The Return

The Return by Sonia Levitin is a novel showing how difficult life is for Ethiopian Jews traveling to Israel. They face many hardships on their way, and there are many obstacles in their path. Many themes are depicted in this novel. Three meaningful topics that can be discussed are maturing and finding one’s own identity, prejudice and its effect, and cultural/family pressures.

One of the themes that The Return illustrates is maturing and finding one’s own identity. An example of this theme is in the beginning of the novel when Desta does not want to depart for Jerusalem and wants to stay with her family. However, soldiers come to recruit from her village and Desta has to leave immediately. Desta does not complain about this situation. This shows maturity because Desta knows that her family wants her to leave for Jerusalem and that it is the best for her. A further example of maturing and finding one’s own identity is one Joas dies. Desta always relies on Joas in the beginning of the novel, but she then takes control by taking care of Almaz and herself. She trades with foreigners and struggles to survive with her sister. She also continues to travel even though there is a risk of death. This shows courage and maturity because it is very hard to take care of a nine-year-old child with very little food at hand. Another way Desta shows maturity is how she uses skills she learns to her advantage. An example of this is when Desta takes her holiday shamma and wraps Joas in it for a burial. This shows maturity because she follows what her culture expects of her. One last example of maturity illustrated in The Return is how Desta tells Dan, with no fears, that she does not want to marry him yet. She expects than Dan will be angry, but Desta tells him anyway. This shows maturity because she stands up for what she believes is right for herself and shows independence. As one can see, Desta matures in many ways throughout the novel performing bravely, independently, and lovingly in acts towards herself and others.

Another theme that The Return shows is prejudice and its effect. One example this novel shows is that enemies of the Ethiopian Jews are killing and forcing them to be soldiers. This shows prejudice because the enemies only think about themselves and treat other people like animals.