Kindertransport; How Does Samuels Portray a Sense of Seperation?
The concept of separation is a key theme of Kindertransport, and is explored in a plethora of ways throughout the play. As the Kindertransport was designed to rescue children from persecution in wartime Germany, it separated them not only from the violence and suffering of the Holocaust but also the love and care of their parents, a concept presented through all characters and in all stages of the play.
The application of a “label” to Eva designates her as a minority, separating her from the general population. The “label” also removes her name, instead designating her with a number, separating her from her own identity in an act of dehumanisation. This contrasts partially with the encounter wither the Nazi border guard in Act I, who draws a “star of David” on her label, thus joining her to the Jewish community. Although it gives her a social category, it robs her of her individuality, and showcases the prejudice and stereotyping leading towards to Holocaust.
Evelyn’s refusal to accept help in finding her “papers” to the point that she “pulls back” shows that she is pulling away from her past, showing a separation between her past and present. However, the need to be connected to her past is shown through the rhetorical interrogative “how could I get rid of them?”
Read more in Book Talk
« Graphic Novel Review: Batman: Whatever Happened to The Caped Crusader by Neil GaimanMilo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze – A Book Review »
There is a sense of separation in the relationship between Evelyn and her daughter, Faith, in Act II. Evelyn remarks that Faith “hates [her]”, and that she will “never understand” the events that lead up to Evelyn’s anglicisation. This lack of understanding represents a rift between them, and thus the separation of mother from daughter, a reflection of the same separation of Eva from her mother, Helga, through the Kindertransport. The key difference is that while Helga and Eva’s was forced upon them by circumstance, Faith and Evelyn’s
The application of a “label” to Eva designates her as a minority, separating her from the general population. The “label” also removes her name, instead designating her with a number, separating her from her own identity in an act of dehumanisation. This contrasts partially with the encounter wither the Nazi border guard in Act I, who draws a “star of David” on her label, thus joining her to the Jewish community. Although it gives her a social category, it robs her of her individuality, and showcases the prejudice and stereotyping leading towards to Holocaust.
Evelyn’s refusal to accept help in finding her “papers” to the point that she “pulls back” shows that she is pulling away from her past, showing a separation between her past and present. However, the need to be connected to her past is shown through the rhetorical interrogative “how could I get rid of them?”
Read more in Book Talk
« Graphic Novel Review: Batman: Whatever Happened to The Caped Crusader by Neil GaimanMilo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze – A Book Review »
There is a sense of separation in the relationship between Evelyn and her daughter, Faith, in Act II. Evelyn remarks that Faith “hates [her]”, and that she will “never understand” the events that lead up to Evelyn’s anglicisation. This lack of understanding represents a rift between them, and thus the separation of mother from daughter, a reflection of the same separation of Eva from her mother, Helga, through the Kindertransport. The key difference is that while Helga and Eva’s was forced upon them by circumstance, Faith and Evelyn’s