Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
This fiction novel shows the true meaning tragedy. Sarah has to face life on her only because she is separated form her family during the going to concentration camp. Her and her mother were dragged away form each other by the French policeman. In the book it states " She held onto her mother's cold hand. She felt the policeman wrench them apart, She heard her mother shriek, and then saw her dive back toward her, her dress gaping open, her hair wild, her mouth contorted, screaming her daughters names"(Rosnay 132). Gone was class and composer, the girls mother fought for her like an animal. They were treated like animals and began to act like them too. The hardship is that fact that the mother knows that she will probably never see her daughter again, but the girl does not know this. When she is split form her mother her mother takes once last glace before she is pushes away knowing she will never see her young, beautiful daughter again. The young girl know has to live independently and survive by herself. People should not have to live life in order to survive they should live life with happiness and joy they are alive. They should not have to fight for their food or be treated like animals, but this is exactly what took place at the concentration camps. The tragedy of it is all is in the camps the Jewish people were not people anymore they were animals. In this story Sarah's Key there is two sides of the story, Sarah s side and Julia's side. Sarah is the girl who is in the roundup and goes through all of the tragedy. Julia is journalist who is wring about the Vel' d'Hiv' Roundup for its sixtieth anniversary. There is tragedy on both sides of the story both very different types of tragedy. Sarah loses her whole family and her old life that is her tragedy. Julia's tragedy is her marriage and how it is difficult for her to have kids. They are both very different but are both still tragedy. Julia is married to a man named Bertrand Tezca and they have a daughter named Zoe. It is very difficult for Julia to have kids, but she gets pregnant. The tragedy is that Bertrand had an affair with another women and he does not want the baby. Julia is divested and decides to have an abortion. Before she has her abortion she thinks about it and says it is my baby too. She decides not have an abortion. Bertrand and her get and divorce and her and Zoe move to New York. Julia feels like is defeated. Her husband has left, she has a new child and is a is a single mother. Sometimes Julia finds it hard to balance her life and her life as a mother. Sarah and Julia aspire to do something and prove something. Sarah wants to prove that she is not an animal and can do good for others. Julia wants to prove that she can make decides on her own. The tragedy that ours ion there life makes them strong. It proves to them that they can in fact do what they have been determined to do. Julia proves that she can speak for herself by keeping the baby. Sarah did this by helping the little children in the camp and always watching out for people other then herself. Sarah's biggest regret was locking her brother in the closet. This guilt that hug over her made her a different people then she was before the round up. This proves that tragedy can change people and prove to others that they can be and do anything they aspire to be.
“The girl wondered: These policemen... didn't they have families, too? Didn't they have children? Children they went home to? How could they treat children this way? Were they told to do so, or did they act this way naturally? Were they in fact machines, not human beings? She looked closely at them. They seemed of flesh and bone. They were men. She couldn't understand.”
― Tatiana de Rosnay, Sarah's Key
― Tatiana de Rosnay, Sarah's Key