58 pages 1 hour read

Diane Ackerman

The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story

Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 2007

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Essay Topics

1.

What dreams did Jan have for the expansion of the Warsaw Zoo? What do those plans convey about Jan’s view of the relationships between humans, animals, and nature?

2.

The author notes that Jan and Antonina initially did not believe reports of the atrocities that Nazis were committing against the Jews and other specific groups of people. Many Jews who later went to the concentration camp at Treblinka did not believe those stories either. What does the book suggest about how such incredible inhumanity became possible?

3.

Avoiding arrest by the Nazis in Warsaw involved moving repeatedly around the city and required extensive planning. What were some of the tactics Jewish people used to blend in with other Polish citizens? What do these tactics reveal about the nature of identity?

Related Titles

By Diane Ackerman