Roles of Reality in Children’s Literature
Historical Realism attempts to recreate a reality of the past, to capture the milieu of a time gone by and must be set at least a generation before the writing of the book. It has the power to broaden our horizons, to learn more about the people and places of our world by reading about the past—where we all came from (Russell, 2009). One such powerful story, one of the inhumanity and sacrilege of World War II and a family’s journey through it all is Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars.
Family and Social Values Number the Stars is an excellent example of historical fiction which deals directly with the Nazi regime. Here and there is a bit of violence, suspense and fear of the soldiers, but it is mostly a story of bravery, courage, friendship and hope. A young girl named Annemarie Johanson grows up in occupied Denmark during the Second World War. She learns first-hand about the plight of the Jews in her country when she and her family help her best friend Ellen Rosen and her family escape to Sweden.
A soldier appears when the Johanson’s take Ellen in for one night while Ellen’s mother and father are taken to a safe place. Annemarie helps Ellen by hiding her Star of David necklace so the soldiers do not see it. Ellen pretends to be Annemarie’s dead sister Lise and is hopeful that the soldiers do not find out. The next day Annemarie, her mother, Annemarie’s Uncle Henrik and Brother-in-law Peter help Ellen and her family flee to Sweden. During the most intense parts of the book, the two families (Johanson’s and Rosen’s) are often put face to face with the enemy.
At one point, the family is gathered around a coffin along with other families in hopes to meet to discuss future events that will aid in their safe departure from the country. But when a soldier enters and demands the coffin be opened, the family must decide quickly a plan to fool the soldier and to convince him that they are truly mourning a death, and not conspiring against the soldiers. Uncle Henrik tells Annemarie: “It is much easier to be brave if you do not know everything… e only know what we need to know” (Lowry, 1989) and Annemarie quickly discovers that it is better to know less than to know the truth, as the fear is so much more apparent when the truth is known. This story is filled with aspects of respect and unity as both families treat each other equally and protect each other, even though Ellen’s family is Jewish and Annemarie’s isn’t. Ellen and Annemarie’s friendship is a true testament to how far you will go to protect a friend. Almost every character exemplifies bravery in one way or another.
Annemarie does not think she is brave even though she took her Uncle his forgotten “lunch” and takes on two German soldiers. When Uncle Henrik tells her, “That’s all that brave means, not thinking about the dangers. Just thinking about what you must do” (Lowry, 1989), Annemarie learns that being scared or frightened does not mean that one is not brave. Annemarie and her family push through the fears and the unknown to strive for what is right and what they believe in. Literary elements and structural devices
Number the Stars is a serious yet hopeful story that provides details about wartime experience. Told in third person, Number the Stars reflects a child’s view of the Nazi occupation in Denmark. The characters main cultures are Danish, Jewish and German and it is assumed that the characters have traditional gender roles and behaviors. The story is set in the Protagonist against Society conflict where the protagonists are the main characters: Annemarie and her family and Ellen and her family and they are against the Nazis values and morals.
Number the Stars is a coming of age story about family and close friends that entails the characters likes, dislikes, struggles and triumphs. Based in fact or History In Number the Stars, Lowry tells of the realistic story of life in Denmark during World War II through the lives of two young girls, but while reading there is not too much evidence that the story is not real. The book tells the true events of the Nazi soldiers in that time period as well as Jewish people becoming targeted by Nazi’s and other’s helping them hide.
According to Lowry, Number the Stars is a novel that was inspired by a friend who had grown up in Denmark during World War II. It is based on hours of conversations with her friend and others who experienced the hardships of World War II and in much of her writing; Lowry tries to tell the big story by relating small details (“Study Guide for Number the Stars (pdf)”, n. d). Most of her explanation about where the story came from and where fact ends and fiction begins is at the end of the book in the Afterword.
Here she explains that she had always been fascinated and moved by her friends descriptions not only of the personal deprivation and sacrifices that her family and neighbors suffered through but the courage and integrity of the Danish people and the leadership of the kind they loved, Christian X (“Study Guide for Number the Stars (pdf)”, n. d). Reading this afterword, adds an element to the story that you thought was already there. You can easily identify the time, place and discover the families while you are shown examples of honor, hope, friendship, bravery and courage all knowing that portions of the story have a small inkling of truth.
Summary We read realism because we are interested in the lives of the characters—their loves, fears, likes, dislikes, struggles, and triumphs. What we learn is that human beings of different times and places have a great deal in common (Russell, 2009). In Number the Stars, there are lessons of friendship, honor, respect, unity, and bravery within the story. Lois Lowry gives us a moving story that shows us in the face of Nazi bigotry and hatred, honor and hope still prevail. We are told that we can learn from the past, that we can avoid the same mistakes however, covering it up does not erase it. Being ignorant only leaves us unprepared for the future so we should not only uncover the horrors of the past, but also show the glories as well.
References
- Russell, D. L. (2009). Literature for children: A short introduction (6th ed. ). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
- Lowry, L. (1989). Number the Stars. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. Study Guide for Number the Stars (PDF). (n. d. ), Retrieved from http://www. glencoe. com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/number_the_stars. pdf
