Name:
Date:
Core:
World Geography
Thinking About the Role of the Bystander in
The Hangman & First They Came…
The Hangman, by Maurice Ogden
Reflection Questions
Directions: Use your copy of the poem to answer the following questions. You must answer in complete sentences.
1. In the 3rd stanza of the poem, Ogden writes, “The hangman judged with the yellow twist/of
knotted hemp in his busy fist.” What do you think the word “hemp” means?
I think that the word “hemp” means ___________________________ because: _____________
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2. When the one of the townspeople asks the hangman who he has come to town to execute,
what is the hangman’s response? (hint: look to stanza #5) _________________________________
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3. Who is the first person that the hangman executes in the town? _________________________
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4. Explain why no one in the town stands up for that person (do not use fear of the hangman as
your explanation). ______________________________________________________________
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5. In the 10th stanza of the poem, Ogden writes, “Hangman, have you not done/yesterday with
the alien one?/Then we fell silent and stood amazed./Oh, not for him was the gallows raised.”
What do you think the word “alien” means?
I think that the word “alien” means ___________________________ because: _____________
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more on the back
6. The second person executed by the hangman is pulled out of the crowd for criticizing the
hangman (he is the man who shouts “Shame!” at the hangman). What impact does this have
on the other people in the town? Use text evidence from the poem to support your response.
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7. Identify the third person executed by the hangman. ___________________________________
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8. The scaffold from which the townspeople are hanged grows with each new victim. Ogden
writes of this phenomenon, “And the monster cross beam looking down, cast its shadow
across the town.” The literal meaning of this line is that the structure blocked the sun creating
a large shadow across the town. What is the symbolic meaning of this shadow? ____________
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9. The hangman executes everyone in the town until only the narrator is left alive. The
hangman tells the final victim that it is he for whom he built the scaffold because the narrator
as “served {the hangman} most faithfully.” Explain how the narrator has served the hangman
faithfully as he murdered all of the people in town. ___________________________________
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10. How do you think Maurice Ogden feels about bystanders? Refer to evidence from the poem
when explaining your answer. _____________________________________________________
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Name:
Date:
Core:
World Geography
First They Came…, by Martin Niemoller
Reflection Questions
Directions: Use your copy of the poem to answer the following questions. You must answer in complete sentences.
1. What do you think happened to “the communists” after “they” came for them? ___________
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2. What do you think the expression “speak out” means in this poem? Explain. ______________
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3. Why didn’t the narrator of the poem “speak out” for the Communists, Social Democrats,
trade unionists or Jews? __________________________________________________________
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4. Do you think that the narrator regrets his/her decision not to speak out for these other
groups? Why or Why not (use evidence from the poem to support your claim). __________
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How do you think Martin Niemoller feels about bystanders? Refer to evidence from the
poem when explaining your answer. _______________________________________________
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