Originally our Night essays were meant to be argumentative. For my revision I dropped all of that and decided to simply try to convey emotion. This piece is meant to tell a story, sure, but it’s also meant to make the listener feel the story. This means that the different parts and sections are not always meant to represent the characters or events but instead are meant to share Elie’s emotional state with the listener. In this vein, the piece begins with what I imagine the peacefulness of a small Romanian village is like. Then, in the background, there begins to be worry of the advancing Nazis. But still life goes on, until all of a sudden the war is upon them. Then there is turmoil and loss, and eventually there isn’t much left of Elie at all. Finally he is liberated, and he slowly begins to be a feeling person again. The different parts and their interactions are also for the purpose of creating emotions. I suppose it’s mostly up for interpretation, but the snare roll, while meant to represent the war, is also meant to evoke stress and urgency. The dissonant contrast of two different parts is meant to represent some sort of conflict in Elie’s mind, where as perfect harmonies are meant to represent when Elie’s mind is clear. While Elie is in Auschwitz and he is mentally dead, a simple series of whole note chords ( the lack of a melody) is meant to convey the lack of substance in Elie’s mind. I hope this piece helps you connect on an emotional level with Night.