Clara's War
One Girl's Story of Survival by Clara Kramer
Character Analyazation: Clara
Another way Mania helped Clara survive was in a mental way. Clara felt like she needed to survive for Mania because Mania could no longer do it herself. "I wasn't ready to stop fighting. If Mania were here, she wouldn't let this happen. How could my pernts agree to this? Thoughts of suicide had passed through my mind . . ." (218). When the adults suggested that everyone in the bunker commite suicide Clara was shocked. She feels that suicide would not be fair to Mania because she wanted to live. Clara can not do this to her sister, she feels as if she would be letting Mania down.
Lastly, Mania convinced her family to find some place to hide. "Papa, Papa, please stop . . . listen to me. We need a hiding place. We need to find a way out of here. Papa, please, tell me we'll get out of here . . ." (49). Mania begged and begged her father untill he finally accepted Julia Beck, their house keeper's, offer. Without Mania, the Swartchzes would have more than likely only survived six months at the most.
Claim
Another character that supports this is Beck. Beck stayed and helped the families because he loved Klara. "Who knew how Beck really felt about Klara? Was it love in between them? And what did this say about the man whom we owed our liveds to? If we begged him to I stop, would that brave and genurous man dissapear and only the man who slept with his wife's bestfriend? Would that man risk his life for us? We were afraid that simply to beg him to stop would be enough to put us on the street." (168).
A source of Beck's bravery other than his ego was from love. His lover was living down in the bunker, so that gave him a reason to protect the families in the bunker. He couldn't give them up yo the Nazis because Klara was in the basement and would die. He also couldn't kick the other families out because they would probably tell Nazi guards that Beck was still hiding a Jewish person.
Lastly, this is also represented through Clara. For example Clara was worried about her mother so she traveled to the ghetto to see her. "I heard myself tell my father that I could, get her back. I told my father that I would talk to Beck. Surely this was not me speaking I had never really argued with my father about anything. Never contradicted him. Honor thy father and thy mother, and I did. Yet, how could I face life without Mama?" (102). When Clara's mom was living in the ghetto, she did not know of her mom's state of being. Clara was so worried about her mother that she traveled to the ghetto to check on her.
It is demonstrated throughout the novel how love and hope can increase the bravery and strength in a person. Sometimes we need love and hope to get us through our darkest times.