What Is The Theme Of Refugee By Alan Gratz

Life isn’t always rainbows and unicorns. Sometimes, we need to face the harsh reality of the challenges life throws at us. In the novel Refugee, by Alan Gratz, Isabel, her family, and the Castillo’s are on a journey to flee to Miami, Florida from Cuba. Ever since Fidel Castro was in rule, Cuba had never been the same. At a certain point, Castro allowed all Cubans to leave the country. Hearing this, both families took the chance they had. A significant lesson that can be learned from Isabel’s experience is that in order to get through life, you need to make sacrifices. Isabel and her family made many sacrifices to get where they are now. For example, when Isabel saved Senor Castillo or when Lito made himself a distraction.

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Such as engine problems, the fear of getting caught, drowning, Ivan dying, border patrols, and so on. However, these conflicts continue to develop the theme by showing how Isabel and her family make sacrifices to get to where they are today. As it is written in the text, “Senor Castillo gulped for air, then disappeared as a wave from the massive tanker’s wake rolled over him…In a flash Isabel remembered her grandmother disappearing under the waves just like that two years ago, and without another thought, Isabel dove in after Senor Castillo.” This portrays how Isabel got reminded of her grandma when Senor Castillo was drowning. This also explains how because of that thought of her grandma, Isabel found the courage to jump in & save Senor Castillo herself. This contributes to the idea that in order to get through life, we need to make certain sacrifices. Similarly, Isabel sacrifices her own life to save Senor Castillo’s life. Without her sacrifice, Senor Castillo wouldn’t have survived. Another example from the text would be, “Mañana, we told them. We’ll let you in mañana. But we never did…He kissed Isabel on the cheek, surprising her, and then stood and jumped into the ocean…”He jumped in to distract them!”, Papi realized.” This evaluates that the resolution of the novel is when Lito jumps in the water to distract the coast guards so his family can reach Miami without getting caught. This shows how Lito did such a selfless & generous act, sacrificing his own future and life for his family. This also illustrates how the author uses flashback to express the guilt that Lito felt when he got reminded of the Jews on the MS St. Louis. This memory and guilt impacted his descisions which later led him to jump in the water just for his family’s