm

In chapter 3 of "Night" Elie's life have had many dramatic changes. It all began when they reached the concentration camp of Auschwitz. The true quote that will always be remembered by Ellie is “Men to the left, woman to the right”. At the time Ellie did not realize this would be the last time he gets to see his mother and sisters. Once the Jews were separated among men and women, they were sent to have their heads shaved and clothes were stripped, then each person was assigned a number. The unique number that was tattoed indicated who that Jew was. A quote that I live by was once said by Gandhi, “We must be the change we want to see”. I think this quote is important because anybody can say they want change, but only the ones that actual show the change, are the ones that make a difference.

Thomas S

03/14/2011 10:02pm

Elie’s life has changed very much since the beginning of the story. He started off as a young fifteen year old boy studying the religion of his family in a Transylvanian town called Sighet. Since then he has been kicked out of his town by the Nazi police and has been transported to Auschwitz a concentration camp. He was then sent on a cattle car to another nearby concentration camp so the soldiers may analyze which Jews would be heading back to Auschwitz along with his father. He was separated from his mother and three sisters. He was instructed to lie about his age to the person in charge of separating the Jews from the weak to the strong. He was instructed to walk towards the crematorium with his father and plenty of other Jews he had walked pass piles of babies being burnt leaving him permanently scarred for life. Just Inches away from the flames he was instructed to walk towards the prisons. Now that he had been selected to be a worker and was kept alive he was forced to make a for day walk from that concentration camp all the way back to Auschwitz. In a short span of time Elie went from a student in a small town to a prisoner with nowhere to go and no one to turn to besides his father.

Alex N

03/14/2011 10:07pm

There have been many changes that have occurred in Elie’s life during chapter three. One of the changes that happened to Elie is that he has been separated from his mother and sisters. Another change that occurred is when they met the prisoner and they were forced to lie about their ages, according to the book Elie has never lied before. Another change in Elie’s life, is that he has to adjust to the fact that any day could be his last, and he that he doesn’t know weather his mother and sister are alive, or dead, or if he will ever see them again. He doesn’t know weather his father will be taken from him, or if he’ll see anyone he knows die. He also has to adjust to the fact that people are being killed and burned right before him. A major change that occurred in Elie’s life, is his faith and his devotion to his faith. While in the camp, he doesn’t recite prayers, or even pray, he doesn’t believe that there is anything to thank God for. Another change that occurred in chapter three was when he was shaved, tattooed, and forced to wear a “uniform.” Elie must also adapt to the changes in his way of life, such as food, water, clothes, friends, etc. I think that “Men to the left, women to the right” is Elie’s true statement because his family was divided, his own blood was being taken away from him, without any explanation as to why, or where they were going, or if he’d ever seen them again. A true statement that I like affected me was “don’t take for granted the little things” because most of the time, many people do take the little things for granted and you never know how fast someone or something can be taken away from you, and when that does happen, then you realize that little things are just as good as the big ones.

Brad B

03/14/2011 10:19pm

Elie’s life has changed dramatically since she was taken by the Germans. His family had been taken from their home and forced into small traveling carts that were filled with 80 people and then sealed shut. There was very limited amounts of food and water. “The men to the left, the women to the right” this is Elie’s true sentence. This sentence has a major effect on him because he now knows he might not ever see his sister or mother again. I don’t think I could ever image me being separated from my mother or family member in such a way. After being separated, Elie and his father were sent to another camp where they were stripped of their clothes and had their heads shaved. With them being fed with as little as a piece of bread, they grow weaker by the day. An inspirational sentence that made an impact on me was “never give up and always give it your best”. I have heard this many times since I was little and it’s followed me all the years I’ve grown up and has always kept me going and never settling less than what I set my goals at.

Jackie R.

03/14/2011 10:48pm

Elie’s life has changed a great deal from being in his town of Sighet, to now working in Auschwitz, a concentration camp. Elie is a young boy of only 15 years old in chapter one. His life is changed dramatically from being taken over by the Nazis in Sighet. Then he was transported in a small cattle car with about 80 people in it to only be separated from his mom and his siblings. Finally, Elie’s dad and him were transported to Auschwitz, where they experience brutal treatment and the threat of always being killed. Elie became known as a young Jewish 18 year old to the Nazis and he also became known as number A-77I3. His true statement is “men to the left, women to the right” because the statement shows how Elie was separated from his mother and sisters. Also is shows how the day had finally come that his family and him had been taken to the concentration camps and under the control of the Nazis, this is the impact it has on the story. A true statement that I have heard is “Don’t take life to seriously, no one gets out alive anyways.” I believe that this quote is a true statement because it reminds you to live your life to the fullest because you don’t have forever to live, no one does.

Amber S

03/14/2011 11:06pm

Elie is being faced with a horrific tragedy that noone should have to endure in their lifetime. After a dreading, packed, two day train ride, the Jewish community arrived in Auschwitz. A Jewish concentration camp. Familes are being seperated, screaming and crying as they are torn from their loved ones. In fear, that they will never see eachother again. Clothes were stripped off and, their heads were being shaved, stealing any dignity they had left. The smell of burning flesh and a lose of hope, they cannot overcome. "What will tomorrow bring? Will it only get worse? Will it be my last day alive?" These thoughts, are constantly going through their minds. Will this nightmare, ever end? "Men to left, women to the right," is considered Wiesel's true sentence. He is instructed to follow the rules, said by the SS Gaurd. This is no control of his. He begins to realize, this wasn't just a sick joke. It's reality. Just as Wiesel has a "true sentence," I have few of my own. Most important being, "Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood." -Ralph Waldo Emerson. Everyday, you are faced with a new challenge, or idea. It's okay to make mistakes, as long as you have learned a valuable lesson. What's important is how you cope with everyday life and continue to make a positive stride.

Connor B

03/15/2011 8:59am

Elie’s life has taken a turn for the worse when they are taken to Auschwitz. What lies in Auschwitz is a camp for Jews. All of the Jews had suffered a horrible train ride there and things were only getting worse. Upon arrival Elie is separated from his mother and sisters, but he is still with his father. They are told by a prisoner to lie about their ages and so they do so and they get through the guards and into the camp, the less fortunate however, were led to death. After being in that camp for not long, Elie and his father are sent to a work camp in Buna where they would face the worst of it. "Good News Is on the Way" is a great line for me because even in the worst of situations you should always keep your head up and hope for the best.

Shaelyn A.

03/15/2011 9:34pm

For a 15 year old life should not be as Elie Wiesel has grown to know, from staying in the ghettos made by Hungarian police in Sighet; to now being separated from his mother and sister in a concentration camp. Life that Wiesel has known before the invasion of the Hungarian police was peaceful, and in an instant it all changed in the mist of the night. Houses were barricaded shut and families were sorted into ghettos, and for awhile it seemed to them to be some what nice. The police began to make themselves at home, until cattle carts started to fill the streets during the middle of the night, and that morning the people of Sighet were beaten until the got into the carts. 80 people into one boxed battle cart. For days they were in the carts, no fresh air, no water, and no bathroom. Day’s after being in the cart the town’s people were ordered out of the cart in utter chaos. Once unloaded from the unbearable conditions of the cattle cart an SS officer shouted one order, once order that changed families for ever. “Men to the Left! Women to the Right!” Silent tears were being shed in the Wiesel family and Elie’s mother and sister Tzipora were separated from Elie and their father. Once separated they were told to march, they were march straight to what they thought was their flaming grave; until, they were told to turn and head for the barracks. When they arrived at the barracks they were told to head for the barber where every hair on their body was shaved off. Then they inhumane life of a concentration camp began, running, brutal beatings, and more running. This is the life that the Jews of Auschwitz would never forget, and yet why the Jews, what makes them different, nothing except a name. ”Men to the Left! Women to the Right!” is a true sentence because it is eight words that had to be demanded by every person who stepped foot on the camps. Those eight words are words that separated most families for the life time, and turned the past into unforgettable memories. One true sentence that I will never for get is, “We Remember,” which was often said after 9/11. 9/11 was such a tragic incident that will never be forgotten by anyone, from United States citizens, to others who were witnesses to the accident, or family to those injured.

Evan H

03/16/2011 7:49am

Elie has arrived at Auschwitz, after being kicked out of his home by nazi's. His quiet peaceful life has just taken a turn for the absolute worst. Worst of all though he has no idea what is yet to come of his living nightmare.The statement "men to the right women to the left" was impactful to Elie because this meant he would no longer be with his family. He was so worried because he didn't want them to get hurt and thought that he would never see them again. Elie could not bare to lose his family they were the only thing that he had. Things were really starting to get real for Elie at this point, having to see smoke coming from the buildings were they were burning human beings. No longer was Elie a 15 year old boy, now he was an 18 year old prisoner to the nazi's. The true sentence that I have heard is "live life to the fullest." This is such a true sentence because you have to live life and take chances. You can't just sit back and expect for things to come to you. Also if you never take a chance you will always wonder what could have been still instead reflecting on what was. That is why I see that sentence as not only true but even words to live by.

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