Analysis Of Good Night, Maman By Norma Fox Mazer

If you had to choice to travel on your own two feet only at night for hundreds of miles, with the risk of being killed on the spot by a soldier, or to be forced into a ghetto or concentration camp, losing all of your freedom, what would you do? In the novel Good Night, Maman, Norma Fox Mazer tells the story of a family who chooses to take the risk of leaving after they were torn from their home in Paris. Sharing this story will show how this book impacted me, some significant themes it held, and it will make it very clear that it was no walk in the park for these few holocaust survivors.
Good Night, Maman is a story in about a young girl’s journey from paris to America. In June of 1940, German troops occupy Paris, ripping Karin Levi, her brother

Marc Levi and her “Maman” away from their busy apartment in the city. At twelve years old, she is forced to travel across Europe in hiding. Her family hitch-hikes their way to a house where they are hidden for years only to be thrown out again. Then they make their way to Monsieur Taubert’s house. There, Maman grew ill, causing Marc and Karin to have to leave her behind. They make their way to Italy where they board a boat to America. While there, they learn English and slowly start to get used to their new life that would forever be changed, endlessly waiting to see their Maman again.
Good Night, Maman offers us many themes including facing darkness. I believe Norma Fox Mazer was challenging the readers to think; there are two ways to go about an unfavorable situation; you can either try to get through it and persevere, or you can give up right off the bat. Good Night, Maman also showed us themes such as one's willingness to survive. Karin and Marc mustered more inner strength and determination that thought humanly possible. They had to literally walk hundreds of miles without eating for days or weeks at a time, living with the fear of being seen, shot on sight.
This text has really made me stop and think to just appreciate what I have. Everytime I’m sitting in bed now I think to myself, Wow, I am so lucky just to have a roof over my head… This book had given me a whole new sense of appreciation in life that just wasn’t there before. It has also reminded me of a sense of fear and remembrance that it is true; people can be so horrible that they would try to commit genocide or something. Bad things are happening all over the world, but you just have to push through like these kids did and maybe it will all turn out okay.
Good Night Maman will cause you to stop and think next time you are sitting on your bed, writing in class, or playing with your friends. It will beg you to stop and say well even though this situation is not good, how am I going to handle it? Will I try and take the high road or will I give up early and not even try to see the point or the good in whatever your going through. This will make you question; how will you handle your next bad experience, weather it’s a bad day or a complete life changer, what will you do?