Behind the Bedroom Wall

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 bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Korinna becomes less like Rita and more like Eva, illustrating her increasing compassion for Jewish people and Jewish sympathizers and her disillusionment with the Nazi regime.

• How do Rita and Eva function as literary foils in terms of their beliefs about the Nazi treatment of Jews and Jewish sympathizers? (topic sentence)
• Describe how Korinna is initially more aligned with Rita’s beliefs.
• In your concluding sentences, explore how Korinna’s changed behaviors and beliefs at the end of the novel align her with Eva’s compassion and morality.

2. The Krugmanns face unimaginable stress, deprivation, and grief from antisemitism, illustrating some of the horrors faced by Jews at this time.

• Why do the Krugmanns have to hide in the Rehmes’s house? (topic sentence)
• What deprivations do they suffer while there? What deprivations suffered by Herr Krugmann and Ruth at their hiding place do readers learn about indirectly?
• In your concluding sentence(s), consider how the Krugmanns’ escape, particularly Rachel’s cheerful wave from the bicycle, leaves the reader feeling hopeful that the family’s prospects might improve?

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