In her novel, Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys illustrates the devastation faced by refugees as they race towards safety and freedom during World War II. In addition, Sepetys wants to educate people on a less known adversity, the sinking of Wilhelm Gustloff. To accomplish this purpose, she uses vivid imagery and comparisons to strengthen her purpose. This story is told through a first person perspective as each refugee has their own secrets to keep while seeking a new life. This was a highly effective choice as it enabled the reader to “be in their shoes” and witness the brutal journey these refugees have faced. In order to show us the severity of the journey, imagery is needed since it helps the audience picture the situation as most of us cannot imagine what life at this time was. When Joana arrived at the port, as “animals roamed helplessly in the streets and people screamed out for food and lost family members” (152). This description shows how this war has torn apart everyone physically and emotionally as complete chaos unfolds. It is also an appeal to pathos as her audience would feel devastated by having to witness such a scene. This is because nobody should have no food to eat or not know whether they were safe. As a result, the description of the port upon Joana’s arrival proves that even after their journey was completed, the fight for survival was not over. Instead, it was just beginning as everyone fought for a boarding pass that one hoped would allow them to
In the novel “Inside out & Back Again” written by Thanhha Lai , The main character Ha flees her home due to war. Her and her family were looking for a new home trying to start a new life. Although it wasn’t easy for her to start a new life she had to learn to overcome many challenges. In the novel Ha reveals that her life is related to the refugee life even though it was unexpected. When refugees flee their home, it affects them when they leave and find a new home, it also involves affecting them when their life is turned inside out,and it demonstrates why they relate to the refugee experience.
This book report discusses the plot, significant characters, setting (e.g., time of the story took place, historical background), problems and resolutions, themes or messages of the story. A reflection of the author’s writing style will be presented followed by a conclusion.
On the story, she commented, “Explaining just what I had hoped the story to say is very difficult. I supposed that by setting a particular brutal ancient rite in the present and in my village the story’s readers with a dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives.”
In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting an excerpt from a book and a refugee story. I will talk about both the differences and the similarities of each story.
Crossing the Red Sea illustrates the excruciating journey endured by immigrants after fleeing from the aftermath
Millions of people around the world have no choice but to flee their homeland to escape war, genocide, torture and persecution (Amnesty international, 2014). In the story ‘The Happiest Refugee’ written by Anh Do the famous Australian comedian talks about his family’s life as a refugee and the struggles they faced beginning their life in Australia. The components that will be looked at include: The effects of poverty on his family, the struggle of being a refugee and how family stick together.
This story gives a reflection on the role of the media because it demonstrates how news matter when a catastrophe occurs. Media is there to inform the public and increase their popularity but they are emotionally detached on what Azucena is going through. Allende makes media react in a particular way on how they should act with the people and be in guard on what to film, to please the public. The media only follows the company’s demands which is to bring more money for the company and that they shouldn’t take daily events emotionally. Though there’s Rolf Carle, who is different toward Azucena and distracts her from her hurt and loss of hope.
Sister Kay Haver explains, "the Refugees realize that the suffering is not over when they arrive in the US” (Mehri). As a member of the Sanctuary's Educational Committee, which helped to create a safe haven for immigrants, Haver describes the obstacles Guatemalan immigrants faced once they escaped to the United States. The Guatemalan Civil War involved extreme violence and pressure from the government, which fought mostly against leftist rebels. The Guatemalan Government has been proven guilty for the genocide of these people. The government targeted mainly poor, indigenous Mayans, similar to Estevan and Esperanza in The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. Kingsolver grew up in rural Kentucky and briefly lived in the Congo during her
“Migrant Hostel”, gives the responder a perspective of the plight of migrants and the trouble they face in building relationships due to the events in their past and the lack of understanding in the world around them. The metaphor of the “barrier at the main gate… Pointed in reprimand or shame” demonstrates how their housing affects them. A person cannot belong if they feel shamed, furthermore they consider themselves “birds of passage” with constant “comings and goings.” The constantly fluctuating events in their life results in an in-ability to form relationships as they have in-adequate time to form them, hindering belonging. Despite this shared “memories of hunger and hate” allowing some belonging, the alliteration emphasises the hardship of
Refugees, like Ha, came across many challenges on their journey, It was a traumatic experience for all, people lost their homes, friends, family and their lives. An example from the book inside out and back again say,“head whirls breath stinks for days.”(Lia)They don't have the resources to be clean and that's not the their biggest priority. Another example from the book is, ”food and water are provided but rationed.”(Gevert)There's so many refugees in one little area they don't have enough food or water to feed all of them. A quote from the article Refugees Who, where, why says,“Three civilians were killed three others are wounded last night when an explosion ripped through a crowded food market.”(Gevert) You always need to be aware of your
Like Bridie and Sheila they too are the forgotten victims of war, left to get on with life in their new country. The opening short sentences establish an atmosphere of sadness and apprehensions as the negative connotations of ‘dampness’, ‘crowded’ and ‘sank’ denote feelings of loss. As the ‘Immigrants’ wait in silence, the onomatopoeia of ‘the train’s whistle’ is a stark reminder of their transition into a new world and loss of the old. A melancholic tone is used to frame feelings of depression coupled with the pathetic fallacy of ‘crowded air’ and ‘dampness that slowly sank into our thoughts’ to capture vividly the common experiences of dislocation that is being felt. The alliterative use of ‘slowly sank’ highlights a loss of hope further denoting pessimism about an uncertain future in a country where indifference is experienced. Skrzynecki’s use of personification ‘time hemmed us in’ reflects the confinement of the immigrants as the extended metaphor of time is symbolic of stasis in their lives, moments of transience, but with little meaning. This loss of identity, both cultural and personal is further expressed through the figurative language where the powerful simile ‘like cattle bought for slaughter’ profoundly expresses their fear and pessimism through
While visiting migrant camps that were being flooded by the torrential rain in Visalia, he was filled with anger at the conditions in which these people were living (DeMott 3). The people
Many historical fiction novels recall well-known tragedies, but there is one novel in particular that tells the story of a covered catastrophe. Salt to the Sea, by Ruta Sepetys focuses on telling the unknown story of “the greatest maritime disaster in history,” the sinking of a German ship, the Wilhelm Gustoff, during World War II. Throughout telling the story, Sepetys portrays the theme of perseverance, as the characters face many challenges, but never give up. Despite the growing popularity of this novel, Sepetys did not gain her reputation from Salt to the Sea. Rather, she became the author she is today from her previously published novels, Between Shades of Grey and Out of the Easy. Septeys was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, but she is part Lithuanian. Growing up in the United States allowed Septeys the ability to attend Hillsdale College, where she received a bachelor’s degree in international finance. Like many others, I learned of Septeys’ work through her other novels. I have read both Between Shades of Grey and Out of the Easy, and thoroughly enjoyed them. Because I enjoyed her other works in a great deal, Salt to the Sea immediately made my “to-read” list. For this project, I knew I wanted to read a novel I would enjoy, and Salt to the Sea was sure to not disappoint.
The book’s thesis was a young girl’s journey from place to place while a war is outraging in her country. She is forced to leave her country without her parents when she is still young. She grows up in many different places, meeting many different people, and becoming a very different girl. She learns to take care of herself and runs into many problems that she has to solve alone. The topic of the Islamic revolution during and after is discussed, along with the differences in the private and public lives in the middle of a political war. There were some conflicts and differences in families across the community. It also shows how people grow and change, how a war nearby can change a person. When the war started, Marjane was a young innocent girl. When the war developed and she grew, she changed and lied to her parents and started hiding stuff from them. The war forced her to change her personality a bit because of the changes going on in her life.
Salt to the Sea is a 378 page historical fiction novel by Ruta Sepetys. It covers the journey of four people trying to escape the horrors of World War II. Salt to the Sea tells the little known story of the Wilhelm Gustloff sinking that killed over 9,000 war refugees. It is 1945, in the midst of WWII and everyone is hunted. For Joana, guilt is her hunter.