In the beginning chapters of the novel, Refugee, Alan Gratz introduces his characters, Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud, as well as their current situations in their homelands at specific time periods. Gratz specifically writes about Mahmoud blending in as a cloak of invisibility to help him survive his situation. He writes about Josef and those who wear the yellow Star of David armbands as being invisible and how the Cubans were unseen, forgotten and starving. How could it be positive and how could it be negative to be invisible in these situations?
Throughout the novel, Gratz writes about interactions between the Hitler Youth and Josef, Mr. Nasser and the Bishara family, and the Fernandez family, the Castillo family, and the tourists at the Bahamas. Why did Gratz include these interactions?
Dear Mr. Sinclair,
ReplyDeleteKrista, Liam, Jason, Rebecca, and I really look forward to working with you. We are enjoying the novel, and we hope you are as well!
Blog #1
Invisibility, it is something we all want; some of us have it, some of us do not. Many people wonder if invisibility is truly worthwhile, and they are correct to wonder. There has never been a gift so great, yet so terrible. Invisibility is both a power and a curse; it is important to understand why. Luckily, for the many who have been enlightened by Alan Gratz’s novel, Refugee, understanding the truth has become much simpler. In the novel, Refugee, Gratz wrote out the lives of characters, Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud, telling of the horrors of their lives. During these stories, Gratz occasionally mentions the so-called “gift” of invisibility, which all three characters experience at several points during the novel. We believe these points emphasize how invisibility can be both positive and negative throughout many situations.
To begin, in Refugee, Alan Gratz has shown us that being invisible can be positive. In the first paragraph on page twelve, in the perspective of Mahmoud, Gratz wrote, “Being invisible was how he survived.” This quote backs our claim by briefly describing how Mahmoud’s life is affected by a need for invisibility. Much like this, in the third paragraph on page forty-one, Gratz explicitly stated, “But if they managed to survive the trip across the Straits of Florida and evade the US Coast Guard and actually set foot on United States soil--be caught with ‘dry feet’--they were granted special refugee status and allowed to remain and become US citizens.” This quote backs our claim by explaining how, during the time period of Isabel’s story, being invisible could allow people like Isabel to safely leave Cuba. One could infer from the two of these quotes that invisibility could be the difference between life and death for people in many situations and may positively affect them in those events.
Not only has Gratz shown us that invisibility can be positive, but he has proven invisibility can be negative as well. On page thirteen, in the second paragraph, Gratz explicitly wrote, “Mahmoud couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his brother laugh, or cry, or show any emotion whatsoever.” This evidence supports our claim by describing how Mahmoud’s brother, Waleed, has been negatively affected by the need for invisibility. We can infer that invisibility causes harsh psychological changes most commonly associated with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and that those changes can be reflected on others in negative ways. In the first paragraph on page eighteen, Gratz explicitly stated, “No porters rushed to help them with their bags. No station agents stopped to ask if they needed help finding their train.” This quote backs our claim by visualizing how Josef and his family are treated as being invisible, and by showing how Josef’s family is unable to fit into society due to this invisibility. One could infer that being invisible causes exclusion from society in a way that could heavily affect a person’s overall morale.
Overall, invisibility can have an extremely positive and highly negative effect on peoples’ lives. In Refugee, Alan Gratz uses the characters, Isabel, Mahmoud, and Josef to portray these values in a way that is both visually pleasing and informative. Invisibility is a very situational concept; sometimes, it can help, sometimes, it can hurt. Liam, Rebecca, Jason, Krista, and I believe it is important to understand these ideals, and that this understanding can be extremely valuable in the lives of any person. What do you think?
We look forward to your response.
Hello to the group of young men and women with whom I have the privilege to work. I thank you for you response to the first blog question. Your response is intelligent and well written.
ReplyDeleteThe novel REFUGEE by Alan Gratz is the story of Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud. Their stories chronicle the difficult and dangerous struggles they face to escape persecution and repression in their home countries. Although each of their stories occur at different times and under different circumstances, each of the characters have to deal with their perceived invisibility.
Josef seemed invisible to the Nazi German population who wanted to purge the Jews from Germany and all countries controlled by Germany. While wearing arm bands or other Jewish demarcation, Josef and his family were despised and often ignored. They were denied the common civilities and courtesies afforded to the non-Jewish population. They were treated as though they completely unimportant and with disgust.
Isabel's invisibility is perceived by her as being a Cuban citizen dealing with a failed economy and no immediate hope for improvement. She feels abandoned by her country's leaders and shares the feeling of hopelessness with her family and friends.
Mahmoud's invisibility was assumed in order to survive in war torn Syria. He chose try not to attract any attention to himself or his brother to try to avoid reprisals from others. Things were happening and he feared for his life and those of his family.
All three stories share a common theme. Each character was a part of a seemingly invisible group of people seeking a better and peaceful life. They were groups that no country seemed to want and all wished would go away.
Gene Sinclair
Dear Mr. Sinclair,
ReplyDeleteRebecca, Krista, Jason, Liam, and I thank you for taking the time to read our response(s) and write back to us. We thank you for the compliment on our blog, and appreciate that you have put forth the effort to assist us with this project. Our group looks forward to you reading Blog #2 and to reading your further response. Thank you again!
Blog #2
ReplyDeleteLife has its ups and downs, its highs and lows. Some people feel the need to support these phases; others find themselves wanting to make those same phases more difficult to overcome. In the novel, Refugee, Alan Gratz uses social interactions between the main characters, Josef, Isabel and Mahmoud, and other characters to convey these types of people. No matter the context, there are always people willing to help and others willing to hurt.
To begin, in Refugee, Alan Gratz uses social interaction to show the nicer side of people. On page thirty-four, in the third paragraph on the page, Gratz explicitly wrote, “They came to the door of the Jewish train car, and the Hitler Youth spun Josef around. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening. ‘What were you thinking?’ the boy whispered.” This evidence backs up our claim by visualizing how, even though many German boys were part of the Hitler Youth, some were non-violent and disagreed with the Hitlerite ways of their comrades. We can infer that the boy did not believe completely in Hitler’s anti-Jewish mindset, as, unlike all the other boys in the Hitler Youth, this unidentified boy decided to peacefully return Josef to his train car. We can also infer that this interaction between Josef and the Hitler Youth was meant to symbolize how some people think more compassionately and are more sympathetic than others.
Likewise, in the third paragraph on page 127, Alan Gratz explicitly stated, “‘You are refugees, yes?’ The man asked. ‘I know what it’s like. I am a refugee, too, from Palestine.’” Later on the page, Gratz also wrote, “‘I will take you to it,’ Mr. Nasseer said, ‘and if it is not there, you can come back and stay with me.’” These quotes, when read within the context of one another, back our claim by explaining how, in the midst of chaos, there are always going to be empathetic people willing to try to help others. We can infer that Gratz was using this interaction to show how empathy can completely alter the course of a life or a situation, as after page 127, Mahmoud and his family experience a short period of hope. Similarly, on page 177, in the eleventh paragraph, Gratz explicitly wrote, “Up on the dock, an old white woman understood. She quickly dug around in her purse and tossed a plastic bottle full of pills to Isabel.” This quote backs our claim by proving how, between a language barrier, people are still extremely willing to help Isabel and her family. We can infer that, no matter their cultural differences, some people will always understand the need for others’ hope. This is logical, as after page 177, Isabel and her family feel their fates may no longer be fatal.
Not only does Alan Gratz use social interactions in Refugee to convey how helpful people can be, but they also conveyed how people can be extremely hurtful. On page 141, in the fifth paragraph, Gratz explicitly wrote, “‘Let’s go! Let’s go!’ one of the smugglers said. ‘Two hundred and fifty thousand Syrian pounds or one thousand euros per person! Children pay full price, including babies,’ he told Mahmoud’s father.” This quote backs our claim by describing how a group of smugglers manages to be extremely selfish while dealing with the less fortunate. We can infer that Gratz used these men to portray how, even when dealing with others in need, many people can be extremely selfish and heartless. This is logical because Gratz portrays these characters as demeaning and unkind to Mahmoud and other refugees. Similarly, on page 148, in the fourth paragraph on the page, Gratz explicitly stated, “It was nothing official, Josef was sure, because the captain hadn’t made an announcement. It was just certain members of the crew who had taken it upon themselves to police the ship like they were all back in Germany.” This quote backs our claim by explaining how some people like Schiendick and his crew are willing to take it upon themselves to make others’ lives harder for nothing more than their own personal gain. We can infer that Gratz’ purpose for including this quote was to emphasize how some people feel the need to harshen others’ lives without any proper reasoning or judgement, and that those people can be found virtually anywhere.
ReplyDeleteOverall, in the novel, Refugee, Alan Gratz uses social interactions to depict how society can be both harsh and forgiving to its people. Some people wish to help others in their time of need; others feel the need to make those same peoples’ lives harder. No matter what, it is important to understand that no society is truly perfect, and that every life has its ups and downs.
Hello again students and thank you for your insights concerning the social interactions of the characters of REFUGEE by Ann Gratz. Again, your responses are accurate and relevant to the points of assisting or harming the characters
ReplyDeleteEach character meets people, during his or her story, who are empathetic and sympathetic to the circumstances facing those characters. These people show compassion in some ways they are capable. Your examples of the Hitler Youth on the train with Josef , Mr. Naseer with Mahmoud and his family, and the woman on the dock in the Bahamas with Isabel are excellent examples. Personally, I thought the benevolent Captain Schroeder was the most compassionate person that Josef encountered.
Likewise, each character encounters others during his or her struggles, who seem to be eager to make things more difficult. They meet people who are eager to take advantage of their misfortunes. Sometimes to make economic gains, sometimes to demonstrate their dislike of the person or group of persons. The character Schiendrick and his German crew on the ship were constantly harassing and making things difficult for Josef and the other Jews on the ship. Likewise, Mahmoud and his family were extorted by the smugglers and robbed by the cab driver during their bad situations.
When the three main characters of the book were not perceived as "invisible", they were often treated with kindness or hatred. The social interactions of Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud demonstrate the spectrum of human responses ranging from helpful to indifference, to hatred.
Thank you for your time,
Gene Sinclair
Blog 2 Response
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. Sinclair,
Rebecca, Krista, Jason, Liam, and I thank you for taking the time to read our second response and write back to us. We appreciate that you have taken the time to reply to these responses, and hope you enjoy reading them. We will post our third response shortly. Thank you.
Blog 3
ReplyDeletePeople only see what they want to see nothing more, nothing less. They believe that what affects them is their entire reality, and that everything else is a nonexistent blur. Between the novel, Refugee, by Alan Gratz and the world we live in, it is obvious that many people only want to be in the spotlight, instead of simply allowing others’ problems to be shown. For instance, in the novel Refugee by Alan Gratz, it is explicitly stated on page 214, “They only see us when we do something they don’t want us to do, Mahmoud realized. The thought hit him like a lightning bolt. When they stayed where they were supposed to be --in the ruins of Aleppo or behind the fences of a refugee camp-- people could forget about them. But when refugees did something they didn’t want them to do --when they tried to cross the border into their country, or slept in the front stoops of their shops, or jumped in front of their cars, or prayed on the decks of their ferries-- that’s when people couldn’t ignore them any longer.” This quote is immensely important to both the novel and our claim because it thoroughly explains how some people decide only to notice things that they find unusual or that in/directly affect them. We can infer that, in the reality we live in, people can often find others’ suffering as a nonexistent or irrelevant thing, and that they may refuse to acknowledge that people outside their so-called ‘bubble of reality’ are not necessarily important and do not need help. Many people genuinely believe that they do not need to notice others as people until they do something abnormal or something considered ‘not right.’ We believe this because, both in the novel, Refugee, and in real life, people seem to only pay attention to what directly changes something about their life. Similarly to Refugee, during World War II, many people refused to acknowledge the terror that was “The Answer to the Jewish Question” until Nazi Germany began invading their territories. For example, when Germany began building their military from the years 1933-1935 in violation of the Versailles Treaty, the majority of Europe did not act against this re-militarization. Instead, they ignored Germany until they began actually attacking other nations. This is relevant to our claim because Europe refused to acknowledge that Germany was going against international law until their territories and/or people were affected. From this, it is logical for us to infer that anyone, even whole governments, can be oblivious to the necessity of an action that could directly affect others’ lives, or even their own; they find smaller, more personal problems more important than large-scale problems. Not only did Europe ignore Germany’s re-militarization, they also ignored the Soviet Union, one of the world powers during the 1900’s, military growth and high aggression towards nearby nations. From this, we can predict that, yet again, many people do not and will not pay attention to events until they believe they may have to face the results of those events. On a similar stance, in today’s society, people are often oblivious to the current refugee crisis happening not only where they live, but in almost every other nation around the world. It is logical to infer from both this and the previous information that society has not evolved to recognize others’ needs, but has instead evolved to ignore them. Overall, we believe that people see only what they choose to see, and that they, inevitably, ignore every concept that does not directly affect them. It is important to understand these concepts, and to acknowledge others’ problems, even if those problems do not affect you.
Hello to Trevor, Jason, Liam, Rebecca, and Krista,
ReplyDeleteI thank you for the your response to REFUGEE Blog Question #3. I always look forward to reading your responses and I am always quite impressed with your understanding and insight.
First, I completely agree with your response to Gratz's quote from REFUGEE stating "They only see us when we do something they don't want us to do." You are correct in that as long as certain group;s are in their designated areas and out of sight, little to no attention is given to them. It is only when they call attention to themselves or their situations, that people notice them and are forced to deal with their circumstances. I might add to your views the military rise in Germany in the 1930's, that I think they saw the potential danger, but hoped that it was only a temporary rise or that someone else would take a stand against Germany.
Secondly, I think that the quote from Gratz's REFUGEE that we are discussing is still relevent in our world today. The U.S. news media plays an important role in the attention given to "invisible" groups in the US and world today. There are, and have been for years, "ethnic cleansings" occurring in African countries which involve the senseless killing of men, women, and children who are deemed as opposing religious, ethnic, or racial groups of rebel groupings fighting for control. There is often little or no coverage in US newspapers and the little coverage given is delegated to the back sections of the newspapers. Likewise the homeless people living in American cities are mostly ignored by the people who see them every day. It is only when someone dies of exposure on the steps of a government building or in a public park, that people pay attention to their situation. Given then, they think that "someone else" should help them and they continue to walk around them with their faces in their cell phones.
I have one final thought on this matter. I preface this by saying that I am not a political person, not a Republican or a Democrat. Each day, refugees arrive on the borders of the USA seeking religious, economic, or political asylum. It seems to be only when questionable or large groups appear with national news coverage, that attention is given to them. Then we hear of detention centers, immigration reform, deportation, and building security walls.
Thank you for your time,
Gene Sinclair
Dear Mr. Sinclair,
ReplyDeleteRebecca, Krista, Jason, Liam, and I wholeheartedly agree with you, and thank you for taking the time to both read and reply to our blog. We especially agree with your opinion on society and how the United States refuses to acknowledge its refugee crisis until a massive problem approaches. It is interesting, and also sad, that some of the same issues from 1939 are still happening today.
Yet again, we thank you for responding, and look forward to further working with you on Refugee.
Blog #4
ReplyDeleteEveryone makes mistakes; not everyone makes up for them. Some people simply forget them, and others do not. Some fail to make up for their pasts, and others do not. In the novel, Refugee, Alan Gratz uses the quote, “I see it now, Chabela. All of it. The past, the present, the future. All my life, I kept waiting for things to get better. For the bright promise of mañana. But a funny thing happened while I was waiting for the world to change, Chabela: It didn’t. Because I didn’t change it. I’m not going to make the same mistake twice. Take care of your mother and baby brother for me,” Here, Lito reflected on his past mistakes. He thought his family was not going to have the life in the U.S. they deserved, and he decided he needed to change that. One example of this inference lies directly in the quote from page 277, where it is explicitly stated, “It didn’t. Because I didn’t change it. I’m not going to make the same mistake twice. “ This quote is immensely important to our claim because it explains how Lito refused to let the past repeat itself; this past being the one referred to on page 276, where it is explicitly written, “We sent them back to Europe and the Holocaust. Back to their deaths.” When these quotes are read within the context of one another, it is logical to infer that Lito did not want to cause his family’s deaths by sending them back to Cuba (which he would have done by doing nothing). Lito wanted to atone for causing the deaths of hundreds of people by saving his family, and he believed he could only do so by leaving them and jumping off the boat. He also knew that, if his family was caught, they would most likely be killed. On a related topic, on page 278 of Refugee, Gratz explicitly stated, “Now go! Mañana is yours, my beautiful songbird. Go to Miami and be free!” This quote is also supporting our claim as it gives insight as to how Lito felt about Isabel and his family. We find it logical to infer that Lito knew sacrificing his freedom would be the only way for his family to reach Miami. He had confidence that Isabel and her family could reach Miami, but knew they wouldn’t be able to unless he made up for his past and left them. Overall, in the novel, Refugee, by Alan Gratz, Lito’s quote on page 277 was a reflection on his past, and a reflection of his belief that he needed to atone for his past by helping his family reach Miami, no matter the cost. Lito risked his life to give his family the mañana they deserved, and he wasn’t going to make the same mistakes twice.
Thanks again for your thoughtful and well-written response to Blog Question #4. I agree with your evaluation of Lito’s statement.
DeleteLito had waited his entire life for a better opportunity for his family to have a better way of life. He realized in his decision to abandon the small boat that his family was using to flee Cuba, that the opportunity for his family to make it to Miami depended upon him sacrificing his opportunity for freedom. He put the welfare of his family above his personal wishes.
The same type of sacrifice was made by Mahmoud’s mother giving up her baby Hanna to a small boat when it appeared certain that they both would drown. The same sacrifice made by Josef and his mother allowing themselves to be taken prisoners by the Nazi soldier to enable Ruthie to have a chance for freedom.