“Between Shades of Gray” by Ruta Septys is a novel during WW2 about a Lithuanian girl named Lina that has been deported to a Siberian labor camp and must survive the hardships there. In this book, there were several powerful messages shown. The author put a huge emphasis on hope, courage, and love. In the end, I figured out the author suggests that you should never give up hope. When the NKVD were trying to force the people to sign a contract that will bind them to the farm for 25 years, Lina thinks, “It was at gunpoint that I fell into every hope and allowed myself to wish from the deepest part of my heart. Komorov thought he was torturing us. But we were escaping into a stillness within ourselves. We found strength there.” This passage shows that she did not give in to the NKVD, despite being threatened. She could have simply relinquished and signed the contract, but instead she chose to defy the enemy and hope for survival. The theme of hope reminded me of Salt to the Sea by Ruta Septys. In this book, there were people named Joana, Emilia, Florian, and Alfred who were living in Germany during WW2. These characters had to deal with many hardships to survive, just like Lina. Despite being in a despairing situation and felt many times like they should quit, they still went on …show more content…
A variety of literary techniques were used to make it really captivating, sad and showed the message. One of them was the setting. The setting of the story was at first in a collective beet farm that was dirty, harsh, and unsanitary. It was basically a horrible setting. After, they were moved close to the North Pole! That was an even harsher landscape: “It was completely uninhabited, not a single bush or tree, just barren dirt to a shore of endless water.” I found it hard to believe that the Lina had not lost faith in those miserable places. Yet, she never gave up, never gave way to insanity, and kept trying to survive and help others do the same