View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. How many barrels for collecting human waste are allocated to 500 prisoners at Birkenau?

2. What substance is found to have been placed within the wounds of the man claiming to have the last name of Finkelstein?

3. How many days are the prisoners into their journey from Auschwitz to Sachsenhausen when Yanek begins to help a fellow prisoner keep going?

4. With what object is the man beaten to death after it is determined that his name is not really Finkelstein?

5. The term "Muselmann" (96) is used by prisoners to refer to a person with what condition?

Short Essay Questions

1. What distinction does Yanek make between the Trzebinia concentration camp and the other camps in which he has been imprisoned?

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

3. What morning routine does Yanek develop during his time imprisoned in Birkenau and why does he consider the routine important?

4. What small moment of triumph does Yanek experience during the transition from Auschwitz to another concentration camp?

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

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

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

8. Whose advice must Yanek ignore in order to make friends with Fred?

9. At what point do Yanek and the other new arrivals to the Birkenau death camp realize that they have been spared for the moment?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What messages does Gratz send about courage within the novel and what themes are employed in order to send these messages to the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Could Prisoner B-3087 be classified as a coming-of-age story? Why or why not?

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)

This section contains 1,124 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample