Resistance

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2018

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-11

Part 2, Chapters 12-20

Part 2, Chapters 21-30

Part 3, Chapters 31-39

Part 3, Chapters 40-49

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Traditions and Culture

Content Warning: This section mentions wartime violence, death, antisemitism, and the Holocaust.

An important motif that recurs throughout the book is that of traditions and culture. In the face of war and genocide, Chaya and the other Jewish fighters continue to uphold Jewish traditions. At the Draengers’ farm, the members of Akiva come together to celebrate every Sabbath. Similarly, the ZOB holds the Seder in Warsaw even as German soldiers surround the ghetto, as it is the night before Passover.

Both instances point to the theme of The Interplay of Community and Heroism During Wartime. In the face of possible erasure, the Jewish community holds to their traditions and culture to keep their people bonded and their spirits alive. It is not only Jewish tradition that keeps people’s spirits up and brings them together, however. Yitzchak tells Chaya about the concerts that used to take place in the ghetto, responding to her surprise with an assertion that it is precisely in dark times that music must prevail. The creation of art and the celebration of culture help people remember who they are in the face of the Nazis’ dehumanization of their community. In this manner, the upholding of traditions and culture is among the Varying Responses to Oppression that characters adopt.

Stealth and Deception

A second recurring motif in the book is that of stealth and deception. Chaya begins the book as a courier working for the Jewish resistance; her work inherently involves both stealth and deception. The supplies that Chaya smuggles into the ghetto are stolen, as the Nazis deliberately do not provide adequate food, clothing, medicines, etc. to the Jews. Furthermore, Chaya has to lie about her identity and background, as well as the purpose of her visit, to enter and exit the ghetto. Due to the reach of Nazi power and oppression, resistance work in general involves both stealth and deception; those opposing the Nazis from within could not win pitched battles. Thus, Akiva also conducts raids on German trains and supplies. Such tactics point to the theme of varying responses to oppression, as this is one of the ways people have chosen to respond to the ongoing Nazi cruelty.

However, deception is not restricted to resistance work. Esther’s background does not emerge until the book’s final chapters; in fact, she avoids and deflects questions about herself, her history, and her family until she is forced to reveal the truth to Chaya in Warsaw. Furthermore, she actively lies to Chaya about Lodz being part of their Akiva-assigned mission so that Chaya will accompany her in trying to help the people trapped in the ghetto. Even after Esther’s background is revealed, it is only at the very end of the battle that she tells Chaya the truth about the “package” she was assigned to deliver. Esther’s half-truths highlight the theme of Reconciling Faith and Morality in the Context of Violence, as her decision to join the resistance and her subsequent visit to Lodz aim to ease her own conscience about her father’s work as a Judenrat.

Flags

Flags are symbolically important with respect to both the book’s context and story. A flag as an object is inherently symbolic, representing a particular nation or organization and calling to mind the culture and values of that particular entity. In the book, the most notable instance involving flags is that of the resistance hoisting the Jewish and Polish flags inside the ghetto at the end of the first day of fighting. The flags are visible not only inside but outside the ghetto; they celebrate the surprising triumph of the ZOB over the German forces on that first day, signify the loyalties of the fighters to both their religion and an independent Poland, and perhaps aim to inspire resistance from those outside the ghetto (who, though not Jewish, are living through an oppressive military occupation). Fittingly, Esther comments that the sight makes her feel free: The Nazis can no longer oppress her, as even their threat of death has lost meaning to her.