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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which building in the now-abandoned ghetto of Krakow is Yanek assigned to clean after being taken there to work?

2. What sort of weather is occurring during the trip Yanek and Oskar make outside past curfew in Chapter 4?

3. During the two days of Deportation in Krakow, how many thousands of Jewish people are taken away by the Nazis?

4. The Nazis guarding Yanek and the others with him as they are removed from the Krakow ghetto are armed with which kind of weapons?

5. Which member of Yanek's family feels most strongly that the family should remain in hiding within the pigeon coop?

Short Essay Questions

1. How and why does Yanek lose trust in his father Oskar's word?

2. After what event in the narrative does Yanek state, "If I had only known then what I know now, I would have run" (3)?

3. Who hides within the pigeon coop on the roof of Yanek's apartment building?

4. Who is Amon Goeth?

5. What possible career path does Yanek imagine for himself within the opening chapters of the novel?

6. When the Judenrat hold a meeting in Zgody Square, what announcement do they make?

7. For what purpose is the bakery belonging to Aun Fela and Uncle Abraham secretly and altruistically used?

8. Who witnesses the capture of Yanek's parents?

9. What message about the fear of the unknown is depicted within the novel and in what scene does the theme appear?

10. How is foreshadowing used within the opening passage of the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Gratz’s use of Aristotle's appeals within the text of Prisoner B-3087. How does Gratz use each of the three appeals to persuade the reader of messages central to the tenets of the work?

Essay Topic 2

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Gratz’s novel Prisoner B-3087. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Gratz’s messages about guilt and responsibility within Prisoner B-3087.

(see the answer keys)

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