Josef's father is convinced there is a trap, so Josef and his mother go without him. Out of the 937 aboard, roughly 254 ultimately perished in Nazi concentration camps. St. Louis, a ship taking Jewish refugees to Havana, Cuba. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child. This is how Mahmoud puts it: No one cares about us if we stay out of your way, but if we come near you were seen as a burden. Josef did, and he sacrificed himself for Ruth. Ed. As Gratz observes in his author's note to the novel, the MS St. Louis was a real ship carrying . Christina Diaz Gonzalez, author of The Red Umbrella and A Thunderous Whisper. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe. Josef Landauis fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939. Though Refugee is a novel, all three of its main storylines are based on actual historical events. Josef goes to find his sister but when he comes back his father is gone. Log in here. The Syrian Civil War is still ongoing as of 2021. Meeting Aaron at Hamburg, Josef is shocked to see his once-confident father visibly anxious and harrowed. 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. Log in here. One example is when Josefs family falls apart and he has to be the leader by talking to other people and acting as the main adult of his family. One example is when Josefs family falls apart and he has to be the leader by talking to other people and acting as the main adult of his family. Officer Padron, a Cuban policeman assigned to the St. Louis, saves Josefs father. everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Refugee. It only gets worse for them, but in the end, he learns a powerful life lesson: Its better to be visible than invisible, because even though the bad people can harm you, the good people can help you. However, soon enough, Germany invades Poland, thus beginning World War II. His experiences with oppression in Germany, and then as a refugee, cause him to grow up far sooner than he should have to. However, beneath the surface, the ride isnt as perfect as it looks, and Josef has to take the initiative several times. A large part of the novels narrative focuses on boats, which represent tenuous hope. Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership. 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. His father refuses to leave the cabin, thinking the gathering is a Nazi trap. 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. Ruth promises to help Mahmoud find Hana. Yet instead of succumbing to the despair of these events, Josef and the rest of his family resolve to try to find a better life in a new country. Josef: Havana Harbor 1939, 19 days (2). As a narrative device, this has the effect of accentuating the perils of unusual transcontinental journeys, which the reader is habituated to consider in terms of air travel. Lito jumps in the water to distract the Coast Guard, and Isabels mother gives birth to a boy, just as they reach the shore. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Pam Muoz Ryan, author of Echo and Esperanza Rising. Full of struggle, heroism, and non-stop adventure, Refugee is not only an important book, its a terrific story. Alan Gratz is the bestselling author of a number of novels for young readers. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. Interestingly, the stories are also tied together through the symbolism of water and boats. In the back of the book, the author Alan Gratz offers ways that people can help refugees like Josef, Isabel, Mahmoud, and their families. They skipped the chapters on the other two characters, and the students that read Josef's story had to read the last chapter of Mahmoud's . Ed. On Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, seven Nazi Brownshirts (storm troopers) raid his home. 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. Josef's life is turned upside down on the night when Nazi Brownshirts take his father away to a concentration camp. The places where they live are in a horrifying state of turmoil. Fast paced, insightful, filled with drama and tension. By focusing on details such as Ruths stuffed rabbit, Mahmouds counterfeit life jackets, and Isabels trumpet, fiction forces readers to view tragedy not as a removed phenomenon, but as something happening daily to people like us.. What is the resolution for Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud inRefugee? If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance Mahmoud Bisharas story is the most recent: he and his family live in Aleppo, Syria, in 2015 and escape to Germany. REFUGEE braids three different stories of young refugees. Mahmouds journey is punctuated by icy rain even when he is still on dry land, as in Turkey, where his family scrambles for a dry place to stay. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights, Refugee: Even Mahmouds precarious raft is a promise of tomorrow. Aarons real crime, of course, is that he is a Jew, the minority group that Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler wants to eradicate. Josef Landau is a twelve-year-old boy living in Berlin. Refugee: Josef: Havana Harbor - 1939, 19 days (2) Summary & Analysis Next. The family face incredible hardship and tragedy throughout their long journey through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, and Hungary on their way to Germany. He and his family try to escape to Cuba on the. 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. While they travel, they ask if anyone has seen Hana. Did you know you can highlight text to take a note? PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. 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 . At another level, however, water represents change, which many of the main characters have to undergo either to survive or to redeem themselves. 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. Josef's story starts with Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass in 1938. The stories are set in different times and places and are told from the perspective of the refugee children. His experiences with oppression in Germany, and then as a refugee, cause him to grow up far sooner than he should have to. Mahmoud learns to shed his anonymity and turn more decisive as his raft flounders in the Mediterranean. Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! The frequent dangers that surround the boat underline the fragility of hope in the life of the novels asylum-seekers. Josef, Isabel, and Mahmouds strands begin to converge. Isabel Fernandez lives in Cuba in 1994. In Refugee, what is the climax of Mahmoud's story. 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.. However, one day Castro announces that he wont enforce staying in the country anymore, and Isabels family is ready to leave in a small boat their friends made. The way the content is organized, Mahmoud: The Mediterranean 2015, 11 days (3), Isabel: Between Bahamas and Florida 1994, 5 days (1), LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in, Injustice and Cruelty vs. On their way to Switzerland, the Landaus unfortunately run into German soldiers. What are the different settings of the novel and how does it affect and shape the characters? Free trial is available to new customers only. Officer Padron insists they had the right papers but the crowd gets mad insisting they also have the right papers. Isabels family and friends have always wanted to leave the country, but Castro will throw you in jail if you try to escape. Refugee looks readers straight in the eye, challenging them to truly see these kids who are battling the worst moments of our recent history. March 4, 2023, SNPLUSROCKS20 Comment on the use of imagery in "Games at Twilight.". The interplay between water and vessel, then, marks the unpredictable nature of a refugees journey. In the book "Games at Twilight", what details do you notice that show this story is not taking place in the United States? Refugee is a powerful novel about three very different children. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. The chapter ends as Josef searches for his father and realizes his father has jumped overboard. Thus, Gratz presents the stark reality of the perils of such a passage. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Plus, our printable worksheets make it easy to take the fun offline. Josef wonders what this means for (read more from the Pages 74 - 109 Summary). After its passengers were denied asylum in Cuba, the ship tragically returned to Europe, hoping to find sanctuary for its passengers between four European countries: Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and England. Chapter 1 Summary: "Josef: Berlin, Germany1938". With urgent, clear-eyed storytelling, Gratzs Refugee compellingly explores the desperation and strength that unites those struggling for a place to call home. The two families face much peril in the Florida straits: giant tankers, a hurricane that blows them off course, running out of fuel and water, deadly sharks, and Mami's going into labor all while trying to avoid the U.S. Coast guard so that they can make it to shore where they can claim asylum. All will face unimaginable dangersfrom drownings to bombings to betrayals. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. https://www.storyboardthat.com/lesson-plans/refugee-by-alan-gratz, *(This Will Start a 2-Week Free Trial - No Credit Card Needed). They run into several problems, like being in bloody water with many sharks around on a sinking boat and there are high stakes at the end. Out of these passengers, it was mostly those who found asylum in England who survived World War II. Further, children are made heroes in Refugee precisely because children should not, ideally, have to be heroes. Josef is loyal, compassionate, paternal, and selfless. In the end, these three stories are connected. A haunting fictional treatment of historic events. All three families make their asylum-seeking journeys on boats through perilous waters. Seor Castillo, who is passive for much of the action, pulls Isabel into the water at the end of the novel to ensure that she reaches the American coast. According to Gratz, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad continues to wage war on his own people. Isabel Fernandez's story begins in 1994 in Havana, Cuba under the oppressive rule of Fidel Castro. The second date is today's This is a powerful and inspirational book written by Alan Gratz, a great author. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. Refugee is a New York Times bestselling historical fiction novel. Isabel's story is like that of thousands of other Cuban immigrants who all fled Castro's Cuba. -Graham S. Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. It is shabbos and time for Josefs Bar Mitzvah, the Jewish religious ceremony when a Jewish boy turns 13 years old. For Aaron, it represents a metaphorical death, as he disappears into the water and subsequently out of Josefs life. All storyboards are public and can be viewed and copied by anyone. However, because the number of people fleeing Cuba was enormous, the US government was extremely ambiguous about granting them asylum, placing the refugees in a very precarious position. They board the St. Louis, a large German ship, and set out. After the police see Isabels father participate in a riot, there is no option but for the Fernandez family to leave Cuba by boat. Josef's father grows anxious, and Josef fears the doctor will find his father mentally ill and turn the family away. eNotes.com Source (s) Refugee 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. Gratz illustrates more dehumanization from the Nazis, exemplified in Schiendicks equation of the children with rats. Mahmouds father arranges for a smuggler to take them to the island of Lesbos, in Greece. This heart-stopping novel is not only compelling it is necessary. Mahmoud and his family travel through Serbia and into Hungary, where they are detained at a refugee camp that is built like a prison. What are some ways that the characters were helped by the kindness and compassion of others? The novel follows the stories of three refugee children in three different geographic locations and points in time. Refugee: Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean - 1939, 10 days Summary & Analysis Next Isabel: Straits of Florida - 1994, 1 day (2) Themes and Colors Key Summary Analysis Josef and some of the other children on the St. Louis take a tour of the ship 's bridge and engine room. eNotes Editorial. Renews March 11, 2023 Ruta Sepetys, author of Between Shades of Gray. (read more from the Pages 164 - 215 Summary) More summaries and resources for teaching or studying Refugee (Alan Gratz). Because of this, they all want to escape to a safer place. Because of this, they all want to escape to a safer place. The ship leaves for Europe, and Captain Schroeder promises to divide the passengers between England, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Refine any search. When students storyboard, they are actively engaged in the learning process and can make connections between the text and their own lives. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. After Mahmouds home is destroyed, his brother Waleed, sister Hana, and his parents drive to the border of Turkey, hoping to escape. Fidel Castro has taken over the country of Cuba and the citizens are sick of his dictatorship. Isabels best friend and neighbor, Ivn, is building a small boat with his father so that his family can flee to America. In doing so, he is able to atone for a past crime: he is Mariano Padron, one of the police officers who kept the passengers of the St. Louis from disembarking in Cuba in 1939, and only after stalling them for days with the false promise of maana. The hatred that Josef experiences on the tour only reminds him, and the readers, of the stakes of the trip. Josef is a Jewish boy in 1930s Nazi Germany. The second is the date of When Officer Padron returns to the St. Louis, he is treated like a hero by the Jewish passengers. It only gets worse for them, but in the end, he learns a powerful life lesson: Its better to be visible than invisible, because even though the bad people can harm you, the good people can help you. His mother gives the sailor their tickets and they board the boat. Mahmoud hands his sister, Hana, to another passing raft of refugees, knowing that his mother cannot hold her and swim. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. The Bisharas set sail on the crowded raft, standing in the freezing rain and cold. His father was put into a concentration camp during "The Night of Broken Glass," while Josef and his sister, Ruth watched their father being taken inhumanly. SparkNotes PLUS Chapter 13 Summary: "Josef: Somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean1939" During the Atlantic crossing in 1939, Josef's bar mitzvah ceremony is about to take place. After drifting off to the Bahamas, the Fernandez and Castillo families finally steer back on course to reach Florida, but not before Isabels mother delivers her baby brother in the boat. His selflessness is made evident when he sacrifices his own life for his sister's. Josef later dies in a concentration camp. Usually, Im not interested in history, but I couldnt put this book down. Mahmouds father tells them that Germany is accepting Syrian refugees and if they can get to Greece, they will be able to travel within the European Union to reach Germany. You have successfully joined Alan's newsletter list! 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. Water becomes the agent of change in each of these cases, emphasizing the centrality of adapting to survival.