Each answer must be supported with a quote from the text (including page number).
Chapter 4
1. What were the objectives of the medical examinations?
To see if their body was strong enough to work. “The first hardly examined me. He just asked:
‘Are you in good health” (48).
2. Why were the Jewish musicians not allowed to play music by Beethoven?
They were prohibited from playing German music. “He complained they would not let him play
Beethoven: Jews were not allowed to play German music” (49).’
3. Describe one of Idek’s bouts of madness.
Idek would quickly and without warning become angry and violent. “He threw himself on me like
a wild beast, beating me in the chest, on my head, throwing me to the ground…” (53).
4. How did Elie initially avoid losing his gold crown?
He faked illness and convinced the dentist to let him come back. “Couldn’t you wait a few days,
sir? I don’t feel well, I have a fever. He wrinkled his brow, thought for a moment, and took my
pulse. All right, son. Come back to see me when you feel better” (52).
5. Whom did Elie meet years later on the Paris Metro?
The young French girl who worked in the factory with him during the war. “Many years later, in
Paris, I sat in the Metro, reading my newspaper. Across the aisle, a beautiful woman with dark
hair and dreamy eyes. I had seen those eyes before” (53)
6. What happened when Elie refused to give his crown to Franek? What was the end
result?
Franek took revenge by tormenting Elie’s father. “That presented Franek with the opportunity to
torment him and, on a daily basis, to thrash him savagely” (55). Elie lost his crown anyway, and
gained nothing. “That evening, in the latrines, the dentist from Warsaw pulled my crown with the
help of a rusty spoon” (56).
7. Describe the scene with the soup cauldrons.
Two soup cauldrons were sitting unattended and a man tried to steal soup for himself. He was
shot, and the rest of the prisoners were not given anything to eat as a result. “We never thought
to admire him. Poor hero committing suicide for a ration or two more of soup...In our minds he
was already dead” (59).
8. During one of the preliminary “ceremonies” for a hanging, what did Juliek whisper to Elie?
What does this suggest?
Juliek whispers “They’re expecting trouble” (61). This suggests that something that could anger
the prisoners is about to happen, and that the SS use violence to control.
9. During one hanging, Elie and the other prisoners cried. What made this hanging different
from others?
A young and innocent child was hanged. “To hang a child in front of thousands of onlookers was not a
small matter…All eyes were on the child. He was pale, almost calm, but he was briting his lips as he
stood in the shadow of the gallows” (64).
Chapter 5 1. Why didn’t Elie fast on Yom Kippur?
He did not want to starve, and he had lost his faith. “As I swallowed my ration of soup, I turned
that act into a symbol of rebellion, of protest against Him” (69).
2. What advice was Elie given to pass the selection process?
Make yourself look healthy and add color to your skin, run, and don’t be afraid. “Run as if you
had the devil at your heels! Don’t look at the SS. Run, straight in front of you!” (71)
3. How did Elie’s father respond when he learned his name had been written down?
He is calm and begins to give Elie some of his possessions. “I am asking you…Take it, do as I
ask you, my son. Time is running out. Do as your father asks you…” (75).
4. What did Akiba Drumer ask the others to do for him? Did they do it?
He asked them to pray for him, since he knew he was going to be killed. The others forgot to do
this. “And three days after he left, we forgot to say Kaddish” (77).
5. Why was Elie placed in the hospital?
He injured his foot. “Around the middle of January, my right foot began to swell from the
cold…The doctor had decided to operate and there could be no discussion” (78).
6. Why was the camp to be evacuated? What did Elie learn of the fate of those-who stayed
behind in the hospital?
The front of the war was moving closer to the camp. The people who stayed in the hospital were
liberated shortly after the others evacuated. “Tomorrow, right after nightfall, the camp will start
on its march. Block by block. The sick can remain in the infirmary. They will not be evacuated”
(81).
Chapter 6 1. What happened to anyone who could not keep up with the march?
They were killed. “They had orders to shoot anyone who could not sustain the pace…If one of
us stopped for a second, a quick shot eliminated the filthy dog” (85).
2. How did Zalman die?
He was trampled to death during the march. “He lowered his pants and fell to the ground…I
don’t believe that he was finished off by an SS, for nobody had noticed. He must have died,
trampled under the feet of the thousands of men who followed us” (86).
3. What horrible realization did Elie come to concerning Rabbi Eliahou and his son? How did
Elie respond to this?
He realized that the Rabbi’s son purposely left his father behind. Elie prayed that he would not
do the same to his father. “Oh God, Master of the Universe, give me the strength never to do
what Rabbi Eliahu’s son has done” (91)
4. What was Juliek’s last act?
Played a Beethoven piece on his violin. “All I could hear was the violin, and it was as if Juliek’s
soul had become his bow. He was playing his life” (95).
5. How did Elie help his father when the selection was made? He distracted the guards and
helped his father, and others, escape the selection. “My father was sent to the left. I ran after
him…creating such confusion that a number of people were able to switch over to the right…”
(96)
Answer Questions with quotes written in MLA format to support.
Chapter 4
1. What were the objectives of the medical examinations?
2. Why were the Jewish musicians not allowed to play music by Beethoven?
3. Describe one of Idek’s bouts of madness.
4. How did Elie initially avoid losing his gold crown?
5. Whom did Elie meet years later on the Paris Metro?
6. What happened when Elie refused to give his crown to Franek? What was the end
result?
7. Describe the scene with the soup cauldrons. 8. During one of the preliminary “ceremonies” for
a hanging, what did Juliek whisper to Elie? What does this suggest?
9. During one hanging, Elie and the other prisoners cried. What made this hanging different
from others?
Chapter 5 1. Why didn’t Elie fast on Yom Kippur?
2. What advice was Elie given to pass the selection process?
3. How did Elie’s father respond when he learned his name had been written down?
4. What did Akiba Drumer ask the others to do for him? Did they do it?
5. Why was Elie placed in the hospital?
6. Why was the camp to be evacuated? What did Elie learn of the fate of those-who stayed
behind in the hospital?
Chapter 6 1. What happened to anyone who could not keep up with the march?
2. How did Zalman die?
3. What horrible realization did Elie come to concerning Rabbi Eliahou and his son? How did
Elie respond to this?
4. What was Juliek’s last act?
5. How did Elie help his father when the selection was made?