Preview
Copywork
About This Passage
Notice how Lowry shows the celebration and the loss in the same view. From the balcony, Annemarie sees flags in nearly every window — including the windows of apartments she knows are empty. The neighbors did not stop caring for those apartments while their friends were gone. They watered the plants, dusted, and polished the candlesticks for two whole years. The chapter argues, through this image, that freedom is not only celebrated for the people who are home — it is also held in trust, in plain sight, for the people who are still away.
Annemarie stood on the balcony of the apartment with her parents and sister, and watched. Up and down the street, and across on the other side, she could see flags and banners in almost every window. ...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell Chapter 17 in your own words. Cover the war's end and the celebration in Copenhagen, what Annemarie's parents tell her about Peter's execution and Lise's true death, the change in Kirsti, and the moment Annemarie retrieves Ellen's necklace from the blue trunk. Track how Lowry uses the chapter to revisit and complete every important storyline at once.
Discussion Questions
- Mama and the neighbors tended the empty apartments of the Jewish families for nearly two years — watering plants, dusting furniture, polishing candlesticks. Mama said simply, 'It is what friends do.' What in the story tells you that the neighbors believed the Rosens and the others were coming home, and that this belief was a kind of daily, quiet work?
- Peter's letter from prison said he loved his family, that he was not afraid, and that he was proud of what he had done. The author seems to argue that Peter died inside the definition of bravery Uncle Henrik taught Annemarie in Chapter 16. How do you know from the letter that Peter's mind was on what he had done and what it was for, not on the danger or on himself?
+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide
Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Long pieces of cloth or paper hung outside as a sign of celebration or loyalty — here, the Danish banners hung in nearly every window the day the war ended.
Item 2
A solemn song that belongs to a country and is sung at important moments to express what the people share — pride, sorrow, loyalty — all at once.
Item 3
A small platform that sticks out from the upper floor of a building, where someone can stand outdoors and look down on the street below.
+ 7 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
+ 5 more questions in the complete study guide
Get the complete study guide — free
Sign up and get your first book with every chapter included. Copywork, discussion questions, vocabulary, and critical thinking.
Sign up free