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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. The street on which Oskar Schindler's apartment was located ended at. . .

2. What percentage does Schindler say he'll take as courier for the resistance?

3. Where did the Rosner brothers go in their attempt to escape the actions of the Germans?

4. By November 1, 1940, Governor General Frank had moved how many Jewish volunteers out of Cracow?

5. In Chapter Two, Oskar Schindler meets a Jewish accountant named. . .

Short Essay Questions

1. Chapter 17 has only two main parts: the arrival of dentist Sedlacek in Cracow and Oskar's subsequent decision to help the man and the story of jeweler Wulkan, who ends up removing gold crowns from dead Jews' teeth. Why do you think Keneally juxtaposed these two stories in the same chapter?

2. Chapter 21 is where we see Oskar take action for the first time, speaking to Goeth about moving prisoners directly onto his Emalia property. What reason or reasons did Oskar have for doing this, and how did you see them displayed in the book?

3. Oskar bought some new machinery locally, some from the "homeland." What might be some reasons for that?

4. While Titsch does not join Oskar's facory, he does help him add names to the list before it is finalized. Personnel clerk Marcel Goldberg, however, then commences to "tinker" with the names. Based on what you've read in the book, what did Goldberg gain from this tinkering?

5. What does Dr. Steinberg do while he is a prisoner in the Luftwaffe camp?

6. Unlike the secret pictures taken by Babar in Chapter 25, Raimund Titsch took rolls of photographs with Goeth's knowledge. In fact, many of them were of Goeth, as well as Goeth's girlfriend Majola. What does the fact that Goeth allowed this tell you about him?

7. In the Prologue, Keneally describes Schindler as "Sudenten German--Arkansas to their Manhattan, Liverpool to their Cambridge." What does he mean by this?

8. Oskar eventually returns to Frankfurt, where he decides to go into industry again. What type of business does he open?

9. Describe how the dinner party contrasts with the season Keneally describes in the book's Prologue.

10. Describe Oskar Schindler's physical appearance.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Keneally begins his book with character descriptions and backgrounds, both Jew and German. Even the Prologue is more character-driven than plot-driven. The plot of the book doesn't really begin until after we know the players. Why do you think Keneally did that? What advantages does that offer for the book or the reader? What disadvantages?

Essay Topic 2

What message do you think Keneally is trying to convey in this novel? The author chose not to write this as a biography of Schindler, and most novels have an underlying theme or message. What did you come away with after reading this book? What do you think Keneally wanted to convey? Are those the same, or do you think you got something a little different out of the book than Keneally intended? If so, why?

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 9, Oskar's old motorcycle-riding friends push him toward a reconciliation with his father, even as Oskar can't bring himself to give up his mistresses and bring his wife to Cracow to live with him. He's also begun to be inconvenienced by the number of his workers being press-ganged each day to shovel snow or perform other menial tasks. Oskar originally saw his father as a larger-than-life figure, but when he finally spoke with him, Keneally says, "so Oskar decided that even Herr Hans Schindler was human." Describe how you think these things mirror each other, showing us the development in the story of Oskar Schindler as a more well-rounded person, allowing us to understand some possible motivation behind the risks he would eventually take.

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