The Painted Bird

Most of The Painted Bird is written in the first-person. What is the effect of this point of view? Why did Kosiński choose a child as his protagonist? Why does the reader never learn if the boy is actually a Gypsy or a Jew? Why does the reader never learn his name?

The boy takes great care to describe animals, both in the wilderness and in the villages. How does the animal world reflect the human world? What messages can readers take from the various comparisons between humans and animals? 

Discuss the idea of justice as presented in The Painted Bird. Is there justice overall? Do Mitka’s teachings on revenge complement or contrast with the peasants’ systems of justice?

Throughout The Painted Bird, the boy attempts to explain why some people possess skills, fortune, and power while others do not. Explain the progression of his theories on inequality, specifically in regard to the peasants and the Germans. 

How are good and evil defined in The Painted Bird, and do the definitions change as the novel progresses?

Is there any hope to be found in The Painted Bird? Are there any good characters in the novel, and does the end of the novel suggest that goodness can triumph?

Compare and contrast superstition and Catholicism as presented in The Painted Bird. Does one prove more dependable than the other? What does the boy believe about God, and how do his beliefs change?

Discuss the relationship between sex, violence, and power in The Painted Bird.