The narrator mentions a number of events in chapters 1 - 3 that take place for the first or the last time. List as many as you can find. What do these events have in common? Why do you think the author has chosen to draw your attention to them?

-It's the last time Eli will see his sister or mother again.

-Chapter 1 was the first time the Jews were deported.

-Chapter one was the first time they were herded into cattle cars.

-Chapter one is the last time many would see Signet again.

-Chapter two they see Auschwitz for the first time.

All these are related to Nazi occupation of Eastern Europe and Jewish genocide.