True Story of H & G - Week 3 - Religion

The Partisans are distinctly antireligious; they dream of a godless communism to supplant the bloody passions of a world they view as too irrational. The father (Mechanik) became an assimilated, nonreligious Jew, and throughout the book he struggles with his own inability to believe in God. At the same time he is trying with all his might to believe, against all logic, that his children will survive. How did the ending resolve this conflict in him, or did it? And what is Murphy suggesting about the place of religion in an ethical society, whether it be postwar revolutionary communist, or family-based? What place do you think religion will—or should—have for the main characters in their new lives?

True Story of H&G Week 3 - Ending

The end of the novel brings satisfaction for some, but doesn't avoid the real consequences of the war on the lives of these characters; all of them face futures that are radically altered from anything they have known before. Which characters do you think achieved redemption? Who got what they deserved? What do you think the future will be like for Hansel and Gretel? For the people of Piaski?

True Story of Hansel & Gretel - WEEK 2 - Pros and Cons

In this section, which part(s) did you enjoy reading the most? The least? Why?

True Story of Hansel and Gretel Week 2 QUOTE

Find a quotation from any pages between 148-277 and quote it (page number too); then respond/react to the quotation -- why is it important, powerful, meaningful in some way? How did or can you connect to it?

True Story of Hansel and Gretel Week 2 Race/Ethnicity

Yep, the Oberfuhrer is one weird guy. He breaks the "rules" in some ways in his actions with Nelka based on their different ethnicities (German and Polish). How does this relate to society's "rules" today in terms of culture (think back to Kite Runner too!)?

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel Week 1

Find and quote an image from the first two sections (through pg. 82) that we've read and respond to it -- good writing? shocking? surprising? Why?

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel Week 1

Of the now four parallel (in time) plot lines -- Magda and the children, the Oberfuhrer & Major Frankel, the Mechanik and stepmother, and Nelka/Telek which is the most interesting or intriguing plot to you and why?