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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 radio tower Yanek sees as he and the other prisoners approach the Sachsenhausen concentration camp is located in what city?

2. With what type of weapon does the kapo hit both Fred and Yanek in Chapter 20?

3. How old had Yanek been when World War II had begun?

4. When Yanek is placed into a queue at the beginning of Chapter 17 and he hears screams up ahead, what happens when it is his turn?

5. Yanek is able to obtain what item of clothing at Birkenau that he considers crucial for his survival?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. For what purpose do the Nazis use cattle cars and in what way is their use symbolic?

3. To what location is Yanek sent after he is removed from the Plaszow concentration camp?

4. How does Yanek find out that the train's destination is Birkenau before the train arrives there?

5. Which objects in the salt mine does Yanek consider aesthetically beautiful?

6. What is the significance of the novel's title?

7. What happens to Fred when he is unable to work?

8. On which two occasions does Yanek vow to take every step he can "never to forget" (161) the atrocities committed during the Holocaust?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the instances of irony within the narrative of Prisoner B-3087 and analyze Gratz’s purpose for including each instance you discuss.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Gratz’s use of metaphor, simile, imagery, and other literary devices as a means to send particular thematic messages within the narrative of Prisoner B-3087.

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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