If there are three dates, the first date is the date of the original Each story weaves actual events into the narrative to create a realistic picture of the struggle and tragedies that families in each of these situations have faced. Refugee is more than a story about children fleeing their homelands, it is a story about what unites us all love, family and perseverance. For one, fiction enables the reader to inhabit history in a way that textbooks and newsprint cannot accommodate. Josefs story starts with Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass in 1938. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance Josef and his sister Ruthie are just children, and yet they are needlessly abused by the soldiers. REFUGEE braids three different stories of young refugees. What are the different settings of the novel and how does it affect and shape the characters? He promises the passengers that he will try to deliver them to a country other than Germany. 2023 . Students will see themselves in the young protagonists: children faced with insurmountable and tragic circumstances but who, at their heart, are just kids who love their families and want to live in peace. When Isabel is asked to play a song at her new school in America, she plays a Cuban salsa version of The Star-Spangled Banner.. Though Refugee is a novel, all three of its main storylines are based on actual historical events. Ruta Sepetys, author of Between Shades of Gray. Despite his father's absence, Josef is pleased to see 100 men gathered to perform the ritual with him. Log in here. Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership. This is a fascinating tale. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Trauma and. Summary Plot Overview Refugee follows the stories of three different children and their families, each attempting to flee their violent homelands, in different regions of the world and during different decades. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. His mother, father, little brother Waleed, and baby sister Hana barely manage to escape the bombing of their apartment building. He watches his friends' father, whom had already sought asylum in Cuba, come to pick up his daughters on the boat. Its other accolades include the Sydney Taylor Book Award, the National Jewish Book Award, the Cybils Middle Grade Fiction Award, a Charlotte Huck Award Honor, and a Malka Penn Award for . On Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, members of the Brownshirts, the police force of Nazi Germany, invade Josefs house and take away his father, Aaron Landau. Refugee is a powerful novel about three very different children. This is a fascinating tale. The audio version provides an ideal (even mandatory) opportunity for libraries to share these resonating tales with readers reluctant to pick up the page. Mahmoud learns to shed his anonymity and turn more decisive as his raft flounders in the Mediterranean. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. His experiences with oppression in Germany, and then as a refugee, cause him to grow up far sooner than he should have to. Lito, Isabels grandfather, also joins them. You'll also receive an email with the link. The stories are set in different times and places and are told from the perspective of the refugee children. Things dont go as planned when a fight breaks out and the family has to leave their car and belongings behind. Josef: Havana Harbor 1939, 19 days (2). On the ship, Ruth, born in Nazi Germany, has the freedom to play openly for the first time in her life. Isabels family and friends have always wanted to leave the country, but Castro will throw you in jail if you try to escape. The places where they live are in a horrifying state of turmoil. While walking on the boat afterwards, a newly minted man, he overhears the stewards discussing how the ships engines are maxed out - in order to beat the other ships to Cuba. 2023 . Further, children are made heroes in Refugee precisely because children should not, ideally, have to be heroes. The St. Louis was an actual ship that sailed from Hamburg to Cuba in May, 1939 under the command of Captain Gustav Schrder. It tells the story of three refugee children and their families in different times and places. But for each of them, thereis always the hope of tomorrow. Like everyone else during the Holocaust, he was scarred, both emotionally and physically. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Though the stories are fictionalized, the events they draw from are historical, enabling readers to empathize with the perils of those whose lives are too often dismissed as remote news stories. These arent completely true stories, but these things do happen to real people, even today. Gratzs stirring novel humanizes the plight of refugees worldwide. As Gratz observes in his author's note to the novel, the MS St. Louis was a real ship carrying . eNotes Editorial. Josef's father grows anxious, and Josef fears the doctor will find his father mentally ill and turn the family away. Gratz shows how Josefs experience is not an isolated incident: all over Germany, Jews are facing the same kind of erasure of their culture and identity. Mahmoud; Waleed; their parents, Youssef and Fatima; and their baby sister, Hana, leave for Germany. Summary Themes Questions & Answers Characters Analysis Refugee Summary R efugee is a novel by Alan Gratz that examines three interrelated stories of the refugee experience. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. publication online or last modification online. Summary & Analysis Josef: Berlin, Germany - 1938; Isabel: Outside Havana, Cuba - 1994 (1) Mahmoud: Aleppo, Syria - 2015 (1) . The Nazis labelling Aarons practice as a crime against the German people inherently detaches them from their own German culture. When the St. Louis reaches Havana Harbor in Cuba, the ship is not allowed to dock. This is thebeets in a brownieof kid lit. His 2017 novel Refugee has spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list, and is the winner of 14 state awards. Fidel Castro has taken over the country of Cuba and the citizens are sick of his dictatorship. Dont have an account? From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights, Refugee: Josef: Train to Hamburg - 1939, 1 day Themes and Colors Key Summary Analysis After school, Mahmoud, Waleed, and their mother, Fatima, do their usual afternoon prayer. The novel begins with the story line of twelve-year-old Josef, a Jewish boy in Germany. Instant PDF downloads. He also draws a clear line between this view of the children, and their justification of the violence that they deem acceptable against Jewish people. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Isabels family and friends have always wanted to leave the country, but Castro will throw you in jail if you try to escape. Eventually, the rest of the family is rescued by the Greek Coast Guard and taken to Lesbos, where the coast is littered with the bodies of Syrian refugees who drowned in transit. | Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more! Aboard the St. Louis, Josefs family and the other passengers, all Jewish refugees, are treated well by Captain Schroeder and most of the ships crew. The second date is today's Though the three stories are historically discrete at first glance, they are linked by the fates of Ruth, Lito, and the Bisharas. Josef is 12 years old at the beginning of the book, living in Nazi Germany in 1938, where Jewish people like Josef are treated as "subhuman" and second-class citizens. However, beneath the surface, the ride isnt as perfect as it looks, and Josef has to take the initiative several times. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. Refugee looks readers straight in the eye, challenging them to truly see these kids who are battling the worst moments of our recent history. The book revolves around three main characters from three different eras: Nazi Germany, 1990s Cuba, and modern-day Syria. Scholastic|July 25,2017|Ages 8and Up. Isabel wakes up, still in the boat, now 3 days from home. (He is Officer Padron from Josefs story.) The second is the date of Mahmoud Bisharas story is the most recent: he and his family live in Aleppo, Syria, in 2015 and escape to Germany. Complete your free account to request a guide. A haunting fictional treatment of historic events. The St. Louis could not save Josef, just as the Castillos boat could not save Ivn. Filled with both tragic loss and ample evidence of resilience, these memorable and tightly plotted stories contextualize and give voice to current refugee crises, Exceptional readers Michael Goldstrom, Kyla Garcia, and Assaf Cohen tackle Gratzs compelling novel. Once he is released, the family flees to Cuba. Lito tells the story of the St. Louis and how he had to turn away so many refugees when he was a young policeman. In the end, these three stories are connected. The trip is initially joyous and hopeful. Isabel's story is set in Cuba in 1994 during a time of great economic crisis and upheaval. All three young people will go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. Meant to be read, discussed, and shared widely. A stunning, poignant novel about the plight of refugees Grade A. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Before long, the raft capsizes, and the family stays alive by floating in the frigid water, their counterfeit life jackets refusing to work. Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child. Josef's life is turned upside down on the night when Nazi Brownshirts take his father away to a concentration camp. Summary Themes Questions & Answers Characters Analysis Refugee Themes T he main themes in Refugee are trauma and growing up, the dehumanization of refugees, and empathy and hope. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. Heartrendingly, Josef notes that he and Ruthie never want to leave the St. Louis, the first place they have been treated as human beings in a long while. Want 100 or more? Out of these passengers, it was mostly those who found asylum in England who survived World War II. online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. What is the setting of "Games at Twilight" by Anita Desai? Review: Refugee is a powerful novel about three very different children. Refugee is a heart-pounding adventure as well as an important book that shines a light on a too often invisible and politicized problem.