Number the Stars
Why Are You Running
respond to chapter one’s title “Why Are You Running?” What role did this question play in the chapter?
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Margarita H #752635
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Lenora M #753184
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Answered by
Lenora M #753184
The German soldiers stopped the fun and horseplay of the girls by asking them, "Why are you running?" They were racing home from school. The question serves to introduce the reader to the fact that Germans are occupying Holland at the time of this story, and that the local people fear them.
When the girls get home they are reprimanded for drawing attention to themselves. The best way to stay safe during German occupation was to blend in, not be noticed. The girls running and encounter with the soldiers was just the opposite.
The title also serves as a bit of foreshadowing. If only, the girls had known who would really be running, how far they would go, and how long they would have to run they would have been even more scared.
