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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. When another train passes the train on which Yanek is riding in Chapter 15, Yanek discovers that his train is heading toward which concentration camp?

2. When Yanek helps a fellow prisoner to continue on with the journey from Auschwitz to Sachsenhausen, what body part of the prisoner's does Yanek prop up onto his own body?

3. What is NOT a smell Yanek detects when he is placed into a cattle car at the beginning of Chapter 15?

4. How old is Yanek when he reaches the Sachsenhausen concentration camp after being moved from Auschwitz?

5. The "Sachsenhausen salute" involves torturing a prisoner by forcing him to remain in what type of position for hours at a time without moving?

Short Essay Questions

1. What ominous warning does an SS guard give to Yanek as he enters Auschwitz?

2. Which qualities of new prisoners help Yanek to qualify certain individuals as such?

3. How does the theme of altruism arise within the journey from Auschwitz to Sachsenhausen?

4. What scent does Yanek detect in the air when he is brought to the Birkenau death camp?

5. What is different about Yanek's experience at Bergen-Belsen, in relation to his previous experiences with concentration camps?

6. For what reason does Fred become unable to work?

7. Discuss an instance in the novel when Yanek's determination to survive is apparent.

8. What happens to the men and boys accused of plotting escape from the Trzebinia and what proof does Yanek have of their innocence?

9. Discuss an instance when Gratz uses a literary device to indicate the preciousness of food.

10. What happens to the prisoner who is recognized by the others at the salt mine as a former member of the Judenrat?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is the topic of propaganda treated within Prisoner B-3087 and how does its treatment relate to the novel's depicted messages?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of Prisoner B-3087 and one of the novel's main messages. How does Gratz make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help them get across one main message of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

What is the function of Oskar's character within the novel? Discuss the characterization methods used by Gratz in depicting Oskar and include in your discussion the reasons that Gratz portrays Oskar in these particular ways.

(see the answer keys)

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