Refugee
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Josef: Berlin, Germany – 1938 Isabel: Outside Havana, Cuba – 1994 (1) Mahmoud: Aleppo, Syria – 2015 (1) Josef: Berlin, Germany – 1939, 1 day Isabel: Havana, Cuba – 1994 Mahmoud: Aleppo, Syria – 2015 (2) Josef: Train to Hamburg – 1939, 1 day Isabel: Outside Havana, Cuba – 1994 (2) Mahmoud: Aleppo, Syria – 2015 (3) Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 6 days Isabel: Outside Havana, Cuba – 1994 (3) Mahmoud: Outside Aleppo – 2015, 1 day Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 8 days Isabel: Straits of Florida – 1994, 1 day (1) Mahmoud: Kilis, Turkey – 2015, 2 days Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 10 days Isabel: Straits of Florida – 1994, 1 day (2) Mahmoud: Izmir, Turkey – 2015, 4 days Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 11 days Isabel: The Straits of Florida – 1994, 1 day (3) Mahmoud: Izmir, Turkey – 2015, 11 days (1) Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 14 days Isabel: The Straits of Florida – 1994, 1 day (4) Mahmoud: Izmir, Turkey – 2015, 11 days (2) Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 17 days Isabel: Straits of Florida – 1994, 2 days Mahmoud: The Mediterranean – 2015, 11 days (1) Josef: Havana Harbor – 1939, 18 days (1) Isabel: Caribbean Sea – 1994, 3 days Mahmoud: The Mediterranean – 2015, 11 days (2) Josef: Havana Harbor – 1939, 18 days (2) Isabel: Between Bahamas and Florida – 1994, 4 days Mahmoud: The Mediterranean – 2015, 11 days (3) Josef: Havana Harbor – 1939, 19 days (2) Isabel: Between Bahamas and Florida – 1994, 5 days (1) Mahmoud: Lesbos to Athens – 2015, 12 days (3) Josef: Havana Harbor – 1939, 21 days Isabel: Between Bahamas and Florida – 1994, 5 days (2) Mahmoud: Macedonia to Serbia – 2015, 14-15 days Josef: American Coast – 1939, 21 days Isabel: Coast of Florida – 1994, 5 days (1) Mahmoud: Serbia to Hungary – 2015, 15-16 days Josef: Atlantic Ocean – 1939, 22 days Isabel: Coast of Florida – 1994, 5 days (2) Mahmoud: Hungary – 2015, 16 days Josef: Antwerp, Belgium – 1939, 36 days Isabel: Coast of Florida – 1994, 5 days (3) Mahmoud: Hungary – 2015, 17 days Josef: Vornay, France – 1940, 1 year, 1 month, 10 days Isabel: Coast of Florida – 1994, 5 days (4) Mahmoud: Hungary to Germany – 2015, 17 days Isabel: Miami, Florida – 1994, Home Mahmoud: Berlin Germany – 2015, Home
Themes
All Themes Trauma and Coming of Age Injustice and Cruelty vs. Empathy and Social Responsibility Hope vs. Despair Family, Displacement, and Culture Invisibility and the Refugee Experience
Quotes
Characters
All Characters Josef Landau Isabel Fernandez Mahmoud Bishara Ruthie Landau/Rosenberg Lito/Mariano Padron Aaron Landau Geraldo Fernandez Rachel Landau Teresa Fernandez Iván Castillo Fatima Bishara Youssef Bishara Hana Bishara Captain Schroeder Otto Schiendick Samih Nasseer Fidel Castro Waleed Bishara Guillermo Lita Señor Castillo Renata Aber Evelyne Aber
Terms
All Terms Kristallnacht Bar mitzvah
Symbols
All Symbols Boats Water Isabel’s Trumpet
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Refugee

by Alan Gratz

Refugee Terms

Kristallnacht

A series of coordinated attacks on the Jewish people by the Nazi Party, carried out on the night of November 9-10, 1938, throughout Germany. The Nazis torched synagogues, vandalized homes, schools, synagogues, and businesses, and… read analysis of Kristallnacht

Bar mitzvah

A Jewish coming-of-age ceremony that is celebrated when a boy reaches 13 years of age. The ceremony involves reading a portion of the Torah; afterwards, a boy is viewed as an adult in the eyes… read analysis of Bar mitzvah
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