Summary Episode 3 1956

Anton has moved into his own apartment and finished medical school. Anton is now an intern studying to become an anesthesiologist. From time to time Anton suffers migraine headaches that cause him to spend whole days in bed. Anton does not believe this has anything to do with the events of that January night in 1945. Recently a mob of thousands has besieged the Felix Meritis building in protest against communism. Anton's apartment building is situated behind the Meritis building,

Summary Episode 2 1952

In the five months after Ploeg's murder, Anton has settled in well with his aunt and uncle. After the Liberation, they wait a few days for Anton's family to find them. When they do not appear, Van Liempt goes to Haarlem to learn their fate. On the quay, Mr. Korteweg refuses to speak to him, but Mr. Beumer tells him he saw Mr. and Mrs. Steenwijk killed.

In class Essay

Today you will write an essay answering the following question:

How are tragedy, family and war explored in the first 3 episodes of the novel?

you should refer closely to the text in your answer, you must hand in what you have completed at the end of this class.

Episode 3 Questions

1956 Third Episode

All the questions must be completed and handed in by the end of the lesson.

Episode 3 Quiz

Chapter 1

1. How old is Anton now?
2. What reason does Anton give for avoiding the theatre? And why does he react this way?
3. What area of medicine is Anton specialising in and why? What does this make the reader think about him?

Episode 2 Tasks

You must complete the questions by the end of the class and place the answers on your blog, the analysis should be handed in next lesson hand written.

Chapter 1

1. What is Anton’s attitude to the Assault in this chapter and why?
2. How does Anton remember the war?
3. What is his relationship like with his aunt and uncle?

Key Quotes Episode 1... The Assault

Here are some key quotes from this episode:

• "Even before the catastrophe occurred, Anton used to think that Carefree meant a place where cares entered freely, not a place free from cares; just as someone could think priceless meant without cost, rather than beyond price." Prologue, p. 3
• "It was January, nineteen forty-five. Almost all of Europe had been liberated and was once more rejoicing, eating, drinking, making love, and beginning to forget the War. But every day Haarlem looked more like one of those spent grey clinkers that they used to take out of the stove, when there had still been coal to burn." First Episode, 1945, p. 9 
• “Not until people are called Adolf again will the Second World War be really behind us. But that means we’d have to have a third world war, which would mean the end of Adolfs forever.” Episode 1945, p.13

Key Themes

The key themes in The Assault are:

• Aftermath of tragedy
• Family
• Cruelty of War

In your own words explain what each one means and the different ways it is developed in the first Episode of the novel?