Alfred Character Analysis in Salt To The Sea Essay Sample

It does not often occur in literature that a main character is what would be considered an antagonist. Such is not the case for Alfred in Ruta Sepetys’ novel, Salt to the Sea. The novel follows four very different people, all of whom happen to be in the same place at the same time; On the Wilhelm Gustloff, evacuating from Germany during World War II. Throughout the course of the book, Alfred proves to be a liar, egocentric, and cruel. With these three traits, it is no doubt that these characteristics lead to his untimely demise. 

Throughout the beginning of the novel, Alfred proved to be a liar, both to himself and others. This is shown early on, when he explains how he and other warriors “brush away fear with a flick of the rist” in a mental letter of his (7). Despite what he claims, however, it is clear that he was lying when he hid in the supply closet because he “did not want to go outside” (8). This demonstrates that, in spite of his efforts to try to appear fearless, he is not. He should clearly be doing more important things, however he is too scared to do so, contrary to what he believes. This indicates that Alfred is not fearless, instead, that he is self-delusional and lies to himself constantly. This is also shown slightly later in the story, when Alfred mentions in his mental letter how he is a “sailor of priority” and that his “services are quite in demand”, however he is proven wrong when a person of higher importance asks him if he’s cleaned the toilets (85). In this chapter, it is clearly demonstrated how much Alfred lies to himself. He is asked to clean the toilets because it is a small job, which proves how insignificant he is in comparison to other soldiers. Despite this, however, he tries to convince himself and others that he is important when he is not through lies. All of this is a clear example of how deceitful Alfred is and how it quite often impairs his ability to improve as a person.  

Alfred is not only a liar, but he is also egocentric. He tries to convince others constantly that what he is doing is of importance due to his wanting to feel important and for others to think that he is. An example of this is shown when Alfred constantly draws attention to both himself and the group of refugees unnecessarily at the ports. (184) He does this as a way to impress other sailors, as he believes if others see him on an “important” task, they will admire him. However, he is mistaken, as it causes the entire group of refugees to grow annoyed and the surrounding people to view him as a disruption rather than someone admirable. This is also proven when Alfred mentions that he is “very busy” to Joana after he brings her to Florian (259).  This is a blatant lie and causes Joana and the reader to recognize how desperate he is to feel important to others. He is clearly not busy, as in earlier chapters he was looking to help Florian rather than doing something useful, which indicates that he was not, in fact, busy at all. (258) With all of this in mind, it is easy to see how desperate Alfred is to feel important, and how this often causes him to seem quite naive. 

The characteristics prove how desperate to feel important Alfred is, and it also shows why he is viewed as cruel. His actions are unnecessarily hurtful towards others, even towards those who help him. This is seen quite clearly when Alfred kicks away a starving dog that was “too weak to even bark” simply because it approached him (182). He could have ignored the creature, better yet, he could have helped it, but instead, he chose to hurt the suffering animal. His harmful action was highly unnecessary, which shows how he had to have made an effort to hurt the dog. Additionally, Alfred’s cruel nature is also exemplified when he found out that Emilia was Polish, and despite her saving his life, tried to push her off the raft they were on. (361) He tries to kill her due to the fact that she lied about being Latvian, paying no mind to the fact that he wouldn't have been alive should she have not saved him. Her action of kindness was completely disregarded when Alfred attempted to kill her. Seeing this proves how Alfred’s actions hurt several characters throughout the story, and in the end, himself, as his last action of cruelty is what ended up killing him. 

It is because of Alfred’s deceitfulness, disparity to feel important, and dastardly nature that he has such an unlikable demeanor. Due to these traits, Alfred will always remain a character and a symbol of what everyone should strive to be the opposite of. He is a harsh yet needed reminder of how misinformation and lies can cause otherwise ordinary people to turn into monsters. It is because of people like him, who do not only remain quiet about outrageous acts of violence but contribute to them, that events such as the Holocaust were able to occur.