Sacrifice In Refugee By Alan Gratz

672 Words2 Pages

The book “Refugee” is a historical fiction novel written by Alan Gratz. The book is about three children, Josef Landau, Isabel Fernandez, and Mahmoud Bishara. They all live in different decades and different countries, all needing to escape their homes. They all face dangerous challenges, trying to get to a safe location. As their stories unfold, the theme of sacrifice plays a significant role in the stories of Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud. Josef’s story effectively displays the theme of sacrifice at the end of his story, when his mother has to sacrifice one of her children. Josef Landau is a 12-year-old Jewish boy living in the 1930s. At the end of the novel, Josef, his mother, and his sister hide in Vornay, France, but they get caught by Hitler’s …show more content…

Isabel Fernandez is a Cuban girl living in 1994, after the Cold War. Cuba is extremely poor and is short of food, water, and medicine. Isabel, her family, and her neighbors, the Castillos, evacuate Cuba to go to the United States. They almost reach the shore of Miami, but the US Coast Guard ship finds them. If they board the ship, they will all be sent back to Cuba, and the whole journey will be for nothing. However, with no warning, Lito, Isabel’s grandfather, jumps out of their boat to distract the Coast Guard ship. Gratz states, “He kissed Isabel on the cheek, surprised her, and then stood and jumped into the ocean.” (Gratz, 277). Sacrifice is exceptionally important in Isabel’s story. Lito sacrifices himself for his family to go and live a new life in Miami. Without Lito’s sacrifice, none of them would have made it to the United States and they would have gone back to Cuba to …show more content…

Mahmoud Bishara is a 12-year-old Syrian boy living in 2015 during the Syrian War. Mahmoud and his family leave Syria to arrive in Germany, as Germany is accepting refugees. On the journey to Germany, Mahmoud and his family’s dinghy explodes and they all fall into the Mediterranean Sea. They struggle to stay above water. Suddenly, they saw a passing boat. Mahmoud begs the refugees in the boat to let them in, but they refuse and say that there is no room. Mahmoud then convinces the boat to take Hana, to save her. The author writes, “At least take my sister! She’s a baby girl. She won't take up any room!” (Gratz, 162). Mahmoud’s sacrifice saved Hana’s life. Sacrifice is important in Mahmoud’s voyage because without his sacrifice, Hana would drown. This sacrifice shows the strength and selflessness of Mahmoud’s

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