Florian Beck Character Analysis in Salt to the Sea (Essay Sample)

📌Category: Books
📌Words: 1154
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 09 June 2022

In the book Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, Florian goes from being cold and quiet to being more friendly and open with others. 

At the beginning of the book, Florian and another protagonist, Joana has their first interaction when he unexpectedly meets refugees in a barn. Florian doesn’t answer a question that Joana had asked him and stays quiet. Florian was thinking, “I didn’t need to speak to anyone” (24). After that though, he then moves away from the others in the group. “I found a solitary spot away from the group and sat down...It would be warmer if I sat near the fire with the others but I couldn’t risk it. No conversations” (25). Even a little later on in the book, Florian still is very irritated with Emilia, another protagonist in the book following him. Florian then yells “‘Leave! Go away!’ I was annoyed. Angry. Why wouldn’t she leave?” (53).  All of these pieces of evidence show that Florian doesn’t want to be around anyone and that he feels the need not to speak to others. In the first piece of evidence, Florian was using a direct speech by clearly stating “I didn’t need to speak to anyone” This was showing that at this moment he has a cold personality and is straightforward with his thinking. In the second piece of evidence, Florian stated that it would be warmer near the others. Considering the fact that at this moment the book is taking place up north in Europe, the feeling of warmth and protection is something that everybody wants. But he is willing on sacrificing the warmth of a fire to not talk to anyone. In the third piece of evidence provided, this is another example of Florian using direct speech and being frustrated with others. That piece of evidence was showing his unloving and annoyed self and this was shown through his thoughts and speech. Since this is taking place in the middle of a war, Florian is being smart and not talking or being with anybody. This evidence also shows that Florian is being well aware of the situation and the consequences he could possibly face by messing up and telling anyone his personal information. 

Towards the middle of the book, Florian and Emilia meet Joana and the rest of the refugees again. After Joana takes care of Florian’s fever, she then offers him some soup. Florian was acting kind of acting compassionately for once. “‘Give it to [Emilia]’” (86). Later on in the book, the group finds a movie house and they decide to settle there. Joana and Florian are alone together and Florian does and says this. “I shrugged. ‘You’re exceedingly responsible. You have this terrible need to heal people.’ I looked up from my jackknife. ‘Why is that?’” (167). Right in the middle of the book, Florian finally says something to Joana that is totally unexpected coming from him. “The Prussian pulled me aside. ‘You wanted to know something,’ he whispered, moving in close. His eyes found mine. ‘I’m Florian. My name is Florian’” (181). This all shows Florian starting to act a little more friendly and open up, but he only opens up to Joana. The first piece of evidence is showing him acting more compassionate and generous. He offered his food to Emilia who he thought was really struggling. He just found out that Emilia was eight months pregnant and he knows that Emilia is a scared 15-year-old who is just trying to survive. The gesture of offering his soup to her shows that he actually cares about people. The second piece of evidence is one of the first times Florian has given Joana an actual compliment. He told Joana that she was responsible, and that must have made Joana feel good about herself. Even though Joana’s thoughts were not shown at this moment, she must have also been shocked to hear those words come out of Florian’s mouth. This shows that Florian has finally found someone he can talk to comfortably without having to hide things. The third piece of evidence was a very exciting moment in the book. Florian had finally told Joana his name after she’s asked for it so many times. That piece of evidence is another example of Florian finding the right person to trust. This also shows Joana that Florian is putting a lot of faith in her and hopefully she can keep that trust. 

Moving on to the end of the book, Florian and the final protagonist, Alfred have their first conversation. Florian is being very open with his information and tells Alfred so much about himself. “‘...some of us are on important missions’ I lowered my voice. ‘Perhaps even for the Führer himself.’... ‘Then I can trust you to read this letter and speak of it to no one’ I handed him the letter and he began to read” (185). Even further in the book, after Emilia’s child was born, Joana asks Florian to try and cheer up Emilia and he really does a great job making her happy. “He looked from the baby to me and then back at the baby. ‘Hmm. Your eyes. Your nose. Pretty.’ he said He put his lips against the top of the baby’s head and closed his eyes... ‘Kind of incredible. She is you, she is your mother, your father, your country’”(261).  Finally, after Florian says all those things about Emilia’s baby, he and Joana give them some space and have a private conversation. Joana does something very romantic and Florian reacts nicely. “She stood on her toes, took my face in her hands, and kissed me. My arms were around her. I kissed back and kissed her again” (263). These final pieces of text evidence show that Florian is open enough to tell possible strangers about his secrets, and he has definitely developed a more friendly and softer personality with all of the others. In the first piece of evidence, Florian is having a full-on conversation with someone he’s only just met probably five minutes beforehand. Not only is he talking to someone he just met, but he’s also telling him a lot of secrets like he’s working for Hitler’s right-hand man. Alfred could do so much with that big of a secret. This just shows a huge change and the amount of character development Florian has gone through. In the second piece of evidence, Florian is giving out compliment after compliment about Emilia’s newborn baby girl. This was definitely a shock for Emilia, but this was also shocking for Joana. Even after Florian and Joana left Emilia and her baby alone, she was so surprised and said “‘What just happened in there?’... ‘Who are you?’” (262). All of those compliments show that Florian is actually a really good guy and has a soft spot for people, in this case, little babies. Finally, the third piece of evidence was yet another very exciting moment in the book. Joana and Florian finally kissed. Knowing that this is still in a middle of a war, nobody should be worrying about love and feelings. But that kiss was special. That showed that love can conquer war sometimes. That piece of evidence was making it clear that Florian found someone that he could trust. 

In conclusion, with all of the evidence and reasoning that has been presented, It is certain that Florian went from being a coldhearted character to developing a more friendly personality.

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