The Porrajmos By Hawdon: Chapter Analysis

The biggest conflict in the book is the war that is going on. Because of this war, the Gypsy people, such as Jakob and his family, were being rounded up and slaughtered. This Gypsy Holocaust was known as “The Porrajmos” (Hawdon, 2015, “Background,” para. 1). The Gypsies were being persecuted by the Nazi party in an attempt to eradicate them. Another conflict was between the German soldiers and the people living in countries being occupied by Germany. The Nazi soldiers would just barge into people’s home and beat them. They would also take their food and livestock, leaving little for the inhabitants to survive on. In referring to Markus after a visit from the Nazi soldiers, “When he gets to Jakob’s cupboard the boy will see the crimson marks …show more content…
Within the book, colors are always described in great detail. One such example is, “a bruise on his face that in the oncoming days will change from mauve, to violet, to dull viridian green” (Hawdon, 2015, Part 2, Chapter 8). The colors represent the hope for a better world. A world where all colors can be seen instead of just black and white. The colors can do away with fear and bring comfort. Yavy tells Jakob, “Nie lekaj sie-Don’t be afraid, Jakob,” and then says, “See the colors. Tell me what you see, Jakob, my boy?” (Hawdon, 2015, Part 2, Chapter 8). Yavy taught Jakob to look for the colors to comfort himself whenever he is afraid. When they are all lined up to be shot, Jakob has to show Yavy the colors around him so that he is not afraid. Jakob tells him, “I am not afraid, Da. Can see a tree with high branches. Lead white its trunk, streaked with ochre, and behind, always the blue of the sky that is full of that lapis lazuli, the sound of a lullaby. Bluer than it’s ever been, Da” and Yavy responds, “Yes,” “Bluer than it’s ever been” (Hawdon, 2015, Part 5, Chapter 49). Jakob had reassured his father that there was color in the world and that he had nothing to fear. The hope for a better world was in that color, as it had always been and always would …show more content…
Even then, Lor was afraid of being caught and would not leave their room for weeks. Similarly, Jakob hid in Markus’s cupboard for months, a place that he thought of as a sanctuary, until he finally ran again. “And so, a small wooden box clutched to his hand, Jakob, a half-blood gypsy boy of Roman and Yenish, pulls open the back door and runs out, beneath a blue sky, alone” (Hawdon, 2015, Part 5, Chapter 51). Even though, he had become comfortable living in that cupboard, Jakob knew that he had to keep running. If he did not, then everything his friends and family had done for him so far would be for