preview

Between Shades Of Gray Character Analysis

Decent Essays
Open Document

1. Who is the main character(s) of the novel? Consider both protagonists and antagonists. Provide a brief description. Lina Vilkas is the fifteen year old main character and protagonist of Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. Lina has long, wavy, honey-colored hair and blue eyes like her mother, but she bears a resemblance to her father as well. “‘Kostas, Lina looks just like you” (Sepetys 34). Her personality is headstrong, impulsive, and outspoken, which puts her in danger with the Soviets. Though it is risky, she uses her art to express her strong emotions and opinions. “When I imagined sketching the commander, I had no problem, until I got to his head. My mind saw… a nest of wicked snakes sprouting out of his neck, or a skull with hollow …show more content…

What is the setting of the story (time/place/cultural environment)? Between Shades of Gray is set in the mid 20th century during the Genocide of Baltic people by Stalin. After the annexation of the baltic states, Lina Vilkas and her family are taken from their home in Lithuania at the beginning of World War II, and are forced to work in labor camps in Siberia. “Thinking back, the signs were there-family photos burned in the fireplace, Mother sewing her best silver and jewelry into the lining of her coat late at night, and Papa not returning from work” (3). During Stalin’s regime, people that are suspected to be anti-soviet conspiracists, such as teachers, lawyers, and military, or anyone of suspicion are considered criminals. “The child had been alive only minutes but was already considered a criminal by the Soviets” (21). The deportations started on June 14, 1941. Lina and her family are transported in dirty and crowded train cars past the Arctic Circle, and are forced to labor for around two years in the camps. “We had a war of our own, waiting for the NKVD to choose the next victim, to throw us in the next hole. They enjoyed hitting and kicking us in the fields” (163). After failing to be sold, Lina and other people that are on the train with her are taken to a beet farm, and then are transported even further north to work and live in mud huts. The conditions are unsanitary and crowded in the train cars, where the toilet is a hole in the floor. “I counted the …show more content…

What key scene did you find most interesting or memorable? Describe the scene and explain why. The scene I found to be most memorable is when Lina runs into Kretzsky when she is trying to steal firewood. Kretzsky is drunk and crying. He jokes that Lina cannot draw a portrait of him to save herself. When Lina turns to leave, Kretzsky says that her mother was a good and pretty woman, “‘Krasivaya’” (324). Lina is angry because Andrius wanted her to learn the meaning of the word on her own. Kretzsky asks her if she hates him and says that he hates himself too. He tells Lina that he knows about all of her drawings and his mother was an artist too. But she is dead, just like Lina’s mother. Lina apologizes instinctively, and then questions why she did. Kretzsky tells her about his family and says that Lina is not the only one who is in prison. He tells her to hurry up and steal the wood, and says ‘“The woman my father married, she hates me, too. She hates Poles’” (326). Lina takes a piece of wood and is about to leave, but her conscience stops her. She tells Kretzsky that she is sorry. He tells Lina that he is sorry for her mother. The next day, Kretzsky is gone. The scene was very meaningful and interesting, because it shows that the young men in NKVD are people too. Lina sees Kretzsky as cruel and emotionless as the other NKVD, but after this scene she realizes that Kretzsky has a good heart. The way he talks about Lina’s mother shows how he respected her. Even though he has

Get Access
Related
Get Access