Sarah's Key by: Tatiana De Rosnay

Author Background: Tatiana De Rosnay

• Tatiana De Rosnay was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine on September 28,1961, and she is 51 years old. She is a writer,a French journalist, and also a screenwriter. For her education, she attended the University of East Anglia. Rosnay is the author of 10 famous novels, including Sarah's Key, which is the New York Times bestselling novel. This novel was an international bestselling sensation with more than 2 million copies sold in 35 countries all around the world. Rosnay,with Dan Brown, Stephenie Meyer and Stieg Larsson, was named one of the top 10 fiction writers in Europe in 2009. Now,Tatiana lives with her husband and their two children in Paris. 

Historical Background 

•   Sarah's Key was published in 2007, and the film, which came out last year in France, sparked an awareness there of the Vel d'Hiv, where the French police arrested more than 13,000 Jews, which were mostly children and women, and held them at a cycling stadium, the Vélodrome d'Hiver, in Paris. They stayed there until they were sent onto trains, to leave for Auschwitz.  
• It is a black mark in French history that is not known by many French until President Jacques Chirac's famous 1995 speech, which officially apologized for the tragedy.
• The Vel' d'Hiv Roundup was a raid and mass arrest in Paris by the French police on 16 and 17 July 1942, code named Opération Vent printanier ("Operation Spring Breeze"). The name for the event comes from  the nickname of the Vélodrome d'Hiver ("Winter Velodrome"), which is a bicycle velodrome and stadium where  the victims were temporarily confined. The roundup was one of several aimed at reducing the Jewish population that had appeared in France. According to records of the Préfecture de Police, 13,152 victims were arrested and held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver and the Drancy internment camp nearby. They were then sent away by railway transports to Auschwitz, so that they can get exterminated. 

Key Characters and Analysis

• Sarah Starzynski -She is also a main character in the novel, because she begins as a little innocent girl who was taken away to the concentration camps with her family. Sarah tells the story of her escape from the camp, and describes her life for the next few years while living with the Darfure family. She went through so many hardships and obstacles throughout her life,but in the end, she just couldn't take it anymore, and committed suicide. 

• Julia Jarmond -Julia is also a main character in the story, because she is the driven career woman that many people look up to. She is also a writer for a French magazine. She is given the task of writing an article about the Vel D’Hiv, and finds herself going above and beyond the requirements and the project seems to take over her life.

• William Rainsford -After the terrible death of his mother, William fled to Italy to get away from the tragedy. Until Julia told him, William was not cautious of his mother's true past. When he finds out that she was Jewish and went through the concentration camps, he is extremely shocked. For a long time, he keeps himself away from everybody else, especially Julia. Towards the end, William ends up moving to New York to meet up with Julia. 

• Zoe Tezac -Zoe is Julia and Bertrand’s daughter, and she is 10 years old. But she is more mature than most 10 year old children at her age. She becomes caught up in her mother’s journey to discover Sarah’s past. At most times, Zoe provides the comic relief during the moments of great sadness.

 

• Bertrand Tezac -Bertrand is Julia’s husband in the story, and from the very beginning, he seems to be a very negative person who is distant in his relationship with Julia. Bertrand is not really supportive in Julia, whether it it be when Julia is researching for her article or pregnant with their child. 

• Darfure Family -The Darfure family took care of Sarah after she had escaped from the concentration camp. They took Sarah in as if she was their own daughter, and gave her much support.They provided shelter, food, and also emotional support when Sarah finally found out about what happened to her brother.

• Edouard Tézac -Bertrand is Julia’s father-in-law, and he has been keeping a really big secret from his family for over the past 50 years in his life. His family lived in the Rue de Saintonage apartment when Sarah came back and found her brother locked away and dead in the closet. At this moment, Bertrand felt more than guilty for his death,and he sent money to Sarah anonymously for years and years, to help her live her life. 

• Michael Starzynski - Michael is Sarah’s younger brother,and Sarah and her brother were best of friends, and were very close to each other all the time. They had a very strong brother and sister relationship. When the French police come to take the Starzynski family, Sarah does everything she can to try and save her brother from leaving. She does this, by locking him in the closet saying that she promises she will be back for him later.

Key Quotes and Analysis

• “The mother pulled her daughter close to her. The girl could feel the woman’s heart beating through her dressing gown. She wanted to push her mother away. She wanted her mother to stand up straight and look at the men boldly, to stop cowering, to prevent her heart from beating like that, like a frightened animal’s. She wanted her mother to be brave” (De Rosnay 3). 

-This quote is significant,because it shows how it is always difficult for the helpless to stand up for themselves and say something. Sarah’s mother knows that if she says anything to the police, she will suffer the severe consequences. Sarah is very naive at this moment, and she is always hoping for things that are  not possible in the real world.

• “Quick, children, come now,” she said, holding out her hands. “You are safe here. You are safe with us” (De Rosnay 110). 

-This quote is significant, because this represents how vulnerable Rachel and Sarah are at this point; more than they had ever been, because they had escaped from the Drancy Internment Camp. They both spent hours  and hours looking for a safe place to stay when they came to the Dafaure’s house. Jules and Genevieve Dafaure are two of the nicest people around. They selflessly cared for Sarah and Rachel, doing everything that they could possibly do.

• "The girl had watched the bodies being carried out. She had never seen such horror."
  (De Rosany 55)

-This quote is significant, because Sarah has never experienced anything this terrible in her life before, so it shocks her. This also represents innocence, because before they were at the camps, she was as innocent as ever, but the camp has changed her view on the world.

• "Zakhor. Al Tichkah. Remember. Never forget." (De Rosany 261)

-This quote is significant, because it symbolizes the poem that is in the story. Also, it represets all of the obstacles and hardships that everyone had to go through in Paris. 

• "Why so much pain, so much suffering, thought the girl. "It's because they hate us," Rachel had told her with a deep hoarse voice. "They hate Jews." Such hate, thought the girl. Why such hate?" (De Rosany 87) 

-This quote is significant, because it clearly describes the innocence of Sarah, because she does not know the real truth of what is happening to the Jews. She does not understand the meaning of hate, because she thinks that no one can hate someone so much. 

Theme

• What happened in the past can greatly affect the present.
• Losing your innocence can change your perspective.
• Innocence can be taken away

-These are some of the major themes in Sarah's Key, because when Sarah had found out that her brother had died, she felt guilty, because she did not return back to him, like she had promised him before. So this is a time when Sarah felt like going back in time, and saving her brother's life. She had lost the closest person to her that she had ever had in her life.

                                                                                      Works Cited

• "'Sarah's Key' Exposes Dark Part of French History." SFGate. N.p., 2013. Web. 16 May 2013.
• "Sarah's Key Quotes." BookRags. BookRags, 2013. Web. 16 May 2013.
• "Sarah's Key." Sarah's Key: Characters. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2013.
• "Tatiana De Rosnay Biography, plus Links to Book Reviews and Book Excerpts from Books by    

                 Tatiana De Rosnay." BookBrowse.com. N.p., 1997-2013. Web. 16 May 2013.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Author Background: Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 1804-May 19 1864)     

• Was an American writer who was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on July 4, 1804.
•  The original name of his family was Hathorne, but then the "w" was added, because he wanted to distinguish himself from the history, which included John Hathorne.
• The Scarlet Letter is the best well-known novel that was ever  written by him.
• He was part of the American Transcendentalists, and was very close to Ralph Waldo Emerson, and participating in the communal Brook Farm.
• When his father had died in 1808, when Nathaniel was four, his uncle, Robert Manning, helped finance his college education, at Bowdoin College, where Hawthorne attended in 1821.
• He was not focused on studying  specific profession, but he studied the classics, mathematics, natural science and composition, and philosophy.
• He did not care much for school, but was a great reader and writer, and graduated college in 1825.
• After graduation he started writing stories, and his first published book was Fanshawe, in the year 1828.
• Started taking his writing seriously, and published Twice Told Tales in 1837.
• Hawthorne, in 1839, accepted a position at the Boston Custom House, where he was weighing coal and salt.
• Married a girl named Sophia in 1842, and they both moved to Concord, Massachusetts.
•  When he found the letter "A" in the attic of the old home, this was his inspiration to write his  famous novel, The Scarlet Letter.
• As he was becoming more popular, he wrote more novels including: The House of The Seven Gables, Moby Dick, The Blithedale Romance, and also, The Marble Faun.
• He wrote stories for children based on Greek Myths, wrote a campaign biography of his friend Franklin Pierce, and was also offered a position in England.
•  In 1864, he went on a trip with President Pierce, without paying any attention to his health, and it was on the way to Pierce's home in new Hampshire that Nathaniel Hawthorne passed away in the night.

Historical Background on The Scarlet Letter(Published in 1850)                 

• The Scarlet Letter is a piece of American Romantic Literature that was written during the Romantic Movement in American Literature, from the period of 1830-1865.
• Also, the novel was set in a remote past, which was the Puritan era, prior to Hawthorne's time.
• The novel was also considered an American Romantic Literature, because it deals with the interior psychology of the individual characters in the story.
• Romantic Literature: Is the belief in that the imagination is capable of discovering truths, that the normal human mind cannot do. These kind of truths were accompanied by powerful emotion, and was associated with natural beauty. 
• Romantics: To them, individual feelings, imagination, and wild nature, were all much more greater and important, rather than reason and logic. At the same time, they did not completely reject logical thought, but for he purpose of art, they placed a premium on intuitive "felt" experience.
• Characteristics of Romanticism: Faith is placed in the inner experience, seeks unspoiled nature, shuns artificiality of civilization, champions individual freedom, prefers youthful innocence to educated sophistication, and it also reflects on nature's beauty as a path to moral and spiritual development.
• Puritans: They were a religious group who migrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in New England, around the early 1600's. They believed in "pure" interpretation of the Bible, which did not include some traditional practices of the Church of England. Government and religion were very close to one another, even though the Church did not control the state in Puritan settlements. Also, the Puritans had many strict rules against the theater, sensuous poetry, religious music, and frivolous dress. To them, art was mostly religious, utilitarian, and it served as a personal purpose. Their beliefs were based on a system of Christian theology called Calvinism, which was named after John Calvin. During the Protestant Reformation, Calvin was an important French theologian and pastor as well. All f the beliefs of Calvinism are in The Five Points of Calvinism, in where the concepts of predestination and total depravity, are essentials, in order to understand the behavior of the Puritans.  

Key Characters and Analysis:

1.)  Hester Prynne-  She is the protagonist in the story, and is the one who wears the one who wears the scarlet letter.The letter, which is a patch of fabric that has the shape of an "A", which signifies that she has committed adultery. She is a passionate and strong woman, but she experiences years of scorn and shame. Through her intelligence and much thoughtfulness, she equals out both her husband and her lover. Because of how separated she is from anyone else she observes the community, focusing mainly on the treatment of women.   She was viewed as this nice, behaved, innocent lady, but then was looked as a shame to everyone else, after she had an affair.

2.) Roger Chillingworth- He is Hester's husband, but is in disguise. He has a great craving for revenge, and will stay in Boston, even though his wife, who betrayed him, is there. Since he is a scholar, he uses his intelligence to disguise himself up as a doctor. He is going to torment Hester's other lover. Chillingworth is a self absorbed, and both psychologically and physically monstrous in many ways, because all he wants is revenge. Also, because he is single-minded, he is the most wicked and vicious character in the entire story.

3.) Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale- He is a young man who had emigrated to America, after he had achieved fame in England as a theologian. In a weakening point in the story he becomes the lover of Hester, and has to live and deal with the guilt by agonizing himself, both psychologically and physically, which, sooner or later, develops a heart condition for him. He is the type of man who is emotional and intelligent, and his lessons throughout the story are masterpieces of showing and representing persuasiveness. But, at the same time, he is mentally blind, because he does not pay attention to the horrible things that are happening in his own life.

Key Quotes and Analysis

1. "The days of the far-off future would toil onward, still with the same burden for her to take up, and bear along with her, but never to fling down; for the accumulating days, and added years, would pile up their misery upon the heap of shame." 

• This quote is significant, because it represents that Hester will have a horrible life, because the problem is not that she will wear the letter for a couple is, the problem is that she has to wear it for the rest of her life, and forgiveness will not come into play. Since this is such a harsh punishment, everyone will look at her with hatred.

     2.  "Hadst thou sought the whole earth over," said he, looking darkly at the clergyman, "there was       no one place so secret, —no high place nor lowly place, where thou couldst have escaped me,--save       on this very scaffold!" 

• This quote is significant, because it describes what kind of trouble that Dimmesdale is in, and that he wants to escape out of the horrific situation that he is in. Even though Chillingworth will find him, once his hypocrisy distinguishes, he is finally free. 

     3.  "The moment that he did so, there came what seemed a tumultuous rush of new life, other life than his own, pouring like a torrent into his heart, and hurrying through all his veins, as if the mother and the child were communicating their vital warmth to his half-torpid system. The three formed an electric chain." 

• This quote is significant, because it shows that Dimmesdale is confessing about his relationship with Hester, but is making a false confession. He got energized to do this, by having an insight of the idea of telling the truth.

     4.  “Better to fast and pray upon it; and still better, it may be, to leave the mystery as we find it, unless Providence reveal it of its own accord.” 

• This quote is significant, because it represents the desperate need of Chillingworth, who is trying very hard to find out who the real father of Pearl is. But, at the same time, people think and believe that God should be responsible for revealing the truth, when the time is right.

    5.  "Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast,—at her, the child of honorable parents,—at her, the mother of a babe, that would hereafter be a woman, —at her, who had once been innocent, —as the figure, the body, the reality of sin."

• This quote is significant, because it explains the future of Hester's daughter. It describes how an innocent, young child, will soon grow up, and commit a sin, just like her mother had. So, even a child can be viewed harshly, by the actions that were already done by others.

Theme: Blame can be something that one person can do to another, but it's not that easy, because it takes awareness and to be cautious of doing the wrong thing, and knowing what is wrong, to be able to feel guilty.

• This is a major theme of the story, because guilt and blame are expressed and presented all throughout the story, Hester feels guilt and because of the sin that she has committed, and can really do nothing about it. This sooner leads to many problems, because Chillingworth is blaming Dimmesdale for this situation, and will do anything to get revenge. He knows that he has to know what he is doing, to lay down the blame on him. The quote, "To his features, as to all other objects, the meteoric light imparted a new expression; or it might well be that the physician was not careful then, as at all other times, to hide the malevolence with which he looked upon his victim." (12.33-34) ; this explains how some of the guilt of Dimmesdale is lifter, while more guilt is put on Chillingworth. Overall, Chillingworth knows that Dimmesdale should have all the blame, and feel all the guilt that he deserves.

AP Opened Ended Question: 2009. A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

• This question relates to The Scarlet Letter, because the story is based around one major symbol, which is the letter "A", that is worn by Hester. This symbol is worn to represent a horrible sin that she committed, and people view her with disgust, and ignore her. It makes the people in the community go crazy over her situation that she is placed in. This letter "A" does not only symbolize the terrible thing that she has done, but also puts her on the spot so that she can be seen as this bad, evil figure, that no one should look up too. This letter creates problems, that involve people blaming one another, and also creates an atmosphere feel of guilt, and a need for revenge.

                 

                                                                  Works Cited 

"Historical and Literary Context of The Scarlet Letter." Historical and Literary Context of The Scarlet Letter. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.

"Nathaniel Hawthorne - Biography." Nathaniel Hawthorne. N.p., 1997-2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.

"The Scarlet Letter." Shmoop. N.p., 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2013.

"The Scarlet Letter." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2013.

 

Gone Girl By: Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl by: Gillian Flynn   Published in 2012

Author: Gillian Flynn

Gillian Flynn was born in Kansas City, Missouri, whose parents were both community- college professors. Her mom taught reading, while her father taught film.Flynn had a great childhood, because she had spent a lot of time watching movies and going through many books. She made a lot of good memories by reading books that she loved; and one of them was A Wrinkle in Time. While she was in high school, she had many strange jobs that she had to do.These jobs required her to do things such as wrap and unwrap hams, and even to dress up as a giant yogurt cone. After high school, she attended the University of Kansas, where she received her undergraduate degrees in both English and Journalism.  After about two years writing about human resources in California for a trade magazine, she moved to Chicago. In Chicago, she went to Northern University, and earned her maters degree in Journalism.Flynn was also a movie geek, and she moved to New York City, where she joined Entertainment Weekly magazine, and wrote for 10 years, while visiting film sets all around the world. Flynn is also the author of Dark Places and Sharp Objects. Her book, Dark Places, was the first book to ever win multiple Daggers in one year.Flynn's work has been published around the world in 28 different countries. Now, she lives in Chicago with her husband Bret Nolan, their one son, and a cat named Roy.

Genre: Fiction

Characteristics of fiction: Fiction is any narrative work in which the events that take place are imaginary. In a story, the plot is the overall action, or the sequence of events, that make up the whole story. Also, the point of view refers to how the author is telling the story, and from whose perspective. So, fiction is something that never really happened, and is told in the form of a story. 

Characters and Character Traits

Nick Dunne: Nick is a very calm, and an independent guy. He likes to do things his way, and is not a very emotional or romantic husband. He is the husband of Amy Elliot, and tries to make her happy, but he somehow cannot all the time. He is significant to the story, because he is one of the main reasons why Amy disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary, and always lies to his wife. Nick is a dynamic character in the story, because he goes from being a selfish, not caring cheating husband, to a guy who wants to get his wife back, and truly cares for her. He is also the main character in the story.

Amy Elliot: Amy is a very nice, respectful, and a caring wife to her husband Nick. She tries everything she can to make sure that Nick is happy even if that means she has to live with lies, and makes her unhappy. She is significant to the story, because she is not the person she seems to be in the beginning of the story. She was pretending to be a different person, but then her true colors showed, when she was the one who framed Nick was the one who killed her. So Amy is a dynamic character, because her attitude, and her personality changes significantly in the story. Amy is also a major character in the story, and is a wife who can really trick her husband with success.

Go: Go is Nick's brother, and sort of acts as a protector towards Nick. She is a girl that Nick can always rely on, and feels the most comfortable around her. Go is a very strong, cautious, and a strong headed person, who makes decisions by herself. She is a significant character in the story, because she helps Nick out with the disappearance of Amy, and tries to support him through this situation. She makes sure that Nick does not make any wrong moves, that might hurt him in any way. Go is a static character in the story, because her attitude does not change, and stays the same throughout the story. She is also one of the major characters, and is the one who has the closest relationship with Nick.

Themes and Symbols:

Themes - Do not be fooled by the appearance a person seems to bring
               Even the most nice and sweetest person cannot be trusted
               Trying to please someone may not end up the way you wish it would

Symbols - Treasure Hunt: The treasure hunt is a major symbol, because Amy always does a treasure hunt on     their anniversary. This was a way that tested Nick on their relationship, and Amy shows her love for Nick.

Puppets: The puppets represent the stress and struggles between Amy and Nicks's marriage. This was Amy's way of showing that she is sick and tired of Nick playing games with her, and she will get back at him. They were representing a threat towards Nick, and he should be afraid.

Important Quotes: "My wife was no longer my wife but a razor-wire knot daring me to unloop her, and I was not up to the job with my thick, numb, nervous fingers" (Flynn 49).

• This quote is significant, because it describes how Nick and Amy have been slowly becoming farther apart from one another, and how Nick seems to be losing some trust towards Amy. He now looks at his wife as some sort of threat.

"My wife, she just happens to be the coolest girl I've ever met. How many guys can say that? I married the coolest girl I ever met" (Flynn 300).

• This quote is significant, because Nick was doing an interview on his wife Amy Amy when she went missing. And also, since by this point Nick knew that Amy was framing him, he had to make himself sound like he wants Amy back. But truly deep down, he feels used and betrayed by his own wife, who turned out to be much more clever and smarter than he though she would be.