Lunch With Lenin By Deborah Ellis Analysis

Lunch with Lenin is a superb story written by Deborah Ellis. It involves the protagonist, Valerin is a round character and the reader witnesses as he grows up and matures in what seems to be Russia shortly after the end of World War II. The story tells of how Valerin overcomes challenges such as being abandon by his mother and getting picked on at the orphanage. The reader can see that Val is very loyal, brave, and smart just from watching how Valerin deals with growing up. Choices that are made by this unique protagonist are usually wise and well thought out. Since Valerin was left by himself at such a young age, it can only be assumed that he has some deep abandonment issues.

When it comes to loyalty, no one can best Valerin. Sticking through to the end just to complete the task at hand so he doesn’t upset anyone. Sometimes being loyal is a bad thing which is seen when Valerin is told by his mother to wait on the bench and he ends up staying there for nearly two days just waiting for his mother instead of going to get help. As our fearless protagonist ages we can see that he is loyal to his friend Squid, another orphaned boy

At an early age of seven, Valerin could write his name perfectly as his mother had taught him and made him write it over and over again, the reasoning why isn’t shown. Nearing the end of the story, an older Valerin follows Squid into a shed where other junkies were sitting in their own trance like gaze. Squid offers Valerin a strange syringe with a weird substance inside which he assumes is a drug. Valerin is smart enough to turn down the drug and Squid takes it instead. Readers can see that Valerin is indeed street-smart as he doesn’t pick any fights with anyone and tries not to interact with anyone as that would only draw attention to