ipl-logo

Between Shades Of Grey Critical Essay

1588 Words7 Pages

Anya’s Unit 1: Close Reading

Dear Ms. Kannan,

Between Shades of Grey is a historical fiction novel set in 1941 during the holocaust. The protagonist, Lina, is a 15 year old girl living with a happy, healthy family in Lithuania. One night, the soviet police are banging at their door whilst her mother is hurriedly telling Lina and her brother, Jonah to pack up their belongings while pleading the guards to give them time. Time’s up and they’ve been thrown into carts on the way to Siberia. Because Between Shades of Grey is set in the holocaust, this isn’t a story of one girl, one family, it is a story about the revolving matters, zooming in and out of Lina’s story. For many during the holocaust, hope was their only escape from reality and hope required major changes in beliefs and lifestyle.
In Between Shades of Grey, from the beginning, it was clear that hope would be a continuous factor, throughout, changing ideas of values and morals. What the novel went into was how Lina’s perspective on everything, would need to be adjustable for what she has ahead of her. When hope is all that is left, morals and values change. This is the cause and effect. As the novel enters darker times we see Lina’s memories in …show more content…

This conversation was towards the very end of the book, in which we were able to see a clear moment of realization for Lina. Her hate had suddenly been less vague. Because there was close to no hope left in Lina’s soul after her mother died. The reason her morals are changing towards the end is because when there is close to no hope left, only then people have really started to think about reality and what is the true identity of those. Just before Lina’s mother dies she tells Lina that Kretzsky is only a boy. If everyone had been flexible to new morals, no doubt many people wouldn't have a peace of mind. They would have nothing to place their beliefs in. Nothing to place hope

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Between Shades Of Gray By Ruta Sepetys

    714 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother’s was worth a pocket watch. ”(Sepetys 27) Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys is about a girl from Lithuania, and Night by Elie Wiesel is about a boy from Sighet. Both Lina and Elie suffered immensely, but survived through determination, hope, and strength and most people today will never have to go through that.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Between Shades Of Gray And Night

    1403 Words  | 6 Pages

    Some of the most atrocious events in history were the genocides of World War II. However, stories of the concentration camps and genocides are quickly being forgotten. Night by Elie Wiesel and Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys illustrate the struggle and beauty of living in concentration camps during World War II. Night follows the story of Elie, a fifteen-year-old boy from a small town in Transylvania, and Between Shades of Gray follows the story of Lina, a fifteen-year-old girl from Lithuania. Even though in Night and Between Shades of Gray, the protagonists face similar struggles to keep their identities, the two books differ in the themes expressed in each book and how the protagonists change throughout the book.

    Read More

  • Life As We Knew It By Susan Pfeffer: Theme Analysis

    419 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book starts with Miranda writing about her stepmother, " Lisa is pregnant"(Pfeffer 1). . Throughout the story, they lose phone connection and can't get in contact with her stepmom and start to worry and lose hope, until one day they finally hear from her that everything is fine with her and her family. Not only does her stepmothers pregnancy play a role in them keeping faith at the beginning of the story, but also as many troubling events occur. The last way is through a change in the main character.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On The Color Purple

    1035 Words  | 5 Pages

    What is something that every single person in the world cherishes? What is something that people long for? The Color Purple by Alice Walker stretches the answer to that question with a series of letters between two sisters that spans forty years. A story of women joined together by love and hardship, The Color Purple depicts the value of family. But ever since it has been published, the book has gained a reputation for being inappropriate, and not suitable for schools.

    Read More

  • Comparing Night And Between Shades Of Gray By Ruta Sepetys

    790 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people have learned about the Holocaust throughout the years, but learning about it from a primary source is a whole different experience. A scary journey that turned out to be the Holocaust has been told by two individuals that survived. These two stories tell the reader what life was like and what they went through. Even though the conditions were terrible, both Eli and Lina were able to survive and break away through fear, horrendous experiences, and hope that lead them to surviving and leaving people they cared about behind.

    Read More

  • Between Shades Of Gray Analysis

    816 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ruta Sepetys wrote a New Yorks best seller novel called ¨Between Shades of Gray¨. In this historical fiction novel a family is taken from their homes during the Holocaust and has to endure many challenges. One of the main characters is a 16 year old girl named Lina whoś bravery, hope, and faith can be seen throughout the novel. In the novel ¨Between Shades of Gray¨ Sepetys creates two main theme, that hope can be found where there is despair and where there is fear there is faith. One theme that can be seen throughout the novel “Between Shades of Gray¨ is that hope can be found where there is despair.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Obstacles Of The Holocaust

    687 Words  | 3 Pages

    The book is about a girl named Liesel who is struggling to live a normal life with her foster family in World War ll. But it is very difficult for her to do that in the heart of Germany, and with bombs dropping unexpectedly. But, Liesel overcomes her fear and even helps everyone in a shelter with her. This can be shown with: “The younger kids were soothed by her voice, and everyone else saw visions of the whistler running from the crime scene” (Zusak 381). Liesel used her stolen books to overcome her fear and help others overcome their fear.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Behind The Blue And Grey Sparknotes

    550 Words  | 3 Pages

    Behind the Blue and Gray BY:Aayush Agrawal In the book,Behind the Blue and Gray, Delia Ray claims that life during the war was gruesomely difficult. Fighting and surviving was a lethal occupation. It didn’t matter what side you were on. Ray describes that some struggles during the war were camp life, rations of food, medical treatment, nature, worries about family, punishments, and life after the war. The book provides evidence to a soldiers hardships.

    Read More

  • Red By Dorothea Mackellar Essay

    690 Words  | 3 Pages

    How effectively do the prescribed poems use language forms and feature to convey images of the Australian landscape? The beauty and significance of an Australian landscape is successfully conveyed in the poems through a variety of language forms and features. My Country by Dorothea Mackellar and Red by W.Les Russell are the medium through which poets express their feelings and love towards Australia. The poem Red by W.Les Russell reflects the Australian Indigenous spiritual, physical, social and cultural connection to Australia through flora, fauna and land.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of How It Feels To Be Colored Me

    522 Words  | 3 Pages

    Skin Color Isn't A Tragedy In "How It Feels to Be Colored Me," from The Norton Reader, Zora Neale Hurston states her experiences with racism as she grew up from the stages of childhood to adulthood. Throughout the essay, Hurston explains how she sees the suffering of black people and how she has accepted her skin color. The author's key point is, although she had accepted her skin color, she still experienced racism around her. In this expressive essay that's developed by narration, Zora Neale Hurston demonstrates different experiences with a common meaning and effectively using imagery and literary devices to vividly narrate the essay.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Roberta In Recitatif By Toni Morrison

    576 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Roberta and Twyla meet, Roberta is upset that her kids are being bussed to a different school because the school district is forcing integration. Roberta tells Twyla that she kicked an employee that worked at the orphanage named Maggie. Twyla denies these claims and the two part still frustrated with each other. This is where we see the second change take place. Roberta has changed from a party girl to a mature woman but she still has insecurities.

    Read More

  • Between Shades Of Gray Theme Statement

    733 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel, Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepety has becomes one of the best book I have ever read. In know that can be a cliché statement to make but the novel is truly exquisite. The author put the reader on a page-turning journey through her juicy plot, her unique writing style, and the historical event added to the book. The novel Between Shades of Gray will soon be a classic all will get to know.

    Read More

  • Review Of The Girl In The Red Coat By Roma Ligocka

    624 Words  | 3 Pages

    For my book review I chose to read “The Girl in the Red Coat,” a memoir written by Holocaust survivor Roma Ligocka along with some help from Iris Von Finickenstein. This book was originally written in German and published in Germany in 2000 by Verlagsgruppe Droemer Weltbild Gmgh & Co KG. It was then translated to English and re-published by Bantam Dell A division of Random House. Inc. New York, New York in 2002.

    Read More

  • The Color Purple Comparison Essay

    755 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Color Purple is written by Alice Walker, and was later made into a film directed by Steven Spielberg. The Color Purple focuses on a woman who is going through struggles in life, such as her father raping her as a child and her oppressed marriage. In the end she learns to deal with life through God and to take everyday as a blessing. Not only does the film and book speak about life struggles but also they share the points of happiness in the book, and love, in the film through the plot structure, the mood, and the journey to womanhood.

    Read More

  • Catcher In The Rye Literary Analysis Essay

    1322 Words  | 6 Pages

    In the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger readers are introduced to a young man named Holden Caulfield who introduces himself and begins to tell his story of how and why he left his school; Pencey Prep. In the story, Holden explains how he is being kicked out of school and doesn't want his parents to know and so leaves school early. throughout the story, Holden explains what happens to him before he must go home and act like he is home from school for a break instead of being kicked out. When it comes to the topic of Author's purpose of The will of individual vs the will of the majority some will think the purpose is to show that Holden going against the will of society to rebel, however, I think the author’s purpose of The Catcher in the Rye was to show that the individual will manifest in his desire for isolation comes from his is fear and damage done by fear of pain, failure, rejection, and is unwilling or unable to go along with the majority. This all shown through Imagery, symbolism, and diction.

    Read More

More about Between Shades Of Grey Critical Essay

Open Document