Between Shades of Gray Literary Elements

Historical fiction

The action of the novel begins at the beginning of the Second World War when Lithuania and other countries were taken by the Soviet Union. Then, many people considered enemies of the state were deported with their families. The novel presents the struggles a family had to face while being deported and the action is placed in both Lithuania and Siberia where the family is taken.

The narrator is Lina and she presents the events from a first person subjective point of view.

Tragic, violent, desperate

The antagonist it the Soviet Union and the soldiers who take the Lithuanians away from their homes and the protagonists are the Lithuanians taken captives and then put to work in camps.

The major conflict is between the Soviet Union and those who belong to the intellectual class and thus pose a threat to the totalitarian system.

The story reaches its climax when the doctor arrives at the camp and starts helping those still left alive.

Elena’s death is foreshadowed by the priests who perform funeral rituals on the still living people in the train.

After Elena and her children are arrested, Elena tries to calm her children down by telling them that the train ride will be soon over and that they will be all safe. This is an understatement as the train ride takes more than everyone expected.

It is alluded that many women sold themselves and put themselves in the position to be used by the Soviets men so they and their children could survive. When the women remained without any money, the only good they had was their bodies so they did the best they could and used it to their advantage. On such woman in the novel was Andrius’ mother who was known because she slept with the NKVD officers.

In the eight chapter, the narrator describes the state of mine of those ready to be shipped to an unknown place in cattle cars. The image portrayed here is that of desperate men and women, looking frantically for the members of their families they were separated from and trying their best to fight for their lives. What the reader is presented in that chapter is the lengths to which a person is willing to go to save his or her life and the life of their loved ones and it becomes clear that when it comes to a person’s life, no sacrifice is too insignificant.

At one point, Lina is asked to draw a map and a picture for a commander in the NKVD. Paradoxically, even though they were the ones to search for Lina, she is beaten before being put to work. This shows just how little the NKVD thought about their prisoners and how far they were willing to go to assert their power.

A parallel is drawn between Elena’s attitude and the bald man’s attitude when they are captured by the NKVD. While Elena tries to remain optimistic, for her sake and for her children, the bald man fells as if he has nothing to lose so he tries to kill himself and when that doesn’t work, he tries to convince other passengers in the truck to kill him. What this wants to prove is that different people react in different ways when confronted with danger: some will try to fight for their lives and try to live as much as possible while some will try to take the easy way out and kill themselves.

When the NKVD uses the term ‘’pigs’’ they usually refer to their prisoners and other people seen as the enemy of the Soviet Union.

In chapter 41, ‘’ I clung to my rusted dreams during the times of silence.’’