Analysis Of Between Shades Of Gray By Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray illustrates the severity of the Lithuanian genocide in the summer of 1941. Ruta Sepetys accurately depicts the conditions surrounding the labor camps and cattle cars. The author was present in Lithuania to speak to survivors and various other reliable sources. Between Shades of Gray starts in the summer of 1941. Through the eyes of Lina Vilkas, we see the constant brutality of the Soviets. One day, while in the comforts of their own home, Lina, her brother Jonas, and their mother are forced out of their home into a truck, with an uncertain destination. Their father, a professor at a University, was captured as well, but they have no knowledge of his whereabouts. Six weeks later, and after a series of horrifying events,

According to her author’s note, Sepetys has taken two trips to Lithuania to speak with survivors of the deportations, survivors of the gulags, psychologists, historians, and government officials. (Sepetys 339) It is also noted that her father is the son of a Lithuanian officer. Dr. Samodurov, a character in the novel, is not fictional, and he did in fact save a number of lives in the Arctic. Sadly, the claustrophobic cattle cars was not the worst thing they had to endure. The smells were intoxicating and the diseases were running rapid around the truck. Lina describes in great detail the beginning of their journey, “The inside of the car was stuffy and full of personal smells, even with the door open. People were wedged in everywhere, sitting on their belongings.” (Sepetys 31) The looming destination was a close second to the horror of the cars; in Lina’s words, it was a rolling coffin. Not only were the Soviets harsh and relentless, the weather was as well. “The weather continued, relentless. Just as one storm passed, another queued at its heels. We lived the life of penguins, freezing under layers of ice and snow.” (Sepetys, 78) The NKVD was notorious for attempting to give a false sense of security to the victims. They were constantly depriving them of everything and then would claim to be heroic when rewarding them with a minuscule amount of things that are imperative