Short Story: Air Raid

Ans’s transition was not an easy transition, it took her a while to transition because she could not connect any objects or humans in America to any inanimate objects or friends or parents from back home. And to make matters worse, Ana was not willing to transition into the new environment. We see this when Ana mentions that “for the first few months, I called them nothing at all”(Nović 124). Once Ana arrived to her new house, Ana mentioned, “I picked the room with the bigger window because it reminded me of the balcony in Zagreb… but in the first few months I spent each day searching for the skyline for a building, craving something dirty or metal” (Nović 126). Ana was homesick. She could not get over the fact that she is a long way from

We see an example of Ana’s PTSD during the night of Fourth of July, “The explosions started… I yelped and took off towards the house, brushing past Jack. ‘Hey, Ana! Wait!’ he said. ‘It’s just the Fourth of July!’ I could not understand what the date had to do with an air raid” (Nović 129). Even though they were fireworks, she believed it was an air raid, because the large explosions reminded her of the war back in Croatia, her home. In America, her adoptive parents tried to avoid talking to Ana about her past, which is a good thing because they wanted her to forget about her past and instead sent Ana to a guidance counselor. Even with the counseling, Ana was still not willing to open up herself, making her feel a sense of remorse because Laura and Jack would worry a lot about Ana’s wellbeing. The social concern is not about the the disorder but about the concern that people with the disorder admit that they are doing fine and do not have PTSD. Interestingly, in America she began to fear more of her life than she did back in Croatia where war was happening twenty-four seven. Back at the Safe House, she did not fear anything, she was a stone cold soldier. Although back in Croatia she paid little to no attention on what happened to her parents and decided not to sympathize her parents’ death until she arrived back in Zagreb, releasing the

In Croatia, Ana finds his best friend Luka to be a good companion in trying to alleviate the tensions from the war environment. But after the death of her parents, Ana had to fight for her life alongside with the other child soldiers in the Safe House. The setting of the Safe House brings up a social concern involving child soldiers. These children are being taught to fight for their homeland instead of obtaining an education. Even though Ana was put in a horrendous environment, Ana found her AK to act as an object that evokes emotions such as alleviation and comfort to ease the pressure. Not only does the firearm symbolize protection and alleviation to Ana, but it also symbolizes revenge and family. With her feelings of comfort from the AK, Ana ultimately forgets about her family so that she could be able to survive in the gruesome war setting. Although, once removed from the Safe House environment, Ana realized the change that she has gone through as she reminds herself of her past, resulting in a mental breakdown. Once in America, Ana had to adjust herself into her new family alongside with the new culture even though she was unwilling to. With Ana’s past experience with war, she has developed PTSD. With the disorder comes along the social concern of people with PTSD do not admit that have PTSD. This is a large concern because