Tiffany Aybar
European History
Professor Grennelle November 16, 2012
Between Shades of Gray Response Paper “Between Shades of Gray” is a novel written by Ruta Sepetys about fifteen year old Lina Vilkas, a Lithuanian girl who is separated from her family by soviet officers who would split up her family and change her life forever. Her family was forced to a work camp where she would endure horrible experiences fighting for her life day by day. Waking up each morning not knowing if it would be her last. She was exposed to many horrific events while in these camps and witnessed a lot of things no fifteen year old should. Lina’s character is strong minded and rebellious. She is naive to certain matters due to her young age. Lina is such an admirable character, at such a young age she is able to stay strong and never give up. She finds the Art inside her self while undergoing these hardships and dramatic events in her life. She documents her events in her drawings, which allows her to express herself and keep some sort of documentation of what she and her family have to face. Fighting for her life on a daily basis not knowing weather she is going to survive or not Lina does not give up on hope in this cruel act of leader Joseph Stalin. This novel tells the story of what many people had to got through under Stalin’s control , though this novel maybe fictional many people actually experienced some of what Lina experienced, if not to a worse extent. This is a very powerful novel because it allows you to see what people had to go through in this time period in history. Joseph Stalin was on of the most authoritarian and stern leaders of all time. This book depicts Stalin’s actions in his time of power and allows the audience to witness it first hand through fifteen year old Lina Vilkas and her family. Joseph Stalin ordered the deportation of millions of Baltic civilians and would force them into labor camps where they would endure harsh living and labor conditions. What those people faced was very inhumane and cruel and Lina takes you into that journey graphically. Initially Lina’s home was invaded because the NKVD needed to silence people who demonstrated political opposition and anti-communism. These people were to be imprisoned like Lina’s father and sent to work camps like Lina’s family all under the ruling of Joseph Stalin. The novel has a good way of showing the corruption of the government in that time. Society was failing and people were denied their natural rights as human beings. When first picking up this novel I was skeptical of how much of it was really true, but looking back in history and at Joseph Stalin’s character these events were very likely to occur. There are actual stories of families that went through he same things as Lina and her family. The circumstances were the same if not worse, and some people were not as lucky as Lina and may not have not survived. Millions of people would have similar stories as Lina some whom would not live to tell theirs. This novel portrays people’s lives during the WWII era under Stalin’s control. This novel inspired me to do outside research on this issue and it came to my surprise that many people died and that the government differed greatly from today’s government. Like the Holocaust and The Nazi empowerment what people endured during Stalin’s control can be at the same level of offense. This makes me question why has these events been hidden for so long and why hasn’t it gotten the recognition it deserves, they have been through the same labor camps, starvation and death. Initially Lina discovers why she and her family were taken by the NKVD when she steals the file and it was proclaimed that her family were excessors against communism. They were labeled as anti communist and Stalin would do whatever he could to make sure no one would rebel against the government while he had control. Her family would help Lithuanians flee the country, which makes me
