Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Between Shades of Gray, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Morality, Integrity, and Sacrifice
Strength and Identity
The Power of Art
Genocide
Women and Mothers
Summary
Analysis
The NKVD come to collect those on the list before sunrise. Surprisingly, Ulyushka gives the family food for the journey, as well as a thick animal hide. Elena tries to hug her, but she pushes her away and stomps out. Mrs. Rimas, a young girl who always carries a doll, her mother, and other people stream out of their shacks. Miss Grybas rushes out to say goodbye, claiming they are being sent to America. The grouchy woman is on the list too, as are her daughters. Andrius comes to say goodbye, asking Jonas to write and saying that he’ll see Lina again one day, and when he does, he’ll give her back her drawings. Lina cries for the first time in months. As the truck she is loaded onto leaves, she realizes Andrius has slipped the jewel-stone into her pocket when he hugged her goodbye. She tries to stand up to indicate she has found it, but he is gone.
Here, Elena’s kindness towards Ulyushka has paid off—despite her rudeness towards the family for most of their time in the camp, Ulyushka shows that she understands the horror of what the NKVD has put them though, and seeks to help them in whatever way she can. In the harsh Siberian tundra, particularly under Soviet Communism, these kind of goods are few and far between. Andrius’ passing of the stone is a symbol of his feelings for Lina, as they will not remain in the camp but will instead travel with her wherever she goes.
Themes
