Sarah's Key: Pages 98-194

Hello friends, thank you for returning to my blog! Today I will discuss my thoughts of the second section of the novel, Sarah’s Key.

“Her parents would be proud of her. That’s what she wanted them to be. Proud because she had escaped from that camp. Proud because she was going to Paris, to save her brother. Proud, because she wasn’t afraid” (Rosnay 98)

Wanting our parents to be proud rather than disappointed is definitely something we all want, if it’s through athletics, academics or independence, we all search for our parents to say, “I’m proud of you”. The fact that I have a job and I am able to make my own money is probably something that makes my parents proud. I am able to pay for my own clothing, my phone bill and food when necessary. I am also already saving for university so, I think that in a way my independence and my ability to start saving and even that I am thinking about my future is something that should make my parents proud. Sports and athletics is also something that can make my parent proud, but it can also disappoint. I play soccer competitively and I can say that there is sometimes a pressure to perform in front of my parents. It’s always nice to hear my parents say “that’s my son” when I play well, but it’s also hard to see the disappointment through their facial expressions after I play poor.  For these reasons I can see why Sarah is hoping that her parents are proud of her and is clear to me that Sarah is not only escaping to save her brother, but she is also doing it to make her parents proud. All we really want is our parents to say “I’m proud of you”.

What we all want to hear. (Via Giphy.com)

Sarah demonstrates a true love towards her younger brother Michel, but in this section Sarah shows signs of both hope and doubt towards whether her brother is alive or not. “All of a sudden, every ounce of hope she still harbored within her ran out. ..... Michel was dead. Dead in the cupboard. She knew it” (Rosnay 118). In this quotation, Sarah realises that her brother is actually dead and there is no way he could have survived in a lock cupboard.  Although, Sarah also demonstrates signs of hope and even later believes that her brother might be alive. “They saved me. They saved my life. Maybe somebody like them saved Michel, saved Papa and Maman. Maybe there is still hope” (Rosnay 132). Sarah creates a belief that her brother may still be alive to cope with the thought of his death. In a way she creates an expectation which most likely won’t come true. In my own personal life, I too have created unrealistic expectations, which actually didn’t happen. For example, sometimes at school if I forgot to do homework or I have a presentation or a test that day, I create a thought in my head that maybe the teacher is sick or away. I create an expectation which I know won’t come true, but in a way I do to create hope and cope with my stress over the assessment. When Sarah finds out that her brother is dead I think that fact she had hope, hurt her even more when she found out. “She sank to her knees again, and she screamed at the top of her lungs, she screamed for her mother, for her father, screamed for Michel” (Rosnay 160).

Sarah's reaction (Via Giphy.com)

Thank you for ready my post, and be sure to stay tuned for my next blog post on the finale of Sarah’s Key.

Sarah's Key: Pages 1-97

Hey Friends, welcome back to my blog! We have finished reading the namesake, and now I will be reading and discussing Sarah’s Key, written by Tatiana De Rosnay.

“The mother began to sob, gently at first, then louder. The girl looked at her, stunned. In all her ten years, she had never seen her mother cry. Appalled, she watched the tears trickle down her mother’s white, crumpled face. She wanted to tell her mother to stop crying, she could not bear the shame of seeing her mother snivel in front of these strange men”(Rosnay 7).

Don't Cry!!!! (via GIPHY)

As a young child, hearing my parents mourn and cry was definitely something I wasn’t accustomed too. Hearing my parents cry at a young age was extremely difficult, because I couldn’t understand the fact and the reason why they were crying. Growing up, my parents were role models to me and were my main source of comfort when I was feeling sad. When I would cry they would always comfort me, they always told me everything would be alright and told me not to cry. Just like Sarah, I too could not bear the shame of seeing my mother and father cry. In this novel, Sarah feels shame in the fact that her mother and father are crying and she is unable understand why they’re feeling so sad. Sarah doesn’t understand the intensity surrounding the situation and she is unable to bear the cries from her mother and father. “There were tears running down his face, silent tears of helplessness and shame that she could not understand” (Rosnay 19). I thought that my parents were supposed to be the strong ones in situations of tragedy and sadness. They were the two people who always comforted me, and told me not to cry and that everything would be alright. So, watching tears trickle down my parent’s faces, and seeing them at their weakest points, was really something I could not bear and understand until I grew up. It’s also definitely awkward when my parents cried, because how am I supposed to comfort the people who were always strong and always comforted me when I felt sad. So, when they did cry, I often would just sit around not knowing what to do. 

 Me when my parents cry (via Buzzfeed)

“It was impossible to see the outline of the cupboard in the paneling of the wall. Yes, he’d be safe there. She was sure of it. The girl murmured his name and laid her palm flat on the wooden panel. I’ll come back for you later. I promise” (Rosnay 9).

This part of the novel is also remarkably relatable. Not that I like locking my brother in cupboards or anything, but that I too want my brother to be safe in times of trouble. Unlike Sarah, I am not the oldest sibling, but even though I am younger, in that situation I would do whatever to keep my brother safe aswell. Sarah hiding her brother in the closet may have not been the best idea, but the fact that she wanted to keep her brother safe shows how much she cares for him. I am very close to my brother, and we truly care for each other and wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to the other. Although, my brother and I may fight and chirp each other a lot, we still are best friends and we always look out for each other’s safety.

My bro and I