This quote is symbolic because a theme in Between Shades of Grey is the theme of human value. In the book there are many examples of how humans treat other humans who they think are inferior. During World War II the Jews were put into concentration camps where they were forced to work and live in horrible conditions, eat only the bare minimum, and were tortured almost every day. However, before they even got to these camps, many were outright slaughtered and separated within their families. The life of a Jew was not very valuable to the Nazis. This is evidenced by the fact that her mother traded an old family pocket watch in order to keep Lina's younger brother Jonas with them in their group. Males who could work were being separated from females. Jonas was taken by a Russian soldier and being put on a separate train. His mother argued with the soldier and bribed him in order to keep her son. The trade of a watch is significant because it represents time. Time is important because when the Jews were captured, they never knew when they would be killed or when there life would end. One could further say that her mother giving up the pocket watch was symbolic of the mother giving up her time for her son to be able to live. At the end of the book, Lina's mother dies while they are in a Siberian camp, however it is revealed that she found ways to give her rations and provide extra care for both Lina and Jonas which could have been the reason she died. Lack of food and warmth over time may have caused her death since she was giving her food and blankets to her children. A Jew's life had very little value during the World War II era. So little in fact, that a pocket watch was able to keep a young boy from dying and extend his time on Earth.
"Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch." (Sepetys 27)
This quote is symbolic because a theme in Between Shades of Grey is the theme of human value. In the book there are many examples of how humans treat other humans who they think are inferior. During World War II the Jews were put into concentration camps where they were forced to work and live in horrible conditions, eat only the bare minimum, and were tortured almost every day. However, before they even got to these camps, many were outright slaughtered and separated within their families. The life of a Jew was not very valuable to the Nazis. This is evidenced by the fact that her mother traded an old family pocket watch in order to keep Lina's younger brother Jonas with them in their group. Males who could work were being separated from females. Jonas was taken by a Russian soldier and being put on a separate train. His mother argued with the soldier and bribed him in order to keep her son. The trade of a watch is significant because it represents time. Time is important because when the Jews were captured, they never knew when they would be killed or when there life would end. One could further say that her mother giving up the pocket watch was symbolic of the mother giving up her time for her son to be able to live. At the end of the book, Lina's mother dies while they are in a Siberian camp, however it is revealed that she found ways to give her rations and provide extra care for both Lina and Jonas which could have been the reason she died. Lack of food and warmth over time may have caused her death since she was giving her food and blankets to her children. A Jew's life had very little value during the World War II era. So little in fact, that a pocket watch was able to keep a young boy from dying and extend his time on Earth.
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This is a map of Lina's journey while being controlled by the Soviet Secret police. Her journey took about 440 days and covered several thousand miles. This map also shows the vast amount of land that the Soviet Union was in control of. Lina's journey includes many different countries and various climates in which many of the prisoners were not prepared for. Their survival was not only dependent on finding food and performing adequate work as per the soldiers demand, but also fighting many illnesses and adapting to their ever changing environments.
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