Aaron Landau characterization

Aaron Landau is the father of Josef and Ruthie, and the husband of Rachel. Like Joussef, Mahmoud’s father, Aaron’s behavior during their journey forces Josef to grow up. The novel starts with Aaron as a normal husband and father in Berlin, Germany, but after he is arrested and sent to a concentration camp, he becomes paranoid and unwell. Once on the ship he refuses to leave the cabin, convinced there is a trap waiting. He refuses to attend Josef’s bar mitzvah, making Josef wonder, “maybe this is what becoming a man is . . . Maybe becoming a man means not relying on your father anymore.” (Josef, 75). Later, once they are waiting in the Havana Harbor, the doctors come aboard for quarantine. He is so near a panic attack that Josef has to slap his father’s face and treat him like a prisoner to force him to keep it together. Josef’s father eventually throws himself over board and taken to shore for treatment. As the ship is forced to leave by the Cuban government, with no time to get Aaron, the Landau family never sees him again.