Between Shades Of Gray Character Analysis

In the 1940s, Josef Stalin took middle-class families from their homes in Lithuania to Siberia. The men were separated from the children and women. Fifteen years old, Lina and her ten-year-old brother and her mother were taken from their home in the evening June 14, 1941. Their father was taken from work that day. On the journey, they meet a boy named Andrius and an irritable bald man whose leg is most likely broken. The author Ruta Sepetys showed that a moral the readers could learn from Between Shades of Gray was that people’s values should never be compromised, even for survival.

First of all, even though the women were put through traumatizing events, they had to push through the pain and suffering. Lina, her mother, and the other women …show more content…
Right now, Lina hears about how they are being moved. Her family is on the moving list. Andrius is not on the list. At this point, she is showing her soft side to Andrius. “We walked hand in hand, neither one of us speaking. My pace slowed. ‘Andrius I’m...scared.’
He stopped and turned to me. ‘No. Don’t be scared. Don’t give them anything, Lina, not even your fear.’
‘I can’t help it. I’m not even used to this camp. I miss home, I miss my father, I miss school, I miss my cousin.’My breathing quickened.
‘Shh,’ said Andrius. He pulled me to his chest. ‘Be careful who you talk to. Don’t let your guard down, okay?’he whispered. His arms tightened around me”(243-244). Lina is showing she is scared now, which she usually very tight about. Andrius helps set her straight by telling her to keep her guard up and not to give them anything.

Ruta Sepetys, the author of Between Shades of Gray, explores the theme that values should never be compromised, even for survival. Lina is one of the survivors. She keeps her values in the toughest of times. Lina may not have survived though without the help of Andrius, another survivor. He did not only help himself, but he also helps