Prisoner B-3087

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Throughout the novel, Yanek struggles to survive the atrocities he experiences in the concentration camps.

• How does Yanek define survival? (topic sentence)
• Find one example from the novel where Yanek highlights the importance of surviving the concentration camps.
• Does The Desire to Survive affect his relationship with other prisoners? If so, how? Summarize this point in your concluding sentences.

2. Gratz’s novel highlights the different ways in which Nazi commandants took pleasure in dehumanizing prisoners.

• In what ways do the Nazis dehumanize the prisoners? (topic sentence)
• Find one example in the novel of dehumanizing acts in the concentration camps.
• How does Yanek respond to this Dehumanization of the Jewish People as well as other prisoners? Summarize this point in your concluding sentences.

3. Good Versus Evil is a major theme of the novel.

• How does Yanek define good and evil in his own life and in the camps? (topic sentence)
• Find one example from the novel where Yanek highlights the dichotomy of good and evil.
• In your concluding sentences, evaluate whether, in the end, Yanek believes that good triumphs over evil. Provide rationale for your thoughts.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. The motif of bread appears throughout the novel. What does bread symbolize for Yanek? How does Yanek’s relationship to bread alter his feelings about himself?

2. At several points throughout the novel, different characters reference the importance of the bar mitzvah, the Jewish ceremony signaling a boy’s transition to manhood. Consider how Yanek defines manhood. Does Yanek consider himself to be a man throughout the novel? How do his experiences in the concentration camps shape this understanding?

3. This novel is based on the true story of Yanek Gruener. Compare and contrast the novel’s portrayal with the real Yanek’s life. What are the similarities and differences?