What are three main symbols or motifs developed in Night?

Let us start off with fire and its significance in the
novel. The way in which fire is presented makes it become a symbol of the cruel and evil
power of the Nazis. Consider the way in which Madame Schachter has her vision of the
fire and the destruction and death it forebodes. Eliezer also sees Nazi soldiers burning
Jewish babies. Of course, most significantly, the fire becomes a symbol of what happens
to the Jews and how so many of them meet their deaths. However, fire also becomes
symbolic of the way that Elie lost his faith. Consider the following
line:

Never
shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forvever... Never shall I forget
those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to
ashes.

Thus we can see fire
also becomes an important symbol of the way in which Elie's experiences killed his
faith.

Secondly, as the title signifies, night itself is an
incredibly important symbol. Night is used as a symbol without the presence of God, and
you might want to analyse the way in which the description of the most intense suffering
in this novel normally occurs at night to reinforce the way in which God is absent from
this hell-like world with which we are presented.

Lastly,
you might want to consider Jewish tradition, and how its importance is symbolised in
characters such as Cholmo and his storytelling. Note the way that Elie struggles to
maintain his links with Jewish tradition even though he does not believe in God any
more. For him, and for many like him, their Jewish tradition is symbolic of unity and
togetherness with his fellow prisoners and Jews, and he is faced with a massive conflict
when he debates the question of fasting on Yom Kippur or not. Such traditions form a
valuable, life-giving link for Jews like Elie to remind them they are part of a people
who are bigger than what is being done to them.