Marika
by Andrea Cheng
DISCUSSION GUIDE
PRE-READING ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSION
Study the Nuremberg laws
www.usisrael.org/jsource/Holocaust/nurlawtoc.html
Review a timeline and glossary
www.remember.org/jean/Chap1/timeline_HUNGARY3.htm
www.remember.org/jean/Chap1/glossaryHUNGARY3.htm
Read Terrible Things by Eve Bunting (or the script version
by Ellen R. Fettner). This book is an allegorical reference to the Holocaust.
Discuss how the roles of oppressor, victim, bystander, and caring individual
are demonstrated in the story.
Read The Things They Say Behind Your Back: Stereotypes About
Jews by William B. Helmreich (Pacific Press). Discuss the dangers
of perpetuating stereotypes. What stereotypes do we perpetuate today?
www.allaboutcounseling.com/culture.htm
Investigate Holocaust topics
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: www.ushmm.org
Simon Wiesenthal Learning Center: motlc.wiesenthal.co
Holocaust Memorial Center: www.holocaustcenter.org/lifechance.shtml
C.A.N.D.L.E.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum:
www.candles-museum.com
Research life before World War II
The results of WWI. Brief review of political history of Hungary by PBS:
www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/lo/countries/hu/huoverview.html
Photographs and Brief History:
www.ushmm.org/uia-cgi/uia_query/photos?hr=null&query=dc550o4261
Basic government structure and history of Hungary: hist.academic.claremontmckenna.edu/jpetropoulos/arrow/holocaust/arrowcrossmembers.htm
Library of Congress:
memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/hutoc.html
Jews in Hungary History. Encyclopedia Judaica: (CD-Rom Edition,
Keter Publishing Copyright © 1998-99 Edward Victor) www.edwardvictor.com/HungaryFrame2main.htm
Geographical maps Austria-Hungary (1914) by András Szeitz 1994
www.historicaltextarchive.com/hungary/map13.gif
Listen to the music of Dvorak
View the film Because They Were Jews
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Discuss the difference between race and religion. Why were Jews treated
as a race rather than as practitioners of a religion?
How does Marika feel about being Jewish? Does her attitude change as
she gets older? Marika and her family try to assimilate to the culture
around them. Do you think this is good or bad? In your daily life, do
you feel pressure to assimilate? If Marika’s family doesn’t
practice Judaism, why are they considered Jewish? Since Apa’s mother
was a Christian, why was he considered Jewish?
Find instances of obvious and subtle anti-Semitism in the novel. How
does Marika react? Have you ever encountered prejudice? How did you react?
What was your reaction to Marika’s encounter with the three boys
at the riverbank? Why?
Why do the German soldiers pretend to shoot the Jewish men and make the
Jews wash the stones in the street?
In what ways are stereotypes of Jews perpetuated in Marika? In
what other pieces of literature have you seen stereotypes perpetuated?
What lessons or observations about human nature do you think Andrea Cheng
is trying to share through this novel? What does this novel make you want
to know more about?
What current events could be connected to the events in this novel?
Do you think forgery was a justified act in Marika’s case? How do
you think Marika feels about forging the documents? Have you ever felt
you had to do something that you knew was wrong? We teach children not
to lie and steal. Do the rules change under oppressive conditions? Why
or why not?
“Anyway, those camps were far away. Nothing like that could ever
happen in Budapest.” (p. 62, Marika). Why was Marika resistant
to believing that the war would ever have an impact on her life? Do you
feel that events in the world right now are distant from you? Do they
affect you in some way? What was your reaction to Marika’s attitude
toward the impending war?
Why do you think Ilonka risks her life to hide Marika? Have you ever
risked something to help someone else? How did you feel?
Do you think the United States is a “melting pot” of many ethnic
groups or more of a “salad”? Which model promotes or prohibits
acts of prejudice? Discuss the quote “America is not like a blanket-one
piece of unbroken cloth, the same color, the same texture, the same size.
America is more like a quilt-many patches, many pieces, many colors, many
sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread.” —Jesse
Jackson
Do you think that after the Holocaust, Jews who survived could ever feel
comfortable in Hungary again?
Do you think an event like the Holocaust could happen in the United States?
Why or why not?
Within one year of the events surrounding September 11, 2001, there were
more than three hundred attacks on Jews in France. Discuss.
Hate groups often hide behind the First Amendment —Freedom of Speech.
Should hatred be protected under the law? Why or why not? Consider modern-day
hate groups.
Marika is frustrated by her father’s insistence that she should
pass as Catholic. What does it mean “to pass” as something else?
Why is it important to some people to conform? In what ways have people
tried “to pass” in American history?
How might Aunt Ila’s criticism of the “rag puppet” foreshadow the plight faced by the Jewish people?
Discuss ideas of superiority and inferiority in relation to the Holocaust.
How does Aunt Ila’s comment demonstrate “class consciousness?”
A frequently asked question is why didn’t the Jews just leave? Where
would they go? Were there restrictions? Who would accept them? Consult
Abandonment of the Jews by David Wyman.
“Someday I would go far away from our house and the wall Apa built
and the boys who threw rocks and everyone who knew us, and then I would
change my name.” (p.80, Marika) Does this comment add suspense
to the story? Why? What do all of Marika’s dreams have in common?
Uncle Lipot says that people are jealous of the Jews because they are
often more successful. Discuss history after World War I and how many
Jews assumed financial roles. Do you agree with Uncle Lipot’s explanation?
Apa tells Andras that “Jews are exempt from the labor camp only if they get into university…” (p.101, Marika) Refer to the Nuremberg Laws. Is what Apa says true? What paper does Andras show the detectives at the train station to insure passage for himself and Marika? Do you think it identified him as a non-Jew? Why or why not?
Compare U.S. forms of identification to the identification papers used
in Hitler’s regime.
Discuss how “word of mouth” plays a role in the demise of the
Jews. As a reader, what was your reaction to the conversation between
the women at the water spigot? (p. 150, Marika) To what extent
do your life’s experiences influence your reaction to the events
in a story? Discuss the quote “I remind you that the gas chambers
of Auschwitz did not begin with bricks. They began with words that were
permitted by silence to evolve into bricks.” —Abraham H. Foxman,
National Director, Anti Defamation League
At the riverbank Andras says to Marika, “If it skips more than ten
times, we’ll survive the war.” To what extent are they actually
leaving their lives and futures in the hands of fate?
Discuss the importance of the shortwave radio to the people in the war
zones and close by. Compare communication during World War II to communication
today. One of the first acts of the Nazis was to require Jews to turn
in their radios. Why?
When Marika joins her mother at the Jewish building, what change does
she see in their relationship? Why do you think this change occurs? Does
tragedy redefine peoples’ relationships? Why or why not?
What are some possible reasons that Nazis would want to house all Jews
in one building?
Discuss the relevance of, “I should have, I could have, I would
have” in a situation where one is suddenly forced to leave everything
and everyone behind.
Why do you think Apa did not use the identification paper and take Marika
to Ilonka sooner? Discuss the changes that occurred in the Hungarian government.
Why does Ilonka say that Marika is from Szendro?
POST-READING ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSION
Make a timeline of the events leading up to WWII and the Holocaust.
The History Place: Holocaust Timeline
www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html
Make a parallel timeline of Marika’s life. Do you think the world
could have foreseen the tragedy that occurred? Why or why not?
In recent years there have been several holocausts, including one in
Cambodia in the 1970’s, Bosnia in the 1990’s, and Rwanda in
the 1990’s. Research these events. How are they similar to or different
from the Holocaust during WWII? Follow news reports of murder and genocide
today. How do these events resemble or differ from the Holocaust that
took place during WWII?
Have students read the memo “re: alterations to be made in the vehicles
used to gas Jews in Chelmno.” Ask students to mark the point in the
memo when they realize what it is truly about.
Nazi Germany is responsible for one of the most gruesome chapters in the history of anti Semitism. It did not begin there, though. How did anti-Semitism begin? At what time and in what places was it most prevalent? Have you noted incidents of anti-Semitism in your own community?
 |
 |
 |
 |
PHOTOS (clockwise from left) |
ABOUT THE BOOK
by Andrea Cheng, author of Marika
Marika is based on my mother’s life story. Most of the events
in the book are true, but at times I chose to omit or add incidents to
allow the reader to feel what Marika felt and experience things the way
I think she did.
Marika was born Schnurmacher Maria on September 19, 1928. Her parents
separated when she was a child, and her father built himself an apartment
within their larger apartment. My mother never mentioned the wall although
it must have been there. She really did have a doll named Maxi and several
nannies. She also remembers numerous anti-Semitic incidents throughout
her childhood.
Some of the specifics of the book are fictional. For example, Marika
liked to read and was good at handwriting but she didn’t like writing
poetry or fiction. In fact, she considered herself unimaginative. She
never wrote Little Lord Schnurmacher. Zsofi’s father was a lawyer,
not a tailor. The incident at the lake where Marika swims too far out
is invented. The girl at the rabbinical school who tries to befriend Marika
is made up. Anya’s efforts, while at the Rabbinical School, to tell
her daughter about her past are fictional.
The names of many of the characters and their personalities are not true
to life. In reality, Marika was more passive and less spoiled than she
appears in the book. Although her family had money, her father was careful
not to shower his daughter with material goods. Andras was perhaps more
bitter than he is in Marika. Because he was so much older than Marika,
he didn’t pay much attention to her.
I cannot explain why at times I chose to stick to the true story while
at others I added, subtracted, or altered events. As I wrote, I was inside
Marika’s mind and felt what she felt, wrote what she said, and described
what she thought. I didn’t consciously decide to change events to
fit some larger purpose. Often, I consulted my mother to find out what
really happened or how she remembers feeling. After the first draft was
complete, my editor was a huge help in deciding what to cut, what to emphasize,
and where to add. We worked together over numerous drafts until Marika
took the shape that it has.
ABOUT THE DISCUSSION GUIDE
As life-long learners, we should not stray from literature which may
seem painful or uncomfortable for us in our reading experiences. The true
wealth of reading is enhanced by the conversations started and questions
asked among groups of readers. This study guide is intended to spark discussions
which will allow students to analyze and synthesize the decisions, self
perceptions, and interactions among the characters in a dark era in our
history. The goal is not to escape discomfort, but to allow ourselves
the opportunity to examine the human condition through literature. We
hope teachers will find those opportunities and more through the use of
this study guide for Marika by Andrea Cheng.
RESOURCES
Tunnell, G. and Ammon, J. (1993). Teaching the Holocaust through trade
books. In M. O. Tunnell and R. Ammon (Eds.), The story of ourselves:
Teaching history through children’s literature [ISBN: 0-435-08725-8].
Portsmouth, New Hampshire:Heinemann.
Reading Lists from the Holocaust Museum Houston
www.hmh.org/education/frames.htm
Holocaust Images
www.qcc.cuny.edu/images/holocaust.gif
Armistice Agreement with Hungary (1945) by the Avalon Project/Yale Law
School:
www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/wwii/hungary.htm
Wallenberg, diplomat who helped Jews escape Hungary, was executed by Soviet
Secret Police reports BBC (Nov. 28, 2000)
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1044744.stm
Photos of Hungarian Jews : www.holocaust-history.org/hungarian-photos/
Virtual History: Budapest by Jewish Virtual Library: www.us-israel.org/jsource/vjw/Budapest.html
Conditions of and efforts to hide camps: www.holocaust-history.org/hungarian-photos/jpg/10-1112.jpg
Contributors
Michael Gaines, Director of Adult Education, Cincinnati Public Schools
Holly Hart, Education student, Northern Kentucky University
Ellen Fettner, Holocaust specialist and presenter, Cincinnati, OH
Tim Hart, Language Arts Curriculum Manager, Cincinnati Public Schools
