The Punishment

  1. How does the setting of the novel contribute to the plot?
  2. Why is Cédonie attracted to Kommandant Kurt Auer? Do you think she would have been had a war not been on?
  3. What are Odette’s motivations? How does she feel about Cédonie?
  4. How does Luc’s perspective as a seven-year-old contribute to our understanding of war time? And his parents’ relationship?
  5. “Love, it appears, continues despite everything.” (pg 15) What kinds of love are shown in the book? How are these different?
  6. What is the symbolism of the cover of The Punishment?
  7. How are Francine and Cédonie different? In what ways are they similar?
  8. How does Cédonie’s childhood contribute to her development as an adult?
  9. What is the symbolism of the mountains?
  10. How does the river scene – where the soldiers and children swim together – build on the reader’s impression of life in Saint-Girons?
  11. In what ways does Kurt show his past and present isolation?
  12. Why is the presence of the marble stature on Rabe’s desk so disturbing?
  13. How does the circular structure of the book help the reader’s understanding of both Cédonie and Odette?
  14. How is beauty represented in The Punishment?
  15. Cédonie’s Saint-Girons is both a place of plenty and dire need. Explain.
  16. How does the environment represent Cédonie’s emotions? And the passage of time?
  17. What is the importance of Helga the pig to the plot?
  18. Violence and desire are often connected. How is this so in The Punishment?
  19. Thibault, Hervé and Kurt represent three different types of men. What are they?
  20. How does the author use the senses to create the setting?
  21. Why are chapter titles based on fairy tales?
  22. “Cédonie stands in the doorway, her hair tightly braided down her back, feeling the weight of the basket still in her heart and in her hands.” (pg 47) What is the symbolism of hair in the story and how is this carried through?
  23. Words are powerful. How does The Punishment show this?
  24. Escape is more than physical. How else does it manifest itself in the novel?
  25. Occupiers and the Occupied – what dynamics result from this social turmoil?