54 pages • 1 hour read
Hans Peter RichterFriedrich
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1961A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
How do the lives of the two boys change as the novel progresses?
Which historical events are directly criticized in the novel and how?
How is the narrator influenced by National Socialism, aka Nazism, in the novel?
How does the narrator’s participation in, and narration of, Jewish religious practices portray the Jewish faith in general?
Is the narrator’s telling of events neutral or biased? Explain why.
In Chapter 4, how is pre-Nazi antisemitism portrayed through the grandfather’s words? What was antisemitism like in Germany prior to Nazi control?
How are antisemitism and Nazism portrayed by Herr Resch? Is he a stereotypical Nazi?
How did the Nazis institutionalize antisemitism and eventual Jewish deportation and extermination? How is this portrayed in the novel?
In Chapter 29, what aspect of Nazi antisemitism is being portrayed on the micro-level? What repercussions has this had on contemporary society?
How does the narration from the point-of-view of a young boy grant a certain innocence to the events of the Holocaust and those leading to it?
