Essay Questions

Who was Sarah Starzynski, and how did her identity affect the outcome of her life?

Sarah Starzynski was a blood Jew, which means that she was Jewish by blood. Neither her or her family were religious. Sarah was born and raised in Paris, and considered herself as a French girl, as did her parents. But the Nazis didn’t care about her ethnicity, and because she was a descendant of Jews, she was taken away. Sarah didn’t fit in with either the Jews not the French, and she bled as a cause of it.

Why does Sarah choose to end her life?

Sarah believes that she not only killed her brother, but also her family. She also carries a lot of survivals guilt. She locked her brother in the cupboard when she heard the Nazi police coming, hoping to save him, but she didn’t come back to open the locker in time. Her brother died waiting for her. As she was taken away by the Nazis she was separated from her parents, which is why she survives while her parents die. Her best friend who she escapes with, called Rachel, also dies, while Sarah survives. Sarah decided to kill herself because she didn’t want to deal with both the guilt and sadness of her past anymore.

Why doesn’t Sarah’s son, William, want to know about his mother?

William thinks that Sarah was very selfish as she decided to kill herself instead of taking care of her son. He doesn’t understand how the pain she was going through could be bigger than the love she had for him, and therefore decide that life was worth ending. William was plagued by a lot of anger and he didn’t like the way things were working. In the end, he changes his mind, as he realizes how important it is to remember the history the world has gone though, in order to stop such things from happening again.