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Alan Gratz Sacrifice

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Sacrifice is when a person gives up something for a good cause. Many characters in the book, Refugee, by Alan Gratz sacrifice not only their lives, but many other things in order for their families to escape their dangerous homelands. The theme between all three of these stories is that sacrifice is needed to have success. The three main characters of Refugee, Mahmoud, Isabel, and Josef all sacrifice certain things to get free from danger and trouble. During the book, Josef sacrifices multiple things in order for his family to have success. After leaving Dachau and getting on the ship, Josef notices that his dad is not the same. His dad, Aaron Landau, is super paranoid and won’t do anything but hide in their room. Because of this, Josef has to be the father figure of the family and take care of …show more content…

Be a little kid again, cheerfully oblivious to what was going on around him” (253). Josef forfeits his childhood to become the new father figure of his family, and steps up to make sure that everybody stays safe. Josef not only sacrificed his childhood, but also sacrificed his entire life. After making it to France, off the long journey on the Ms Saint Louis, Josef and his family are finally safe. This is until the Nazis start taking over all of the European countries, France included. Josef, his mother, and his sister were all hiding in a house in France when they saw the Nazis at the front door. Josef decides to smash his elbow on the glass to give his family a head start as they are on the run from the Nazis. They run through the woods, but eventually the Nazis catch them. Josef’s mother begs them not to take her children away. She gave the Nazi soldiers diamond earrings and loads of cash. Still, the Nazis want Josef and his sister. Finally, the Nazis agree to let one of them go. They “gave [his] mother a choice—save me, or save my brother. [...] So my brother chose her.”

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