In her novel, Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys illustrates the devastation faced by refugees as they race towards safety and freedom during World War II. In addition, Sepetys wants to educate people on a less known adversity, the sinking of Wilhelm Gustloff. To accomplish this purpose, she uses vivid imagery and comparisons to strengthen her purpose. This story is told through a first person perspective as each refugee has their own secrets to keep while seeking a new life. This was a highly effective choice as it enabled the reader to “be in their shoes” and witness the brutal journey these refugees have faced. In order to show us the severity of the journey, imagery is needed since it helps the audience picture the situation as most of us cannot imagine what life at this time was. When Joana arrived at the port, as “animals roamed helplessly in the streets and people screamed out for food and lost family members” (152). This description shows how this war has torn apart everyone physically and emotionally as complete chaos unfolds. It is also an appeal to pathos as her audience would feel devastated by having to witness such a scene. This is because nobody should have no food to eat or not know whether they were safe. As a result, the description of the port upon Joana’s arrival proves that even after their journey was completed, the fight for survival was not over. Instead, it was just beginning as everyone fought for a boarding pass that one hoped would allow them to
Crossing the Red Sea illustrates the excruciating journey endured by immigrants after fleeing from the aftermath
This book report discusses the plot, significant characters, setting (e.g., time of the story took place, historical background), problems and resolutions, themes or messages of the story. A reflection of the author’s writing style will be presented followed by a conclusion.
This story gives a reflection on the role of the media because it demonstrates how news matter when a catastrophe occurs. Media is there to inform the public and increase their popularity but they are emotionally detached on what Azucena is going through. Allende makes media react in a particular way on how they should act with the people and be in guard on what to film, to please the public. The media only follows the company’s demands which is to bring more money for the company and that they shouldn’t take daily events emotionally. Though there’s Rolf Carle, who is different toward Azucena and distracts her from her hurt and loss of hope.
The central idea of this book is a little girl and her struggle in concentration camps the author shows this by “ tomorrow is deportation”( Leitner 3) . This happened on May 28, 1944 where she started her journey in the camps. She explains her feelings and fairs of them too and how she's not ready to leave this place called home because she was living in hungary and she ends up having to move away. Something else that is showing Isabella’s struggle is ”Every since childhood,I remember them with terror in my heart.” (Isabella Leitner 5). In this quote she is talking about the people that heard them like cattle and stuff. This was also the people that would kill them and make them do horrible things.These were the people that didn't make them feel like people. “75 to a car... no toilets... no doctors ... no medication”( Leitner 7) Isabella is talking about how they were moved place to place in these little cattle cars and how horrible the conditions normally where. Imagine being shoved in
Sister Kay Haver explains, "the Refugees realize that the suffering is not over when they arrive in the US” (Mehri). As a member of the Sanctuary's Educational Committee, which helped to create a safe haven for immigrants, Haver describes the obstacles Guatemalan immigrants faced once they escaped to the United States. The Guatemalan Civil War involved extreme violence and pressure from the government, which fought mostly against leftist rebels. The Guatemalan Government has been proven guilty for the genocide of these people. The government targeted mainly poor, indigenous Mayans, similar to Estevan and Esperanza in The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. Kingsolver grew up in rural Kentucky and briefly lived in the Congo during her
Many historical fiction novels recall well-known tragedies, but there is one novel in particular that tells the story of a covered catastrophe. Salt to the Sea, by Ruta Sepetys focuses on telling the unknown story of “the greatest maritime disaster in history,” the sinking of a German ship, the Wilhelm Gustoff, during World War II. Throughout telling the story, Sepetys portrays the theme of perseverance, as the characters face many challenges, but never give up. Despite the growing popularity of this novel, Sepetys did not gain her reputation from Salt to the Sea. Rather, she became the author she is today from her previously published novels, Between Shades of Grey and Out of the Easy. Septeys was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, but she is part Lithuanian. Growing up in the United States allowed Septeys the ability to attend Hillsdale College, where she received a bachelor’s degree in international finance. Like many others, I learned of Septeys’ work through her other novels. I have read both Between Shades of Grey and Out of the Easy, and thoroughly enjoyed them. Because I enjoyed her other works in a great deal, Salt to the Sea immediately made my “to-read” list. For this project, I knew I wanted to read a novel I would enjoy, and Salt to the Sea was sure to not disappoint.
Salt to the Sea is a 378 page historical fiction novel by Ruta Sepetys. It covers the journey of four people trying to escape the horrors of World War II. Salt to the Sea tells the little known story of the Wilhelm Gustloff sinking that killed over 9,000 war refugees. It is 1945, in the midst of WWII and everyone is hunted. For Joana, guilt is her hunter.
Like Bridie and Sheila they too are the forgotten victims of war, left to get on with life in their new country. The opening short sentences establish an atmosphere of sadness and apprehensions as the negative connotations of ‘dampness’, ‘crowded’ and ‘sank’ denote feelings of loss. As the ‘Immigrants’ wait in silence, the onomatopoeia of ‘the train’s whistle’ is a stark reminder of their transition into a new world and loss of the old. A melancholic tone is used to frame feelings of depression coupled with the pathetic fallacy of ‘crowded air’ and ‘dampness that slowly sank into our thoughts’ to capture vividly the common experiences of dislocation that is being felt. The alliterative use of ‘slowly sank’ highlights a loss of hope further denoting pessimism about an uncertain future in a country where indifference is experienced. Skrzynecki’s use of personification ‘time hemmed us in’ reflects the confinement of the immigrants as the extended metaphor of time is symbolic of stasis in their lives, moments of transience, but with little meaning. This loss of identity, both cultural and personal is further expressed through the figurative language where the powerful simile ‘like cattle bought for slaughter’ profoundly expresses their fear and pessimism through
“Migrant Hostel”, gives the responder a perspective of the plight of migrants and the trouble they face in building relationships due to the events in their past and the lack of understanding in the world around them. The metaphor of the “barrier at the main gate… Pointed in reprimand or shame” demonstrates how their housing affects them. A person cannot belong if they feel shamed, furthermore they consider themselves “birds of passage” with constant “comings and goings.” The constantly fluctuating events in their life results in an in-ability to form relationships as they have in-adequate time to form them, hindering belonging. Despite this shared “memories of hunger and hate” allowing some belonging, the alliteration emphasises the hardship of
The refugee story of Viola shows us what the process of the adapting to a new climate and environment is like, as well as how this process relates to that which
On the story, she commented, “Explaining just what I had hoped the story to say is very difficult. I supposed that by setting a particular brutal ancient rite in the present and in my village the story’s readers with a dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives.”
This essay is about the universal refugee experience and the hardships that they have to go through on their journey. Ha from Inside Out and Back Again and other refugees from the article “Children of War” all struggle with the unsettling feeling of being inside out because they no longer own the things that mean the most to them. Ha and the other refugees all encounter similar curiosities of overcoming the finding of that back again peaceful consciousness in the “new world” that they are living in .
While visiting migrant camps that were being flooded by the torrential rain in Visalia, he was filled with anger at the conditions in which these people were living (DeMott 3). The people
The book’s thesis was a young girl’s journey from place to place while a war is outraging in her country. She is forced to leave her country without her parents when she is still young. She grows up in many different places, meeting many different people, and becoming a very different girl. She learns to take care of herself and runs into many problems that she has to solve alone. The topic of the Islamic revolution during and after is discussed, along with the differences in the private and public lives in the middle of a political war. There were some conflicts and differences in families across the community. It also shows how people grow and change, how a war nearby can change a person. When the war started, Marjane was a young innocent girl. When the war developed and she grew, she changed and lied to her parents and started hiding stuff from them. The war forced her to change her personality a bit because of the changes going on in her life.
In the novel “Inside out & Back Again” written by Thanhha Lai , The main character Ha flees her home due to war. Her and her family were looking for a new home trying to start a new life. Although it wasn’t easy for her to start a new life she had to learn to overcome many challenges. In the novel Ha reveals that her life is related to the refugee life even though it was unexpected. When refugees flee their home, it affects them when they leave and find a new home, it also involves affecting them when their life is turned inside out,and it demonstrates why they relate to the refugee experience.