What would you do for love? In the novels, Between Shades Of Gray and The Great Gatsby, the concept of love is depicted throughout these novels by family members, friends and through couples who are trying to work through their problems. Love, in both cases, is something that has to be chosen, whether it is just to survive or just for living. Love is shown as something that holds these people together but also tears them apart as well.
Initially, at the beginning of Between Shades of Gray we are introduced to Lina, a 15 year old girl, who is living in a small house with her family when they are forced out by the Soviet police. Lina and her brother are both extremely worried when this happens but they know that their parents will always try to be there to protect and love them. This is where love is first shown through a mother to her family when she says, “Please lower your voice I have children”(page 5). This is
…show more content…
Lina is forced into these terrible circumstances by the Soviet police and she needs to learn to survive in her new ‘home’. She is brought here with her family and quickly realizes, as bad as she would like to get out of this place, she really does not have much of an option anymore other than to wait it out and survive. She must rely on her family for support in order to survive. This is shown when Lina states, "Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch." (Chapter 7, p. 27). This quote shows that Lina’s mother is trying to help them survive this ordeal by keeping them all together. She was willing to bribe a Soviet policeman, by giving him her family heirloom, so that her children would be able to stay with her in the camp. This shows a mother’s unconditional love for her child and how she would do anything to try to protect them and to help them endure the situation they were forced into by keeping them all