Refugee Q/A Flashcards
How has Josef’s father changed In the last 6 months? What is Josefs reaction to this change?
Josefs dad went to an concentration camp called Dachau and he has PTSD and is paranoid that the Nazis will come back to him.
Josef does not like that his dad is scared like this because it puts a harder responsibility on him to be the man of the family
where does Isabel’s father want to go? what happened the last 2 times he attempted to get there, and why does he agree to try again?
Isabel’s dad wants to go to America and be freed but the last two times he has tried he was sent to prison and got in trouble. Now that he has contributed in the riots he is in really big trouble and has to go to America so he isn’t arrested again and sent away and also Castro is allowing people to leave now legally but just for this short amount of time
why does Fatima stay behind in the collapsing apartment while mah. is ordered to leave w/ his brother and sister
Fatima has to gather all of their stuff and their money stashed away so they are lacking important sources if they need it on their journey
why is Isabel’s father angry at senor Castillo for letting lui and his girlfriend board the boat
because Castro is allowing CITIZENS to leave but not people in the police force so they were leaving with ease and now that Luis and Amara are escaping the police force they have a target on their back
why do you think Josefs fathers rain and threw himself past the sailor while the rest of the family boarded normally
because Aaron, Josef’s father, thought that the sailors were Nazis and wouldn’t allow him or them to board on the ship so he made a run for it
the narrator says that “the MS St. Louis was a paradise” for Josef and Ruthie. Why do you think their experience on the boat is so different from their parents.
Josef and Ruthie had gotten everything taken away from them and now they get to experience a little bit of freedom on this boat and the employees are nice to people but Rachel and Aaron are experiencing worry and pain because Aaron wont leave the room because he is scared of the Nazis and Rachel has to take care of him because he’s her husband and also she is worried that they won’t be able to leave
Mahmoud sees a mural painting of President Assad in front of a Syrian flag with “doves of peace and yellow shining light surrounding him” and a “jagged line of real bullet holes” that split the middle of his face. What do you think this painting symbolizes?
This painting is trying to symbolize like how Assad tries to portray this peaceful and pleasant person but in reality he is terrible and the people hate him
think about the following as platforms for possible themes: displacement, survival, and hope. What is Gratz saying about these ideas in terms of possible themes? How do you know?
Displacement can cause people feeling lost and meek and sad but displacement is the way to survive because how can you move on in life without feeling lost and going to different place and experiencing pain but the only way to live a little happier is to have hope because hope is the only way to survive through pain.
how does Aaron landau react to Josef having his bar mitzvah aboard the MS St. Louis? Why?
Aaron does not go because he does not believe they will let him have his bar mitzvah and also the party will just bring attention to them and then the Nazis will come for us.
How does Isabel’s grandfather break the tension on the boat
Lito starts to flirt with Amara, Luis’ girlfriend, and starts to ask questions about what everyone is looking forward to when they get to America
what is the significance of the single car, the “old blue Opel taxi,” that Mahmoud sees in the refugee camp in Kilis, Turkey?
It shows how little people have now and the poverty but it also brings good memories back for Mahmoud because he started to think about his uncles wedding
how are cap. Schroeder and the crewman, Schiendick, character foils?
Schroeder and the crewman are nice to the Jews and do not think of them as less and Shciendick is a follower of Hitler and hates Jews and believes their a waste of space
when her grandfather calls Isabel’s dad “ a fool” the narrator says that her “cheeks burned hot with anger and embarrassment” the same description is used to describe Josef’s reaction to schiendick’s hateful comment in the previous chapter. Why do you think this is repeated?
This is repeated because is emphasizes the uncomforting experiences of refugees even if its within family and hatred from other people. But its shows how they both experience the same feeling but in different situations
Isabel and her grandpa disagree whether the decision to leave Cuba was a good one. Why do you think they have differing perspectives on this?
Isabels lito thinks leaving Cuba was a mistake because Cuba has been worse and it was his home and he lived through worser times in Cuba than this one and Isabel has only lived through this horrible experience so she hasn’t seen the journey Cuba has been through
Mahmoud searches for and finds a teenage Mutant ninja turtle for his brother. Walled, what do you think this action figure symbolizes in the novel
waleed not being excited over the toy shows how the lost of their childhood. Mahmoud is worried about Walled because he is now a zombie and he used to be full of excitement and joy and it also shows how little things people have now because there is just a bucket of toys that people used to own and now their nothing
why is Aaron landau adamant about attending the funeral at sea?
because hundreds of men died without a funeral at Dachau
what is Isabel thinking about moments before diving into the water to save senor castillo and later scooping water out of the boat? explain the significance of these memories.
She was thinking about how her grandmother, Lita, died the same way and she could not save her. Isabel did not want to have this happen again so she tried to fix the mistake she did not make before
who is Mr. Nasser, and what does he have in common w/ Mahmoud’s family
He was the old man that offered them a ride to stay someplace but ended up bringing them to the boat to leave. He was a refugee from Palestine during the first israely-syrian war
why does otto schiendick ask for a key to Josef’s parents cabin
so he and the nazis crew can destroy their belongings and get revenge for what Aaron said to him at the funeral
during this section of the sotry, each of the three protagonists are out at sea. Draw on all three narrative to discuss the significance of this shared ocean setting.
It shows how refugees all go through the same struggles to get to America and its brings the stories together to emphasize how different yet similar peoples stories are and their should not be hatred towards one another
Isabel’s grandfather says, “Red sky at morning, sailors take warning,” explain what literary device is being used here as well as its significance
Isabels grandfather is using a metaphor to bring a light hearted approach to saying their is a big storm coming so everyone is as worried as if he were just saying there is a giant storm coming
Josed’s family is described as “three lonely islands, separated by an ocean of misery” what literary device is used and what it says about the condition of Josef’s family at this point in the novel
this is after the nazis come in and destroy their things on the boat and this a metaphor for saying how Aaron is crying and panicing and Rachel is crying and Josef is feeling guilty because he feels as if this was his fault
What makes Josef think that they are not going to let his family into Cuba at this point
because is it obvious now that his dad, Aaron is mentally ill
how are Mahmoud and his mother reunited with his father and brother? describe Youssef’s reaction
Mahmoud and his Mom are rescued by the Greek coast guard ship that youssef and waleed are on as well. When Mahmoud explains what happened to Hana to Youssef he is happy that she is safe and that Mahmoud and Fatima are alive but he cries as well
