Salt to the sea by Ruta Sepetys is a story inspired by the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy that killed 9,400 people. Sepetys is a bestselling and award winning author, who tells the story about the casualties of the World War II. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys shows how a person is treated based on citizenships. All the victims come from different countries. There refugees aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff in an attempt to escape the soviet advance. It is evident that the individuals are treated depending on their citizenships. The Russians are being petrified since they were killing the Germans. Joana was one of the people afraid of the Russians. “The young woman winced at the mention of the Russian." (p.34) Just a simple mention of the Russians was enough to instil fear in her. …show more content…
However, there are only a few to stand out. Such characters are Joana, Emilia and Florian. Joana is from Lithuania and has been training in medical field, Emilia is just a young girl who is Polish, and Florian is German. It is evident that these three characters are affected by their citizenship. Joana was a bit hesitant to interact with people from other nations. When it is time to leave, she says: “We can’t bring this girl with us. Her coat is splattered with blood. She’s clearly in trouble. And she is polish. And I’m Lithuanian.” (p.40) She does not want to bring Emilia along simply because of her citizenship. Perhaps, if Emilia was Lithuanian, Joana would not think twice about going with her. Another area where one’s citizenship affects the way a person is treated is when the German Knight joined the other refugees. Before Joana starts treating the German knight, at first she tells him: "I’m not German. I’m Lithuanian. Is that a problem?" (p.42) From this statement it is clear that there was a drift between the
Therefore, the characters have similar and distinct traits. Lina and Elie, Ona and Mrs. Schächter, and Elena and Shlomo are the most analogous, although they have certain differences. Lina and Elie are alike by being benevolent and defending their families. On the same note, Ona and Mrs. Schächter are alike by how they react to the harsh events of the Holocaust. Lastly, Elena and Shlomo are alike by being strong in a time of crisis. These novels share many features, but also are dissimilar in several
The author shows the reader the sea just as the sailor does as death, but more than death
One of the main characters is a girl named Jasmine but they call her Jazz for short. Jazz is basically a goth girl and she has black hair with a little pink on top. She goes to high school and is around the age of 15. Jazz is in a pretty bad mood usually but it just depends on what she is doing. The other main character's name is Antonia. Antonia is a very smart girl and helps other people out with their problems. She is like a councilor. She has about shoulder length dirty blond hair and is pretty average in height for her age. She is usually in a good mood but sometimes she can get mad or sad. The last main character is Antonia's mom. She has pretty good attitudes depending on what she feels like. She is in her mid-30's.
Some of the most intriguing stories of today are about people’s adventures at sea and the thrill and treachery of living through its perilous storms and disasters. Two very popular selections about the sea and its terrors are The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger and “The Wreck of the Hesperus” by Henry Longfellow. Comparison between the two works determines that “The Wreck of the Hesperus” tells a more powerful sea-disaster story for several different reasons. The poem is more descriptive and suspenseful than The Perfect Storm, and it also plays on a very powerful tool to captivate the reader’s emotion. These key aspects combine to give the reader something tangible that allows them to relate to the story being told and affects them strongly.
The horrors of Hitler and the Holocaust are well known events during World War II, but many people don’t know that Stalin killed over 20 million people in the same time frame, either by murder or starving them to death in Siberian work camps. Between Shades of Gray uncovers the lost story of the millions of Lithuanian, Estonian, Latvian, and Finnish lives lost. The Baltic states annexation, the harsh conditions of Siberia, and the fearful lives they had to lead after being freed are wonderfully depicted in the novel.
The historical fictional novel, Salt to the Sea, by Ruta Sepetys, takes four main characters, Florian, Joana, Alfred, and Emilia, on one shocking adventure to get onto the ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff, to escape the war that’s hunting them throughout Germany. They encounter death, happiness, and tragedy, which brings them closer. Their lives intervene as they learn to forget their past and get a fresh start. One theme that is learned by the characters is that honesty bonds people together and builds trust, while lies ruin that trust.
However, it is clear that extreme brutality was expected of German troops on the Eastern front. The Barbarossa Decree outlines the jurisdiction of the Wehrmacht troops and how they were expected to attack and defend themselves from any threat that presents itself, without mercy (Document 3). Historians have examined the violent tendencies of the German troops on the Eastern front. Truman Anderson and Arnold both have made note on how reliant German soldiers were on terror and fear and how they victimized Ukraine's Russian and Jewish minorities over Ukraine's majority population . This can be supported by the Directives on Behaviour towards the Ukrainian Population, which states that Ukraine is full of Germanic blood and that certain exceptions can be made; with the overall goal to be gentle with the majority of the Ukrainian population. The directives also state that places of worship were to be prevented from becoming places of pilgrimage (Document 8). The atrocities that the German soldiers would commit because of these orders was the reason why there was so many casualties on the Eastern front. As previously stated, fear was an emotion that the German soldiers wanted to instill on its enemies. A conversation that the British intelligence overheard between Lieutenant General Georg Neuffer and Colonel Hans Reimann in August 1944, provides insight to how
Emilia does not have her own papers, but the papers of an older woman named Una that had died. The Germans kept commanding Emilia to show them her papers. Shoe Poet steps up and says, “Una, dear, are you all right?” Emilia does not say anything back in reply because she does not speak German, only Polish. Shoe Poet steps up once again and says, “As you can see, Una’s quite far along, and she appears to be ill.”
In this book, Funder gave us both sides of the story where the victim of the Stasi were given an opportunity to tell their truth, but the perpetrators were also given a chance to tell their truth of being a part of the Ministry of State Security. Through the course of this book, women like Julia, Miriam, and Frau Paul express to the reader how their experiences in the GDR were an open wound that would not heal because of how horrific the circumstances were. The ex-Stasi members had little to no remorse for their actions and it solidified the need for harsher punishment. After World War II, many of the war criminals were not brought to justice because of the way the law was written. If the Stasi members were to be given punishment, the judicial system would have to do something about it, otherwise the opinions of a select few citizens would not make a difference. The root to solving this problem is the government; they are fundamentally the only ones that can bring about
What do the details of the setting here tell us about the main characters in our
Multitudes of people were deported by the Soviets under the order of Josef Stalin during World War II, including Crimean Tatars and Lithuanians. One such example of the Soviet’s cruelty is depicted in the novel Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys: “He threw his burning cigarette onto our clean living room floor and ground it into the wood with his boot. We were about to become cigarettes” (5). Between Shades of Gray is narrated through the eyes of fifteen-year-old artist, Lina Vilkas. Soviet soldiers, known as the NKVD, take Lina and her family from Lithuania to labor in Siberian camps with little supplies and hope. As people around her die at the NKVD’s hands, she is forced to endure
During times of war people can lose everything, yet still experience hope, family, and love. In the historical fictional novel Salt to the Sea, by Ruta Sepetys, a group of refugees escaping German and Russian forces during WWII are able to find love, hope, and family in one another. On the refugee's journey to the Wilhelm Gustloff, supporting characters Heinz (also known as the Shoe Poet) and Klaus discover faith and the aspect of family in each other. Similarly to main character, Emilia, who develops a strong relationship built by the building blocks of love and faith within her baby, Halinka. Despite the novel consisting of the pain and adversity, the characters endure during their escape to freedom; love, family, and hope are recurring themes that shine throughout the novel.
Some returnees had been so traumatised they remained forever fearful, concealing their past, refusing to discuss it even with family members, and shunning fellow survivors. They became submissive Soviet citizens, ‘their fear of their own thoughts, their dread of being rearrested, were so overwhelming that they seemed more truly and
But the Polish Vice-President doesn’t agree with this and transfers Jan to the Pedagogic Museum, so that he won’t lose his house and income. Shortly after Antonina gives birth to her daughter Teresa. The time for a Polish uprising is now and Jan leaves to fight. Antonina is on edge but somehow defends the zoo. During the uprising Antonina, Ryś, and Teresa are forced to live in an abandoned schoolhouse for a while.
Jane is told that she must go to the Red Room she says 'O Aunt! Have