Surviving Personal Struggles Within Sarah’s Key

Tragedy strikes at every hour of the day, no matter where in the world a person lives. The true test of a person’s humanity is how they handle the tragedy. All over the country, people are hit with life changing catastrophes and feel hopeless. Taking their feelings out on others around them who are just trying to help, their pain translates into the bad traits of humanity such as selfishness, conceitedness and unreliability. Others though, work through their struggles and show the world how strong they can really be. People in terrible situations can also be mature, self-confident and sympathetic. It all really depends on the individual going through the tragedy. Many authors also play on this fact when they write their novels. For example, in Tatiana De Rosnay’s novel Sarah’s Key, De Rosnay’s characters go through some very powerful and personal struggles. Some characters put their best foot forward but others close up and only look out for themselves. Although people go through horrible personal tragedies, some people bring out the best traits in human nature and some bring out the worst.
Through the horrific circumstances they experienced, Jules and Genevieve showed some of the best traits in human nature. The shock of finding two sick, dirty girls in their backyard could put off anyone but the Dufaures express utter kindness towards Rachel and Sarah. They show their selflessness when Genevieve says to her husband that “they must come in; they must be hidden at once” (De Rosnay 110). This woman knew the risk of taking in Jewish girls but she saw them as human beings, not as criminals or a contagious disease. She saw them as sick little girls who needed to be taken care of. Jules and Genevieve knew about the dangers of letting t...

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When going through a difficult situation, some people prosper and grow while others get caught up in the tragedy and suffer. Zoe and the Dufaures are challenged throughout the novel and pull through to be a wonderful support system for others. Bertrand, on the other hand, faced a difficult situation but instead of handling it maturely, he takes his feelings out on his wife resulting in suffering from both parties. All people handle their own tragedies differently and need a different level of support while experiencing their difficulties. While some are able to persevere and accomplish amazing feats of recovery after their struggle, some people are not so lucky and choose to suffer. Hopefully, with the right kind of support, everyone can learn to handle their struggles more appropriately and come out on the other side a stronger individual.