Book Analysis (Emma)

Title: North To Freedom Author: Anne Holm
Name: Emma Liston  Date: 4-9-12 Assignments due: 4-23-12

Review (narrate your answers to someone)

- What was the basic plot of the story?

- What was the historical setting of the story?

- What were some of your favorite quotes?

- Who were some of your favorite characters?


Thought Questions (answer these questions in a 500 word paper)

- Did the characters seem lifelike and multidimensional?

- If so, what were some specific things that made them more complex?

- If the plot of the book were a wave line, what would the pattern be? What does this show about their worldview?

- Was there an overarching theme or message the author was trying to share?

- What were some of the issues/themes that the author addressed?

- How do you think the author was affected by their own upbringing, societal changes, and cultural developments?

-  How would you describe the writing style of the author?

- Did you enjoy their style?


*Extra: Draw a picture of your favorite scene in the book*
*When submitting the assignments, please include this sheet and all assignments. When you receive it back, please file all papers in a school folder for reference.*

Answers:

#1- The basic plot of the story was that this boy named David was in a prison camp but managed to escape and so therefore the story is of his travels from Northern Greece to Demark and his just trying to keep alive through his many adventures, both good and bad.

#2-The setting is in Northern Greece, somewhat close to Salonika, which is a city also known as Thessalonica and is located on the North border of Greece. Salonika was included in the German occupation zone after the invasion and occupation of Greece in April, 1941. Before WWII, Salonika had the largest Jewish population- 50,000 Jews. Two bodies of water are located to the north, Lake Koronia and Lake Volvi. There are farmlands throughout the western and southwestern part, a few in the northeast, the north, and along the Axios River valley. There are mountains to the west. People there experience hot Mediterranean summers and cool to mild winters in low lying areas and plains.

#3- “David did not really want to [say hello to the man’s wife] but as he did not know how to say so, he went with him to the car. A woman sat inside. She was not beautiful like the women of Italy, but she had a pleasant clean smell, and it was not yet too dark for him to see that she was smiling. So David said good evening to her.”

   “I want to tell you quite freely that I have never murdered anyone and never used force.  And I’ve never stolen from anybody; I’ve taken no one’s joy or happiness or freedom or property away from him. And I’ve never betrayed anyone; nothing dreadful has ever happened, because I have never been a traitor. I am telling you this because you want to know something about me and to let you know that that’s all I am going to tell. If the police catch me, I shall die, but I shall tell them nothing more than that. It is important not to give in to people who love violence and think they have the right to take away another person’s life and liberty. And If you don’t let them change what you think and believe, then you have won. An man once told me that. And that’s why I’m going to stay as I am, always, as long as I live.”

#4- Well, there weren’t a lot of amiable characters or ones with depth, but I liked it that David was open-minded and wanted to help others, not based upon what they looked like or who they were but because he saw he could be of use. And also, that he and Carlo made up. He was kind enough to forget what awful things Carlo did to him and begin again.

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#5- No, actually, the characters were depicted in a useless meaningless sort of way. Everyone was flat almost and didn’t seem to think for themselves. I wasn’t even crazy about the way David acted, always living by the memory of Johannes, and never trying to think outside of his memory. I was disappointed that there was such a bond between Maria and David. It was too predictable-almost every story has something like that. So, no, I don’t think that they were carefully formed, but rather some mix of ignorance and uninspired meaninglessness.

#6- (I leave this blank since the character did not seem lifelike so there is no more really to explain.

#7- Refer to sheet of paper along with this.

#8- I believe that Anne Holm was trying to portray the idea of liberty along with religion and strong character. David was very brave and had the energy to conquer many things-good or bad. I think perhaps she wanted the reader to feel more courage to overcome the hard things-and not just to barely make it through, but she wanted people to feel as though they could go the extra mile…helping those in need while traveling the road to happiness, peace, and contentment. Hovering over the whole book is the feeling of being solitary and being afraid of people themselves. I don’t know that this is a good idea, but certainly it had to be used in the story line. And- though this may sound funny, she often had David doing sanitary things-he always wanted his little bar of soap and clean clothes, the best thing he could have was a bath or wash so that he could be clean. Perhaps because of the dirtiness of the prison camp he felt he need to change things around drastically. Anyways, that’s really just a few thoughts.

#9- (This was addressed in the previous question.)

#10- Well, Anne Holm was born in 1922, where she lived through the Great Depression and WWII. I believe that she struggled with keeping optimistic in life but wrote books that portrayed what she wanted to be like. The social avenue around her probably swayed back and forth and she may have been depressed. No information is really found on where she was born and lived therefore, because of this, I think probably she was a secret sort of person. I would guess that she moved frequently as she has David do in her book. And she was either aware of the idea of beauty-as she often goes back in her book to how David looked at how beautiful everything was and he was happy just looking around, etc. I would guess that she was a unhappy person, always wanting something more, continually changing to something different, never happy with status quo.

#11- The writing style is easy, fluent, and she describes things very well. However, I believe she mixes the beautiful in with the ugly in a way that is very strange. The writing is easy to grasp and the plot is understandable and doesn’t take long to pick up. But, David is mixed in with it and he is portrayed as being deep, philosophical, and a heavy-thinker at such a early age in such a plain world. Like one bright red leaf lying on plain white snow. And it doesn’t seem like he even makes sense at times-as if she just wanted to impress the reader with philosophical ideas that don’t even go together.

#12- No, I’m not fond of this style, as you can tell from the previous answers and comments. I find it impossible and utterly absurd at different parts that it doesn’t attract me as many other books do. However, it is not a bad book and some people may enjoy it-so don’t get me wrong:/