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. What disease did Schindler find the Jewish women fending off in the ghetto by scrubbing and boiling clothes?

2. Helen Hirsch refers to Schindler's enamelware factory by what name?

3. What was the Christmas gift that Schindler bought for his secretary Klonowska in Chapter 8?

4. How does Poldek Pfefferberg get the Blauschein on his identity card?

5. According to Keneally, Hitler switched from shooting Jews to gassing them after what event?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to witnesses, what did Amon Goeth do just before he was hung?

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. Mila and Poldek Pfefferberg meet and marry in the Jewish ghetto. Why might Keneally have included this information in the midst of the ghetto clearance, in which thousands were killed.

4. In Chapter 26, Keneally states, "but he (Raimund Titsch) was never the sort of man concerning whom mythologies arose. Oskar was." What does Keanally mean by that?

5. Chapter 17 describes the first time Oskar works for the resistance. It is still relatively early in Oskar's involvement and few reasons are given for Oskar undertaking such a risky journey. Why do you think Oskar decided to risk the trip to Budapest?

6. When Oskar is trying to leave Brinnlitz, his car won't start. What was the cause?

7. Oskar's 37th birthday, described in Chapter 37, is a happy day for the prisoners, though for Oskar there is a cloud over it because of a telegram. What was the news in that telegram?

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

9. Explain why you think pharmacist Bachner returned from Prokocim to the Cracow ghetto, rather than trying to escape to freedom.

10. Oskar promises Edith Liebgold she'll live through the war if she works at DEF. What have you read to this point in the book to indicate Schindler intended on keeping this promise?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the different ways Oskar Schindler defies authority. Although he doesn't participate in outright defiance, like bombing buildings, his defiance is still measurable. Describe at least three ways Oskar defies "the system," and give specific examples from the book.

Essay Topic 2

No novel can succeed without conflict. Many writers and writing teachers believe there are five basic kinds of conflict: man vs. man (or person vs. person), man vs. self, man vs. society, man vs. nature, and man vs. the supernatural. Some also believe in a sixth type of conflict, man vs. technology. What types of conflict have you observed in this novel? Be sure to give at least one specific example for each type that you list.

Essay Topic 3

Oskar Schindler made huge sums of money during the war, yet he died penniless, supported by those he saved. He tried starting two different businesses in two different countries, both of which failed. What factors did you recognize from the book that may have contributed to his ability to succeed during the war, but inability to make money in business after the war?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 929 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample