I Must Betray You
Why did Ruta Sepetys write I Must Betray You?
The dictatorship leading up to the Romanian Revolution in 1989 impacted more than twenty million Romanian people but was unfamiliar to many. She wanted to create a story to give context to the historical events and honor those who experienced them.
Define what a symbol is in literature and give an example of a symbol from IMBY.
A symbol is an object, a person, a situation, or an action that has a literal meaning in a story but suggests or represents other meanings. Feral dogs symbolize the dehumanizing effects of political oppression. Darkness symbolizes ignorance and isolation.
Define motif and give an example form BOTH Night and I Must Betray You. Explain the theme that the motif connects to and supports.
Night: The motif of tradition supports the theme of Faith/Loss of Faith, and the motif of silence supports the theme of Night/Darkness & Isolation. The motif of fire supports Dehumanization. In IMBY - Cristian references the travelogue which supports the theme of isolation. The Secu reports support both dehumanization and surveillance.
This device refers to who is telling a story, or who is narrating it. The narration of a story or novel can be told in three main ways: first-person, second-person, and third-person.
Point of View (POV)
The expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
Irony (verbal irony)
What genre is I Must Betray You?
Historical fiction or Historical thriller because the story is suspenseful and based on frighteningly true historical events and facts, but characters, actions, and other details are fictionalized.
Define symbolism
Symbolism is when a concrete object, person, or place represents an abstract idea beyond its literal meaning.
In literature, it can be as obvious as a storm representing a character’s internal turmoil or as subtle as a personal journal.
What is the definition of a theme? What are the major themes in Night? (Name at last two)
A theme is the big picture, universal ideas, and overarching message of a story or text. Themes include Man's Inhumanity to Man, Faith/Loss of Faith, Dehumanization, Night & Darkness, and Silence & Isolation can be themes.
A recurring narrative element with symbolic significance. If you spot a symbol, concept, or plot structure that surfaces repeatedly
Motif
Aristotle taught that a speaker's ability to persuade an audience is based on how well the speaker appeals to that audience in three different areas - name all three rhetorical devices.
Logos, ethos, and pathos
Give an example of dehumanization from BOTH Night and I Must Betray You and show how they are similar and different.
Isolation - The Jews were kept in a literal prison camp, while the Romanians were in a metaphoric prison (initially) that later became literal. Both people groups were silenced and food was limited, although the Jews were starved to death. The goal of the Nazis was to exterminate The goal of the Ceausescu was power and control.
Share two of the four ways authors writers use symbolism to create meaning and complexity in literature.
1) Objects - readers understand complex themes, such as plot
2) Character actions
3) Colors associated with feelings and/or emotions
4) Animals based on symbolic characteristics
Define/explain, using examples, two types of irony we learned about this semester.
situational irony - Ceaușescu presents an image of progressive ideals through propaganda but the real situation in Romania is terrible. Cristian believes his sister and Luca are informers, but we learn it is Mrs. Florescu.
cruel irony - The sign at the gates of Auschwitz, "Work is liberty.
dramatic irony - Moishe tries to warn his fellow Jews about the Nazis, but no one believes him.
A rhetorical term that describes words or phrases that, when placed together, create paradoxes or contradictions.
Oxymoron
What is the term involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected?
Situational irony
What are the main conflicts in I Must Betray You?
1. Cristian is blackmailed into becoming an informer.
2. He struggles to reconcile his guilt at betraying his loved ones and his fear of punishment if he fails to provide information.
3.He wants to protect Bunu and worries about being found out as an informer by him.
Share two of the four ways that symbols can be identified in literature.
Symbols are often
1)visual
2)appear throughout a story
3)are a form of figurative language and
4) relate to the story’s theme. (any two)
Define and give an example of paradoxical language.
A paradox is “a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.” An example of this is Cristian's journal. Screaming Whispers: A Romanian Teenager In Bucharest is written in a secret protest that later shouts truths to the world.
A literary device that places opposite words, ideas, or qualities parallel to each other. The contrast between them creates greater emphasis and clarity. It can be effective in emphasizing drastic differences between opposing concepts.
Antithesis
This is a phrase that, due to overuse, is seen as lacking in substance or originality or can be a stereotype
Cliche
What were The Berlin Wall and The Iron Curtain?
The Berlin Wall cut through the middle of the city of Berlin, Germany from August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989. The Wall was designed to prevent people from escaping to the West from East Berlin, which was communist.
The Iron Curtain was a barrier that divided capitalist and communist nations. This barrier was not physical but instead economic and political.
What are the three components of the Symbolism Exploration Arc?
The arc begins with a symbol's (1) concrete attributes and moves to the (2) abstract connections to what we know in society, culture, etc. It connects to a symbolic idea or (3) symbolism, that can rest upon the object.
Define theme. What are the main THEMES in I Must Betray You? Name at least two with details to support your answer.
A story's theme is the central message or unifying idea woven throughout it, often about important topics such as human nature, life, or society. Betrayal, surveillance, dehumanization, isolation, deception, and resistance/compliance are themes in I Must Betray You.
The art of making someone or something look ridiculous, raising laughter in order to embarrass, humble, or discredit its targets.
Satire
What is a literary allusion? What are two "code names" Cristian assigns to his adversaries that are considered to be allusions?
Allusion is an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text. Referring to Ceaucescu as "Draculescu" uses an allusion to the classic Romanian villain Dracula to emphasize his cruelty. Cristian never learns his agent's real name, so he names him Paddle Hands based on his most distinctive physical trait, his disproportionately large hands.