The Symbolism Of Emilia's Pink Hat

Throughout the novel, Ruta Sepetys uses the symbolism of Emilia’s pink hat to show that the trauma of the war steals the innocence of youth. The movement of Emilia's pink hat suggests a loss of innocence after a traumatic experience with a soldier. After Florian shoots the soldier, he pulls him off Emilia: “She sat up, blinking. Her pink hat slid from her head and fell silently into the dirt. The side of her coat was streaked with blood”(10). Emilia's pink hat symbolizes how she is still a young naive girl because the color pink is a color that young girls wear. She is not ready to have that innocence be taken away from her. The hat falling off of her head and into the dirt symbolizes the innocence being taken away from her because the hat

“No pink hat? Where’s your pink hat?” he asked.I pointed to a heap of coats. The knight dug through and retrieved the knit cap. He then gently lifted the baby and tucked the hat over her like a blanket. She sat like a little crescent moon in the curve of his arm”(104*). The description of the pink hat in this passage reflects how Emilia is now a mom because of what happened to her. Florian wrapping the hat around Halinka represents the transfer of innocence from Emilia to Halinka. She is a result of something traumatic happening. When Emilia first has Halinka she ignores her because she does not want to face the fact that she has to deal with a baby. Emilia realizes that it is actually real when Florian wraps her hat around Halinka, and she has to live with that guilt even though it is not her fault. The author's physical description of Emilia pulling down her hat reflects her efforts to hide the stuff she doesn’t want to see. Ingrid offers to test the ice and unfortunately falls through, and Florian is debating whether he should stay with them or leave: “The word was so quiet, I wasn’t even sure I had heard it. I looked down at the Polish