Yellow Star

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2006

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction-Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Scarcity

Scarcity is a recurring motif that relates to the hardships of surviving in the Lodz Ghetto. Syvia’s family struggles to survive with little fuel, money, or food. At one point, the family must even sell her ragdoll, demonstrating the family’s desperation. There are periods when the family wonders whether they will starve to death—a major cause of mortality in the ghetto. This is explored in Chapter 8, when Syvia’s family learns that 20,000 more people are to be moved into the ghetto, leading to further restrictions in rationing just as winter nears. Syvia’s fear of the scarcity of food is evident in her reflection, “How will we survive the winter?” (59). This fear is justified when Syvia later observes that, “Winter erases whole families,” and that her own family is “weak and starving” (61). The recurring motif of scarcity connects to the broader theme of Indignities and Hardships of Life in the Ghetto.

Fear

Fear is a recurring motif that connects to the theme of Antisemitic Genocide. Characters fear for their lives, as Nazi soldiers often kill Jews indiscriminately within the ghetto. A man is even shot dead in the street for no reason: “Bang! Bang! A man in the crowd did a funny jump, then fell on his back, his yellow star facing the sky” (131). The fear of the crowd is illustrated in the fact that no one protests the man’s murder; instead, they quickly walk away. The powerlessness of the ghetto residents is also emphasized here. The Nazis are the law, and they kill indiscriminately. As a result, drawing attention to oneself in these situations is dangerous.

Furthermore, many ghetto inhabitants correctly fear that the mass deportations are to death camps, despite the assurances of Nazi soldiers that they are being relocated to work elsewhere. Dora overhears these rumors at the factory, while the method of transport—packing people tightly into cars—appears only to support this. Those who are prioritized for deportation, which includes the infirmed and children, confirm their fears that those on the trains are destined for mass murder: “It doesn’t make sense that the sickest and the frailest would be chosen to fix Germany!” (110). The people who are left in the ghetto fearfully await the same fate, while wondering desperately about the fate of their loved ones.

The Silent Children of the Cellar

The 12 children in the cellar of the workers’ house are unusually quiet. The silence and listlessness of the children operates as a symbol on several levels. Firstly, it illustrates the training the children have received from terrified family members to stay silent to avoid being detected by the Nazis, given that all children of the Lodz Ghetto were ordered to the train station to be deported: “We all know how to hide, to keep quiet so that the Nazis don’t find us” (146). Antisemitic Genocide is referred to in the children’s practiced silence, as they are motivated by fear. Syvia reflects that this is the case for her cousin, three-year-old Isaac, whose absolute silence initially confuses and unnerves her: “He doesn’t say anything. I realize later that he has learned to be very, very quiet so as not to disturb anyone, especially Nazis” (129).

Secondly, the children’s silence is borne out of weakness and exhaustion; they have been close to starvation for years, and they have not been allowed to go outside for fear of detection: “One would think a room full of children would be noisy, but it is mostly quiet. After months and months of very little food or sunlight, we are weak and listless” (146). Syvia likens herself to a “pile of bones lying in the corner” (146). She remembers having the energy to have fun with Itka and Hava; this seems like a distant dream.