Essay on Stones From the River, by Ursula Hegi

History 111b, Dr. Thomason

 

Answer all of the following questions. Your responses should be organized into a cohesive essay with an introduction, body, and conclusion (NOT in list form). Your essay should answer all questions by citing relevant evidence from the book (quotations, paraphrased events) to support your ideas.

Your paper should be at least 5 pages, no more than double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins on all sides.

  1. Discuss the history of Germany from ca. 1920-1946 as it is revealed in Stones from the River. What was the experience of the average non-Jewish German villager during these years and how did it change vis-à-vis the German government and vis-à-vis German Jews?
  2. How does Trudi Montag sometimes exemplify and sometimes act as the opposite of the average "German" in her experiences during these years?
  3. In what ways does Ursula Hegi reveal or examine how much the people of Burgdorf felt about the Holocaust? What did the people of Burgdorf know about the KZ (Concentration camps)?
  4. This last question should be your conclusion and asks your opinion: Do you think the German people were partially responsible in some manner for the Holocaust or solely the Hitler, the Nazi party and their organizations? Explain your opinion and how you decided. Did your opinion about this change after reading the book, and if so, how and why?

 

Citation Information:

Unless you are quoting directly from the novel, all words should be your own. You must not conduct any research of secondary sources for this assignment. Using someone else’s words or ideas (whether from a journal, article, book, or website) without citing them is called plagiarism and can result in failure of the class and discipline by the university (see syllabus).

  1. You should always italicize or underline the title of a book.
  2. In order to cite the book, simply put the page number in parentheses after the quote or paraphrase, e.g.:

    3. "As a child Trudi Montag thought everyone know what went on inside others." (p. 9)

  3. Be sure to list a "Bibliography" at the end of the paper in the following manner:

Last Name, First Name. Title of book (italicized/underlined). Place of publication: publisher, date of publication. (note punctuation marks)