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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. Where is Gladigau after the second bombing?

2. What disagreement occurs between Gladigau and Helmut?

3. How are Lore and her siblings received by the first set of strangers they meet?

4. Who does Vati work for?

5. What major obstacle must Lore face on their way to Oma's?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Germany takes Paris, there is a large celebration. Mutti and Papi attend but they do not ask him to go. When they return they meet him at the train station and leave looking like a happy family. Explain Mutti and Papi's actions.

2. Helmut finally gets to join the army. What does this imply about the state of Germany at this point in the war?

3. When the farmer's son taunts Lore and pushes her down, the twins throw rocks at him. What does this show about the children?

4. Helmut loses his parents and Gladigau is away. Helmut is often cold, hungry, and completely alone. How does he feel about the war at this stage?

5. Germany is in the midst of war and has been for several years. The second bombing that Helmut experiences is the worst so far. Describe the new changes and routine to which the inhabitants of Berlin must adapt.

6. When the family eats their soup, Juri shyly offers his bread to Tomas. What does this indicate about Juri and his family?

7. Germany attacks its neighbors and gains more lands that are prosperous. Neither Helmut nor anyone in his neighborhood seems to argue the Third Reich's actions. In fact, many boys are signing up to fight the war. Why would some Germans welcome the war and the push into other countries?

8. Mutti tries to burn the badges but they do not burn all the way. Lore tries to throw them deep into the river, but buries them in the bushes when this does not work. What do the badges and the efforts to rid them symbolize?

9. Why is Lore's family moving around and hiding in the farm valley? From whom are they hiding?

10. As Lore and her siblings walk on, some seem suspicious of their backgrounds but people usually help them anyway. Why do some people look at Lore's family with disdain but eventually help?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Mutti's observation in Helmut's individual photo. Why does she see pain in the individual photo but not the family photo? Is there really pain or something Mutti thinks up?

Essay Topic 2

Describe in detail and follow the progression of Lore's feelings for Tomas. How does she feel about him when she first sees him? How does she feel about Tomas when Juri asks about him on the ferry?

Essay Topic 3

Helmut is a photographer's assistant, Lore looks at her family photo, and Micha compares his Opa's pictures to Hitler and Jozef's. Explain the significance of pictures in Seiffert's novel. Without going into too much detail of each picture, write about how pictures in general tell a person's truth and lies.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,429 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample