Essay Questions

What was a preparatory school and what school did Stephen most likely attended?

Taking into consideration the children’s ages, the preparatory school Stephen makes reference to may refer to a preparatory school children may attend until the age of 13 and is a school paid by the children’s parents. The school had the purpose of preparing the children of the wealthy to enter a second cycle of preparatory school where they prepare to go to college. The preparatory schools were attended by rich children and while they were no longer considered as being primarily boarding schools, they had the same role boarding schools had in the past. In comparison with them, the public schools were funded by the state. Unfortunately, the state schools could not compare with the private schools because they lacked the funding to teach the children and to prepare them to go to college. Usually, the state schools were attended by children coming from lower income families.

Why were the Jews seen as being dangerous and inferior by the British population?

At the beginning of Second World War, in England there was already a considerable population of Jews who fled from their countries during the First World War or even before it. The Jewish people settled in communities and they began to thrive, building businesses and living a comfortable life. During the Second World War, Britain accepted more Jewish people from the countries where they were persecuted by the Nazi regime and they settled once more in communities composed only by Jews. Unfortunately, they were regarded by the British people as being dangerous because many of them were able to rebuild their lives and live in a comfortable manner. They were resented because they were educated and thus could occupy positions the general British population could not. Because of this, the British developed anti-Semitic points of view and began criticizing the Jews and treating them with hostility.

Why where the British people sometimes forced to rely on black markets for their everyday needs?

England was heavily involved both in the First World War as well as in the Second World War. Because of this, it became hard for the country to receive outside support or food. Because many people left to fight in the war, the number of people who could work in the fields and produce food also reduced. Because of this, the state issued ration cards, stating how much food every person was entitled to. In many cases, food could not be otherwise purchased and thus people depended on their food ration cards. While food could not be obtained legally, there were ways one could buy it from the black market, to supplement the food the state was already giving them. Rich people could often afford to buy more food while lower income families were forced to rely on the food stamps they received. The prospect of Keith’s parents buying food from the black market is not absurd because from the way they were described, the author lets it be understood that they had the financial means to buy more food should they need it and they may have had the possibility of being in contact with people from the black market.