Salt to the Sea

Salt to the Sea

by

Ruta Sepetys

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Salt to the Sea: 46. Florian Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
The group moves more quickly now that they are officially allowed to evacuate. As Florian walks, he thinks back to a conversation with Florian’s father, who warned him that Dr. Lange was trying to use his son, not train him. His father argued that by serving Lange he was “Not a traitor to your country. Much worse. A traitor to your soul.”
Florian mistakenly put his trust in Dr. Lange, which likely contributes to his reluctance to trust other people now. His father tried to teach him that loyalty to his country was less important to loyalty to his own values and he own sense of morality. 
Themes
Memory and Survival  Theme Icon
Family and Community vs. Selfishness  Theme Icon
Those were the last word’s Florian’s father ever spoke to him, as he was killed soon after. Now, Florian carries on in his father’s memory, with his father’s words always in his mind. He thinks how he “risked everything, confronting fate and the knowledge that,” if he fails, he “authored [his] own demise.”
Now, Florian tries his hardest to follow his conscience and to do right by the memory of his father. Still, he believes that he is fated for disaster. He knows the secret task he has undertaken is risky, and likely will lead to his death.
Themes
Agency, Willpower, and Fate Theme Icon
Memory and Survival  Theme Icon
Quotes
A German soldier stops Florian and looks at his papers. The papers not only pass inspection, but impress the soldier, who salutes Florian and calls him “Herr Beck.” He begins to ask Florian if he is traveling with Joana and the others, but an aerial attack and series of explosions interrupts their conversation.
Florian has doctored his papers to make his passage easier. In this way, the identity he has constructed for himself changes the way he is perceived and moves through the world.
Themes
Agency, Willpower, and Fate Theme Icon