It is obvious that Yolen was motivated by the horrific acts of World War II to write the short story ‘‘Suzy and Leah.’’ The story uses a setting that is based on true events. There really was a refugee camp at Oswego, New York, that matches the description of the camp where Leah is housed….
Tag: Jane Yolen
Suzy and Leah – Setting
Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany Germany was defeated in World War I (1914– 1918), and in the ensuing years, the politics of this country swung widely between extreme right wing and extreme left wing philosophies. It was during this time that the German Workers’ Party was formed. In 1919, Adolf Hitler joined this party and…
Suzy and Leah – Literary Devices
Diary Entries Yolen tells her story ‘‘Suzy and Leah’’ through diary entries. Both protagonists, Suzy and Leah, write separately while they are alone. Their thoughts, therefore, are supposed to be very personal and unfiltered, since both girls assume no one will read them. This provides Yolen with a chance to get inside the girls’ heads…
Suzy and Leah – Themes
Fear The character of Leah in Yolen’s ‘‘Suzy and Leah’’ is racked with fear. Though she is safe in the present moment of the story, the residue of her experiences in World War II haunts her. In presenting fear as one of the main themes in this story, Yolen emphasizes the effects war has on…
Suzy and Leah – Characters
Avi Avi is a young boy, a refugee who lives with Leah in the camp. Before being taken to the United States, Avi had lived with his grandmother in Europe. His grandmother hid Avi in a cupboard in her kitchen when Nazi soldiers came to their home. The soldiers did not find him; however, Avi’s…
Suzy & Leah – Summary – Short Story
Yolen’s short story ‘‘Suzy and Leah’’ covers the meeting of two young girls—one is a blondehaired American student named Suzy; the other is Leah, a dark-haired refugee who has come to the United States from Nazi Germany. At the opening of the story, it is August 1944, approximately one year before the official end of…