Refugee

Refugee

by

Alan Gratz

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Refugee makes teaching easy.

Refugee: Isabel: Straits of Florida – 1994, 1 day (2) Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Geraldo, Señor Castillo, Luis, and Amara try to figure out why the boat’s motor won’t start, while Iván and Isabel scoop water out of the bottom of the boat because the sock with which they plugged the bullet hole has soaked through. Teresa and Señora Castillo sleep in the front of the boat.
Gratz depicts yet another way in which Isabel takes on the role of an adult in these times of crisis: having to literally keep their boat afloat while they sail to the U.S.
Themes
Trauma and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Lito talks to Isabel and Iván as they work, telling Isabel that he has a brother, Guillermo, who lives in the United States. In the 1970s, the U.S. airlifted political dissidents from Cuba to the U.S., and Guillermo chose to go as well. But Lito decided to stay because Cuba was his home. He says, then, that it was a mistake to leave on this “sinking coffin,” because Cuba isn’t worse now than it ever was. Iván then asks if Cuba would ever get better.
Lito, as he elaborates in this chapter, feels that remaining tied to one’s culture is just as important as being connected to one’s family, which is why he chose not to join his brother Guillermo in the U.S. He also starts to lose hope in the potential for a better future, symbolized by the fact that the water is rising and threatens to sink their boat.
Themes
Hope vs. Despair Theme Icon
Family, Displacement, and Culture Theme Icon
Lito says that they should have waited to leave Cuba, but Isabel is adamant that Geraldo would have been arrested. Lito counters, accusing Geraldo of risking his life and the lives of his family to go to the United States. And, Lito continues, Geraldo is taking Isabel away from her roots. He asks Isabel how she’s going to learn to count clave in Miami. Teresa wakes up and assures Lito that Miami is just “North Cuba.”
Contrary to Lito, Isabel recognizes that for her, keeping her family together is more important than remaining connected to her culture. Though Isabel does have doubts about learning clave, she values the ability to be with her father more. 
Themes
Family, Displacement, and Culture Theme Icon
Isabel worries about what Lito said—she has never been able to count clave, but always assumed it would come to her eventually. She wonders, now, if she will ever hear it. Isabel thinks, “Like trading her trumpet, had she swapped the one thing that was really hers—her music—for the chance to keep her family together?” Suddenly, they hear the rumble of an enormous tanker, heading right for them.
Even though Isabel is worried about leaving her culture behind, Gratz continues to imply that these fears are unfounded—given that Isabel’s relatives spent their lives in Cuba, her family can help keep her connected to their shared culture even when they are displaced from it.
Themes
Family, Displacement, and Culture Theme Icon
Quotes
Get the entire Refugee LitChart as a printable PDF.
Refugee PDF