The Assault

HL1

Harry Mulish:

born in Haarlem, Holland on July 29, 1927

his father, Kurt Mulish, was Austro-Hungarian and a Nazi collaborator; he worked for the
Lippman-Rosenthal Bank, where Jews had to deposit there money and goods before
being deported; after the war spent more than 2 years in jail for collaboration with the
Nazis
his mother, Alice Schwarz Mulisch, was Jewish; lost almost her entire family in the
Holocaust, including her mother and grandmother
parents separated in 1937
first public literary debut with 1947s De Kamer (The Room), which closely resembled
the work of E. A. Poe.
much of his inspiration draws from his life experiences; while he attempts to be objective
toward the Nazi-era German population there are small details that often reveal his
attitude towards the cruel and sadistic behavior of Nazi Germans during the Holocaust.

While You Read:

Trace Antons development throughout the novel; annotate your thoughts as to how he
deals (or does not deal) with the assault.
Highlight examples of how Fake Ploeg, Jr. is affected by the assault; annotate as to how
he is similar to and different than Anton.
In the last four episodes of the text, Anton meets someone who is able to tell him more
about the assault. Highlight and annotate the information that he discovers in the
second episode thru the final episode. Note how each encounter affects Anton.
Choose one of the following motifs and trace its development thru the text:
o light/dark
o luck/dice/chance
o pain/anesthesiology

Text Due and

Quote Quiz: Monday
11/30/2015