The novel Refugee by Alan Gratz tells the story of three young refugees, Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud, who are forced to grow up quickly due to the events they experience in the novel.
Each character has a unique experience, but they all face challenges that force them to become more mature and responsible.
Josef, a Jewish refugee, is forced to grow up quickly when he and his family had to flee
Germany because of the Nazis. He had to take on a bigger role in his family when his father went mad after remembering all the trauma and horror in the concentration camps. Aboard the
MS St. Louis, after his dad, loses control and his mother falls asleep, he was, “the man of the family - the only adult [emphasis added] in the family - whether he wanted
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75) Josef foreshadows him taking on more responsibility when his dad goes insane and tries to commit suicide. Josef becomes mature and responsible when he chooses who should go to the concentration camp for his mother. Ruthie says, “they gave my mom a choice, save me, or save my brother...Josef said “Take me. ”
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(pg. 314-315) Josef sacrificed his life of salvation to save her sister, really showing how responsible he is.
Isabel, a Cuban refugee, is also forced to grow up quickly when she and her family fled
Cuba in search of a better life in the United States. She must navigate the dangerous journey across the ocean, facing the threat of extreme weather conditions and being caught. She takes on more responsibility and has to endure the struggles on the sea. Isabel shows maturity, when she sold her most valuable item, her trumpet, to a fisherman for gasoline. She tells him she doesn’t,
“have any money...but, [she had] this.” She held out the trumpet ... The fisherman had to take it in trade.” (pg. 46) Isabel realizes the dire need for gasoline and she takes on more responsibility by selling her trumpet that she keeps very dear to her. Another example is when Senor
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120)
Mahmoud, a Syrian boy, is forced to mature quickly as he and his family flee his country amidst violence and chaos. As they travel through Europe in hopes of finding salvation in another country. They face discrimination and danger, including the risk of being shot.
Mahmoud is forced to confront the harsh reality that the world would rather talk about them than help them. Mahmoud matures when he takes initiative and asks people for help. He, “darted out into the car’s headlights and waved the life jackets on his arms...Mahmoud didn’t care anymore.
There had to be someone who would help them.” (pg. 125) Mahmoud is aware of the situation he and his family are in, he acts like an adult making more mature decisions, not caring about himself, but instead his family. Mahmoud also has to grow up quicker because of events happening around him. When he, his family, and a group of soldiers were driving to Turkey,
“gunfire erupted nearby--tat-tatatatat! tatatat! ... Mahmoud and Waleed went tumbling, and the
Ramanathan 3 soldier in the back rolled on top of them. The soldier had a hole in his head.” (pg. 71) Mahmoud became more mature after witnessing multiple deaths and being shot at. These events make