Student Question

How did the French girl comfort the narrator in Night?

Quick answer:

In "Night," the French girl comforts Eliezer after he is beaten by Idek. She wipes the blood from his face with her cool hand, gives him a mournful smile, and secretly hands him a crust of bread. She then advises him to "bite your lips" and "keep your anger, your hate, for another day," encouraging him to remain strong and patient, suggesting that a time will come when he can express his emotions.

Expert Answers

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Elie Wiesel doesn't use chapter numbers, but this particular scene occurs about halfway through the book (on pages 52-53 in my edition) just as the narrator, Eliezer, is breathing a little easier after ensuring that his gold crown will not be pulled.

To find this scene, look for the words, "In the warehouse, I often worked..." at the start of a new section.

What we see here is that the narrator is simply doing his work when Idek, the leader of the crew, attacks him and beats him bloody for absolutely no reason. The narrator just tells us that Idek was "venting his fury."

Eliezer is recovering in a corner when the French girl approaches him. We'd seen her mentioned at the beginning of this section, so we knew she would come into the scene and do something important.

Here's how she comforts him:

First, she wipes the blood off his face with her "cool hand," gives him a "mournful smile," and then sneaks "a crust of bread" into his hand.

And then the section ends after she pauses, then tells him:

"Bite your lips, little brother... Don't cry. Keep your anger, your hate, for another day, for later. The day will come but not now... Wait. Clench your teeth and wait..."

What she means is, "Be strong. You're upset, and you should be, but don't show it now. Some time in the future, you can let out your anger and hate."

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