Refugee by Alan Gratz Book Analysis

📌Category: Books
📌Words: 965
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 07 April 2022

By definition a refugee is someone who is forced to leave their country or homeland because it is no longer safe for them to be there. When someone is a refugee they typically will have to undergo long, hard, and sometimes tragic journeys. They travel by cars, homemade rafts, planes, and some even by foot. When they get to a safe country they then have to go through difficult legal procedures to make sure that they are legally allowed to be in the country. In Alan Gratz novel Refugee there are three young refugees who are all from different countries and time periods. Josef is a jewish boy trying to escape Germany to go to Cuba in the 1930s, Isabel is a young Cuban girl trying to escape Cuba to go to Miami during the 1990s, and Mahmoud is a young Syrian boy trying to escape to Germany in 2015. Although the life of a refugee can be hopeful, their journey is a challenging one because they lose loved ones on the way and sometimes the countries they go to don’t want them.

Although the life of a refugee can be hopeful, their journey is a challenging one because they lose loved ones on the way. Isabel is a young cuban girl who has to leave her country when her father is threatened to be arrested during a protest, so her family and her best friend Ivans family sets off on a homemade boat for Miami. During the journey many challenges occur, but one of the greatest challenges is when Ivan dies from a shark attack. Ivan and Isabel were treading in the ocean hanging onto the boat trying to avoid sinking the boat, they were joking about names for their terrible boat when Ivan screams shark by the time they pull him out of the water he’s lost too much blood. This proves that refugees journeys can be challenging because this challenges Isabel's hope for a better life. Throughout the novel Isabel has shown a positive attitude towards Miami, and is relieved that all the people she cares about are with her. When Ivan dies though the reader can see that Isabel has lost her hope she even admits that she wishes she was dead with him. Throughout the rest of Isabel's journey she has to force herself to keep going on, and even when she gets to Miami she never forgets Ivan. Another example of refugees journeys being challenging because of lost loved ones is the character Josef. Josef is a young jewish boy who is escaping germany in the 1930s. Josef and his family make their trip to Cuba on a boat called the St.Louis. However, there is an issue with Josefs father who has severe PTSD ever since he was sent to a concentration camp. When Josefs father jumps off the boat into shark infested waters he is taken to the hospital, unfortunately Josef ends up having to leave his father behind in Cuba. Josef thought, “Josef knew Papa was still alive, but it didn’t matter. His father was dead to his family”(Gratz 222). This proves that losing loved ones causes refugees journeys to be challenging. Before his father was sent to a concentration camp Josef admired his father and often thought of him as a brave respectable man. However, when he sees his father this broken Josef is unsure what to think. When they have to leave his father behind Josef knows in his heart that he will never see his father again. His father might still be physically alive, but mentally and to his family he is dead. Both of these examples show that a refugees journey is challenging when they lose loved ones.

Although the life of a refugee can be hopeful, their journey is a challenging one because sometimes the countries they go to don’t want them.  A young boy named Mahmoud has to escape his homeland Syria due to a civil war. Mahmoud is almost to Germany, and enters Hungary when they are attacked and arrested. They are thrown in Hungarian prison and about to be sent back to Syria because Hungary doesn’t want any refugees. This proves that not being welcomed into a country can cause a refugee to lose hope, because it causes not only Mahmoud to lose hope but also his father who up until then has been positive. Mahmoud up until this point in the novel has thought it was better to be invisible. He believes that if he stays under the radar everything will be alright once he sees that it does not matter what he does Mahmoud starts to lose the hope that his family will stop being broken, and that he will eventually have a better life. Another example of refugees losing hope because they are unwanted by the country they go to is when the character Josef is unwelcomed by both Cuba and the United states. Josef is told, “The United States has refused us. We are heading back to Europe” (Gratz 240). This proves that it causes refugees to lose hope because they are basically sending them to their death. When Josef first boarded the St.Louis he was happy and relieved to finally be leaving Europe, and to be told that he and his family would be welcomed in Cuba. However, when he is told that they are being sent back to Europe he is distraught and resorts to helping try to take the captain hostage as a last resort. Both of these examples exemplify that when a refugee is unwanted or turned away by the country they seek safety in they tend to lose hope.

All refugees face many obstacles, including losing loved ones and being turned away by the country they run to, during their journeys that can cause it to be challenging. Isabel displays how challenging it is for her to go on when she loses her best friend Ivan during her journey. Josef on the other hand displays how challenging it was for him to keep his hope and make smart decisions when he was turned away by Cuba and America. While sometimes refugees journeys give them hope, it can also be very challenging for them.

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