How do the deportees manage the lack of space inside the cattle car?

They agree to take turns sitting, since not all can lie down

They stack their luggage to create a raised sleeping platform

They divide the wagon into sections by family and stay put

They ask the guards for a second car and are quietly refused

What does the stop at Kaschau make clear to the deportees?

That they are leaving Hungary and passing into German hands

That the war has ended and the transports will be reversed

That the deportation was ordered by mistake and will be undone

That the train has been rerouted back toward their home town

What threat does the German officer attach to the headcount in the wagon?

That if anyone is missing from the eighty, all will be shot

That the sick will be put off the train at the next stop

That the car will get no more water until they arrive

That the wagon will be sealed until the deportees confess

Why has grief unsettled Madame Schächter before the journey even begins?

Her husband and two older sons were deported earlier by mistake

She had already survived an earlier transport and was sent back

Her home in Sighet was burned down in front of her neighbors

She was separated from her youngest child during the roundup

What is the passengers' reaction the first time Madame Schächter screams about fire?

They crowd the window, see only darkness, and think her mad

They look outside at once and confirm flames in the distance

They call the guards, who slide the door open to investigate

They join her cries and begin praying together to be rescued

How does the wagon respond after Madame Schächter breaks free of her bonds?

Young men beat her while other passengers urge the blows on

The passengers give up and let her scream until she tires

Her son quiets her, and the wagon settles for the night

An officer enters the car and removes her from the transport

What do the two men sent for water report when they return to the wagon?

That this is a labor camp where families will stay together

That the transport will be turned around within a few days

That the deportees may buy their release with remaining gold

That the war is nearly over and the camps are being emptied

Why is Madame Schächter's silence at the end of the chapter so unsettling?

It falls exactly when the real flames become visible to all

It proves the other passengers were right to restrain her

It signals that she has finally been persuaded by the guards

It shows she never truly believed her own visions of fire

Which of these events actually occur in Chapter 2 of Night?

A German officer demands that all gold, silver, and watches be handed over.

The doors of the cattle car are nailed shut.

Someone near a window reads out the name Auschwitz, and nobody has heard it before.

The deportees arrive at Birkenau around midnight.

Eliezer's father organizes an escape attempt through the wagon floor.

Madame Schächter is removed from the train and taken away by guards.

What does 'hermetically' mean in the line 'The world had become a hermetically sealed cattle car'?

Sealed so completely that nothing can pass in or out

Fastened loosely enough to allow some air to enter

Guarded closely by soldiers posted at every door

Marked officially with the stamp of a government office

What does 'irrevocably' mean as used in: 'The doors were nailed, the way back irrevocably cut off.'?

In a way that can never be undone or reversed

Roughly and carelessly, with great force

For a short time only, until further notice

Quietly, so that no one noticed it happen

What does 'hallucinating' mean as used in: 'She is hallucinating because she is thirsty, poor woman'?

Seeing or hearing things that are not really there

Pretending to be ill in order to win sympathy

Remembering past events in unusually sharp detail

Talking rapidly without pausing for breath

Night, Chapter 2 quiz

From Night by Elie Wiesel

Night Chapter 2 summary: Eliezer's sealed cattle car to Auschwitz, Madame Schächter's visions of fire, and the midnight arrival at Birkenau.

12 questions · about 13 minutes

Read the chapter

Questions and answers

1
Question 1. How do the deportees manage the lack of space inside the cattle car?
- They stack their luggage to create a raised sleeping platform
- They divide the wagon into sections by family and stay put
- They ask the guards for a second car and are quietly refused
- Correct answer: They agree to take turns sitting, since not all can lie down
Lying down is not an option, and there is not room for everyone to sit, so the passengers decide to take turns sitting.
Read the passage
2
Question 2. What does the stop at Kaschau make clear to the deportees?
- Correct answer: That they are leaving Hungary and passing into German hands
- That the war has ended and the transports will be reversed
- That the deportation was ordered by mistake and will be undone
- That the train has been rerouted back toward their home town
Kaschau sits on the Czechoslovak border, and a German officer boards to announce that the deportees are now under the authority of the German army.
Read the passage
3
Question 3. What threat does the German officer attach to the headcount in the wagon?
- That the sick will be put off the train at the next stop
- That the car will get no more water until they arrive
- Correct answer: That if anyone is missing from the eighty, all will be shot
- That the wagon will be sealed until the deportees confess
The officer makes the eighty passengers collectively responsible for one another, turning the group itself into a mechanism of control before the camp is ever reached.
Read the passage
4
Question 4. Why has grief unsettled Madame Schächter before the journey even begins?
- She had already survived an earlier transport and was sent back
- Correct answer: Her husband and two older sons were deported earlier by mistake
- Her home in Sighet was burned down in front of her neighbors
- She was separated from her youngest child during the roundup
Her husband and two older sons had been deported with the first transport, by mistake, and the separation shattered her. The others call her mad and say she is hallucinating because she is thirsty.
Read the passage
5
Question 5. What is the passengers' reaction the first time Madame Schächter screams about fire?
- They look outside at once and confirm flames in the distance
- Correct answer: They crowd the window, see only darkness, and think her mad
- They call the guards, who slide the door open to investigate
- They join her cries and begin praying together to be rescued
Some press against the bars to see, but there is nothing, only the darkness of night, and the others tell one another, "She is mad, poor woman."
Read the passage
6
Question 6. How does the wagon respond after Madame Schächter breaks free of her bonds?
- The passengers give up and let her scream until she tires
- Her son quiets her, and the wagon settles for the night
- Correct answer: Young men beat her while other passengers urge the blows on
- An officer enters the car and removes her from the transport
The young men bind and gag her again, and when they strike her, people shout their approval: "Keep her quiet!"
Read the passage
7
Question 7. What do the two men sent for water report when they return to the wagon?
- Correct answer: That this is a labor camp where families will stay together
- That the transport will be turned around within a few days
- That the deportees may buy their release with remaining gold
- That the war is nearly over and the camps are being emptied
They say they learned, in exchange for a gold watch, that this is the final destination: a labor camp with good conditions where families would not be separated. Confidence soars in the wagon.
Read the passage
8
Question 8. Why is Madame Schächter's silence at the end of the chapter so unsettling?
- It proves the other passengers were right to restrain her
- It signals that she has finally been persuaded by the guards
- It shows she never truly believed her own visions of fire
- Correct answer: It falls exactly when the real flames become visible to all
As the train stops, this time the passengers see "flames rising from a tall chimney into a black sky," and Madame Schächter falls silent on her own.
Read the passage
9
Question 9. Which of these events actually occur in Chapter 2 of Night?
- A German officer demands that all gold, silver, and watches be handed over.
  
  Happened
  
  At Kaschau a German officer orders anyone who still owns gold, silver, or watches to hand them over, and a Hungarian lieutenant collects them in a basket.
- The doors of the cattle car are nailed shut.
  
  Happened
  
  After the officer and the lieutenant leave, the doors clank shut and are nailed, and the way back is cut off.
- Eliezer's father organizes an escape attempt through the wagon floor.
  
  Didn't happen
  
  No escape is attempted; the German officer warns that if anyone goes missing, everyone in the car will be shot.
- Someone near a window reads out the name Auschwitz, and nobody has heard it before.
  
  Happened
  
  As the train pulls into a station, someone near a window reads the name aloud, and nobody in the wagon has ever heard it.
- Madame Schächter is removed from the train and taken away by guards.
  
  Didn't happen
  
  A German officer on the platform says she will be taken to a hospital car soon, but she is still in the wagon, her son holding her hand, when they arrive.
- The deportees arrive at Birkenau around midnight.
  
  Happened
  
  Eliezer says it must have been around midnight when they arrived in Birkenau.
Read the passage
10
Question 10. What does 'hermetically' mean in the line 'The world had become a hermetically sealed cattle car'?
- Correct answer: Sealed so completely that nothing can pass in or out
- Fastened loosely enough to allow some air to enter
- Guarded closely by soldiers posted at every door
- Marked officially with the stamp of a government office
Hermetically means airtight. The word carries both the physical airlessness of the wagon and the deportees' total severance from the world outside.
Read the passage
11
Question 11. What does 'irrevocably' mean as used in: 'The doors were nailed, the way back irrevocably cut off.'?
- Roughly and carelessly, with great force
- For a short time only, until further notice
- Quietly, so that no one noticed it happen
- Correct answer: In a way that can never be undone or reversed
Irrevocably means in a way that cannot be undone. With the doors nailed, the deportees can no longer turn back.
Read the passage
12
Question 12. What does 'hallucinating' mean as used in: 'She is hallucinating because she is thirsty, poor woman'?
- Pretending to be ill in order to win sympathy
- Remembering past events in unusually sharp detail
- Correct answer: Seeing or hearing things that are not really there
- Talking rapidly without pausing for breath
To hallucinate is to see or hear things that are not there. The passengers tell one another that thirst is making her speak of flames.
Read the passage

Play it live with your class.

Put the code on the screen and students join on whatever they have.

Next: Night, Chapter 3

Questions and answers

Question 1. How do the deportees manage the lack of space inside the cattle car?

Question 2. What does the stop at Kaschau make clear to the deportees?

Question 3. What threat does the German officer attach to the headcount in the wagon?

Question 4. Why has grief unsettled Madame Schächter before the journey even begins?

Question 5. What is the passengers' reaction the first time Madame Schächter screams about fire?

Question 6. How does the wagon respond after Madame Schächter breaks free of her bonds?

Question 7. What do the two men sent for water report when they return to the wagon?

Question 8. Why is Madame Schächter's silence at the end of the chapter so unsettling?

Question 9. Which of these events actually occur in Chapter 2 of Night?

Question 10. What does 'hermetically' mean in the line 'The world had become a hermetically sealed cattle car'?

Question 11. What does 'irrevocably' mean as used in: 'The doors were nailed, the way back irrevocably cut off.'?

Question 12. What does 'hallucinating' mean as used in: 'She is hallucinating because she is thirsty, poor woman'?