How do the final sections of the text clarify the connections between all three of the refugees? What specific lines or passages of text are most significant in showing these connections? Provide at least two examples and carefully explain your reasoning.

In the final section of the book, pages 270-317, Gratz concludes the novel by also concluding the symbols he used throughout the book for Josef and Ruthie: Bitsy, her stuffed rabbit, and her coat. He also concludes the novel with the idea of home and what that means for all three families. Throughout the novel he starts every child’s perspective with a marker of days from home - but at the end of the novel he not only ends that marker but also shows what the children have discovered in terms of the meaning of the word.

Gratz uses the symbols of Ruthie’s coat to symbolize the desperation refugees feel, and the lengths they will go to to survive. Gratz first mentions Ruthie’s coat in the first section, as they board the train to get to their ship. Ruthie is hot and tries to take off her coat but her mother insists, “You must leave your coat on and never go anywhere without it, do you understand? Not until we reach Cuba” (19). Gratz does not mention the coat again until this section, on page 287. He writes, “None of them carried suitcases anymore - those had been left behind long ago - but they all still wore their coats, even though it was the height of summer. His mother had insisted” (287). When the Nazis come after them, the purpose of the coat is finally revealed when Josef’s mother rips at the seams and pulls out the diamond earrings. Not only did she force her children to wear their coats no matter what - but she also used their clothing to store her bank just in case. In the end though, the coat saves at least Ruthie’s life, by the Nazis forcing Ruthie’s mother to choose at least one child to save.

Ruthie’s bunny, Bitsy, symbolizes the humanity common in all children. Gratz first mentions Bitsy on page 19 as Ruthie rides the train: “She . . . carried her white corduroy stuffed rabbit, Bitsy, everywhere she went” (19). He mentions her again on page 110, when Ruthie’s father tears through the apartment, she hides in Bitsy’s ears and cries. The bunny is a comfort object for Ruthie, and a companion. When the stewards ransack their cabin, they tear off Bitsy’s head. But Josef’s mother sews the head back on before Ruthie can notice. This scene demonstrates the inhumanity and cruelty of the Nazi supporters - that they are willing to go to the lengths of ripping off the head of a child’s stuffed toy. But also shows what Ruthie’s mother does in order to shield her daughter from this cruel reality - sewing the toy together before she can notice. The final mention of Bitsy when Ruthie is a child in this section, on page 287, shows how despite everything the family has gone through, Bitsy still carries this part of her childhood identity with her. It is a reminder of her age and youth, despite what she has been forced to experience.

When Gratz writes that the now much older adult Ruthie offers a stuffed rabbit to Waleed, this symbolizes the humanity of refugees and especially child refugees. This shows the common experience of children, despite generational, religious, and nationality differences. It also symbolizes the spirit of hope and perseverance of many refugees. When Ruthie sees Waleed, she offers him a “little stuffed rabbit made of white corduroy . . . His eyes lit up as he took it from her” (313). The interpreter explains to Mahmoud and Waleed that Ruthie made it herself as she is a toy designer and maker. Not only did Ruthie survive with her stuffed rabbit in tow, but she also recreates the joy and comfort this object gave her while she was a refugee, to give to another refugee. As a toy maker, she has passed on the joy not only to one child but children everywhere. Indeed, Waleed does not show emotion throughout the book, but when given the new rabbit his eyes light up. Bitsy therefore demonstrates the spirit and humanity of children, even in the midst of unimaginable strife.